QUEENS, NY — When it rains, it pours, and it is absolutely pelting the Yankees right now.
Since the end of May, the Bronx Bombers have looked like a shell of themselves, which at one time was the undisputed best team in the American League and one of the very best in all of baseball.
But since May 30, entering Sunday’s Subway Series finale against the Mets at Citi Field, they have won just 13 of 34 games, six of 21, and one of eight.
Saturday evening’s 12-6 drubbing at the hands of the Mets made it six straight losses for Aaron Boone’s men, as they not only lost their perch atop the American League East, but trailed the Toronto Blue Jays by three games.
“It’s been a terrible week,” Boone said. “It’s like you’re striking the balance between trying to find the good things that are happening, like the offense is starting to swing the bat and put some runs on the board. The pitching, which has carried us a lot this season, has really struggled this week. We haven’t caught the ball as well as we should.”
Boone is spot on here. In the previous six games, all losses, before Sunday afternoon’s matchup, the Yankees did not score fewer than four runs in a game. Before the six-spot on Saturday at Citi Field, they put up five in the Subway Series opener to the Mets, five in their series finale against the Blue Jays, and nine in a failed comeback during Wednesday’s 11-9 defeat.
The problem is that the pitching allowed an average of nine runs per game, while the Yankees’ defense has committed seven errors during that stretch.
“When you live it, and you’re going through it, it sucks, it hurts,” Boone said. “But you have to be able to handle it, to deal with it. You have to be able to handle it. You have to be able to weather it. You have to be able to grow. Hopefully, as trite or corny as it sounds, these are the moments that build character within a team.”
Character is nothing more than a consolation at this point. The Yankees are approaching the deadline with significant holes in their roster.
The starting rotation has been decimated by injuries, with Clarke Schmidt set to become the second notable starting pitcher to undergo Tommy John surgery this season, joining Gerrit Cole. Luis Gil is not due back until after the All-Star break, and Ryan Yarbrough is on the 15-day IL with a right oblique strain.
The bullpen has faltered, there is still uncertainty regarding defensive alignments at second and third base, and shortstop Anthony Volpe’s regression has been significantly alarming.
“Every good team goes through a couple of bumps in the road, but we can’t let it falter from what our ultimate goal is,” slugger Aaron Judge said. “We have to keep pushing forward. We’ll clean some things up… and we’ll take care of business.”
