1. The 16-games-in-16-days stretch is over. The Yankees finished their longest off-day-less part of 2025 with a 7-9 record. None of the five teams they played (Royals, Red Sox, Angels, Orioles and Reds) currently holds a playoff spot.
It was a disappointing two-plus weeks. The Yankees were supposed to stack wins during this time, and instead, they stacked losses. When the stretch began they had a seven-game lead in the loss column over the Rays. That lead is down to one game.
2. At least the Yankees ended the stretch with a win. After being unable to score following the first inning on Monday, the Yankees blew a three-run lead late on Tuesday. That loss helped them increase their league lead for most losses (five) when leading by multiple runs at the start of the seventh inning and increased their league lead for worst road extra-inning record in automatic runner history. (Stats from Katie Sharp.) (The Yankees have scored two of 11 automatic runners this season and one of those two scored on a wild pitch). On Wednesday, they won behind Max Fried for the 13th time in 17 games, finally beating the Reds 7-1.
3. The Yankees are 13-4 when Fried starts and the only one of his 17 starts that should have been a loss was when he blew a three-run lead to the Dodgers at the end of May. The Yankees are 33-30 in games not started by Fried, which is a problem.
“I told him again today, ‘Just watching you more and more, I would not have wanted to hit off you,’” Aaron Boone said of Fried.
Boone was six percent worse than league average as a hitter in his career. I’m not sure there was anyone he wanted to hit off of.
4. The only run the Reds scored was unearned thanks to a throwing error from Jazz Chisholm. He has been shaky at third of late, but that’s to be expected when you’re being asked to play out of position. In his career, Chisholm has gone from shortstop to center field to second base to third base.
Chisholm is an exceptional talent. Since the start of the last season, he is one of five players with 50-plus steals and 35-plus home runs. The other four players are Elly De La Cruz, Shohei Ohtani, Jose Ramirez and Bobby Witt Jr. (Stat from Katie Sharp). In 96 games as a Yankee (regular season only), he has hit .257/.332/.483 with 22 home runs and 53 RBIs and has stolen 28 bases in 32 attempts. Again, he’s an exceptional talent. But it would be nice if he could stop talking all of the time.
5. On Tuesday, Chisholm had a 2-0 pitch called a strike that was clearly a ball. Instead of the count being 3-0 it was 2-1 and Chisholm eventually struck out swinging. Did the umpire force him to strike out swinging? No. But once the 2-0 pitch was called a strike he couldn’t compose himself and let the bad call ruin his at-bat. Eventually it ruined his game as he was ejected because he the extra long leash he was given to argue his point wasn’t enough.
On Wednesday, Chisholm hit a mammoth two-run home run, further proving how talented he is.
“After what happened last night, it felt great to get a hold of one, Chisholm said.
After what happened last night? YOU created what happened last night and your ejection. YOU couldn’t get over one missed call. (On Wednesday, a blatant strike was called a ball against Chisholm, but he didn’t have anything to say about that.)
After Wednesday’s win, Chisholm participated in the postgame, on-field interview and said, “I feel like we got a great team and I feel like we’re going to make the World Series again.” Even if you believe that why are saying that on June 25 after you just managed to salvage a game against the crappy Reds, have lost eight of 12 and have watched your seven-game lead in the loss column over the Rays drop to one?
I like Chisholm. I want to like him more, but he makes it so hard.
6. Trent Grisham and Jasson Dominguez each had four hits in the win. Because Cody Bellinger sat on Wednesday (despite being 2-for-2 with two home runs in his career against Brady Singer) he won’t be sitting on Friday. That means either Grisham or Dominguez will sit coming off a four-hit game. (It’s going to be Dominguez as they continue to stunt his development.)
“The more games that you play, the more if helps your confidence,” said Dominguez who will be benched for at least one of the three games this weekend.
7. It was another ho-hum hitless night for Anthony Volpe. He went 1-for-11 with six strikeouts in the series, but he did have the fake triple in the second game that he, his manager and the front office will be able to live off of for a while. He’s 4-for-37 in his last 12 games. Those four: an infield single, a bloop single, a home run off the short porch foul pole and a single turned into a triple. He’s down to .230/.418/.723 on the season. Fortunately for him, the Yankees’ roster construction allows him to keep playing every day.
8. Fernando Cruz struck out all three batters he faced in a scoreless eighth. It was the second time in three outings Cruz struck out all three batters he faced. He has 53 strikeouts in 32 innings and hasn’t allowed a hit in his last seven appearances.
9. The Athletics come to the Bronx this weekend for a three-game series. The last time the Yankees played them in the second week of May, the A’s were 20-18. Now they’re 33-49 with a game against the AL-best Tigers on Thursday. The A’s are 13-31 since the start of their last series with the Yankees.
10. This weekend will show us a lot of about what to think of the Yankees. If their June swoon has ended and their annual midsummer poor play is done, they will take care of the A’s. If the Yankees can’t beat up on the AL West’s worst at home in the middle of the A’s nine game road trip then we will know this recent two-and-a-half-week slide is much more than the “That’s baseball” the Yankees tell us it is.
Last modified: Jun 26, 2025
