Yankees Hot Corner; The Boston Massacre

The New York Yankees came into last weekend’s series with the Boston Red Sox down 5 1/2 games in the A.L. East.  A split would keep them at 5 1/2 games, but win three or more games and they automatically make up at least a game in the standings.  Instead, things unraveled immediately and the Yankees now find themselves 9 1/2 games back after getting swept in embarrassing fashion.  If the Yankees are even going to sniff an American League East title, they’ll need to win at least 25 of their next 30 games against weak competition.

The Yankees didn’t get off to a good start at all on Thursday night.  They may have scored seven runs and hit four home runs but they also gave up 15 runs in the process.  Jonathan Holder was abysmal on Thursday, giving up seven runs in the fourth inning after coming in for relief.  Holder has been excellent this year but it makes you wonder how much the Yankees miss Adam Warren already, as he’s usually the go to guy in that spot.

The Yankees offense went ice cold in game two of the series, making Rick Porcello look like Nolan Ryan out there.  They only reached based twice in the ENTIRE GAME, and one of those base runners was a hit by pitch.  They had one hit, against Rick Porcello, who is a good but not great pitcher.

There’s not much else to say about this game except the Red Sox didn’t do much offensively but still put four runs on the board, which as you can see was more than enough.  Luis Severino was okay but he struggled with his command early and has not looked like the same pitcher since the All-Star break.  As per Katie Sharp, he has an 8.25 ERA in his last five starts, the worst in his career.  Couple that with the fact that he’s given up three or more runs in six of his last seven starts and that’s a recipe for disaster.  You can’t win games when you rely on your ace heavily and he doesn’t deliver.

Game three was more of the same, this time the opposing pitcher being a familiar face.  Nate Eovaldi, who had great stuff with the Yankees but could never stay healthy, silenced the Yankees’ bats once again in yet another 4-1 loss.  Eovaldi pitched eight scoreless innings and the Yankees went down without a fight.  It’s time like these where they truly miss Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez.

Game four was probably the most heartbreaking loss the Yankees have had since they lost Game 7 against the Houston Astros in the ALCS.  Masahiro Tanaka was inconsistent but effective, pitching 4 2/3 innings of one run ball, his only mistake a solo home run by Mookie Betts.

The Yankees scored four runs, what seemed like a very comfortable lead with their bullpen.  However, Aroldis Chapman came into the game with a three run lead, and he coughed it up almost immediately.  Three walks and a couple of hits later, and the game was tied at 4.  The tying run came on a Miguel Andujar error, who has been efficient all season but ultimately made a huge mistake that cost the Yankees the game.  Andujar’s error opened up for a walk off single in the tenth, and the rest is history.

It was about as bad of a loss as you can have, and Fenway Park in general has been a nightmare for the Yankees.  As per Katie Sharp again, the Yankees are 8-18 over the past three seasons in Boston.  This is the worst record against any team on the road for the Yankees.  You can’t win divisions with stats like that.  Regardless, the Yankees need to move on and take care of business in Chicago.  If they do that, we can talk about the division next week.