The Yankees went just 1-6 in extra-inning games during the first half of 2024. This season, they are off to an eerily similar start.
New York again boasts only one win through seven extra-inning contests. It has scored two runs in extras this season, amid a variety of issues, and is winless in three matchups that exceeded nine innings over the past two weeks.
“We’ve had a hard time scoring runs in extras on the road. I don’t think that’s emblematic of who we are as an offense,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We played a couple games in extras in a week where we weren’t scoring many runs … it’s going to happen.”
The Yankees’ only run on the road in extras this season came on Tuesday in the top of the eleventh inning. Outfielder Cody Bellinger grounded out to advance outfielder Aaron Judge to third, who scored on a wild pitch.
Then reliever Mark Leiter Jr. — who threw 27 pitches the day prior and already pitched an inning — failed to record an out in the bottom of the eleventh. Three hits, combined with a walk and wild pitch, gave the Cincinnati Reds a walk-off and New York its fifth consecutive road loss.
Judge also came up with the bases loaded in the tenth, but popped out with two outs after consecutive walks. The Yankees rank last in the majors with 4.06 runners left in scoring position per game this season, including a league-high 4.46 on the road.
New York has also endured struggles at home, though, including a recent 1-0 loss in 11 innings to the Los Angeles Angels.
The Yankees created chances with a runner on third and less than two outs in the top of the eleventh, but failed to hit the ball out of the infield. New York’s situational hitting has been inconsistent, along with self-inflicted problems.
In the Yankees’ prior series on the road against the Boston Red Sox, shortstop Anthony Volpe was caught stealing third in the top of the tenth with nobody out. Manager Aaron Boone defended the unconventional tactic after the game, citing how the slide was the reason Volpe was thrown out.
It is fair to question the strategy, though, considering Volpe is just 8 for 15 on steals this season. New York’s only win in extras came through a more typical strategy — bunting.
Infielder Oswaldo Cabrera sacrificed, leading to a J.C. Escarra sacrifice-fly to give the Yankees a 4-3 win over the San Diego Padres on May 7. With most of its extra-inning losses on the road, it’s tough for New York to consistently adapt a small-ball strategy and play for one run.
Amid a month where the Yankees are below .500, their extra-inning woes have cost them chances to break out of extended slumps. But there may still be reason to believe — New York finished 8-8 in extra-inning clashes last season after its poor start.
