Yes, the Aaron Judge grand slam on Friday night gave me faith but the 7-1 loss to the Red Sox on Saturday afternoon erased it. The inability for this 2024 team to string together a series of wins is laughable and deflating at the same time; especially against teams that have no shot of making the post season. When I boil it down it is simply, the Yankees lack of offense will be their undoing.
Saturday's game against the Red Sox was abysmal. "Gerrit Cole allowed a season-high seven earned runs on five hits, three walks, and three hit batsmen. It was a stunningly poor performance for Cole, who is projected as New York’s Game 1 starter in the postseason," wrote the The Athletic. But what is equally concerning is that the Yankees had no answer for the Red Sox's hitting.
"In the fifth inning, Boston continued pouring it on as Cole struggled. In a fitting moment, Rafael Devers faced Cole with the bases loaded. He hit a two-run single, and then two batters later, Yoshida added a two-run single of his own. Cole’s day ended after 4 1/3 innings pitched," reported The Athletic.
But the Yankees' inability to counter the Red Sox is worrisome. Yes, the grand slam was a good answer, an excellent answer to the Yankees 4-0 run deficit on Friday. But how do they let the Red Sox score 7 the next day with no recourse.
"I think we were paying attention to the standings a couple of weeks ago, and I think that's when we just kept going back and forth, kind of passing the lead," Judge said. "We all talked in this room and said, 'Hey, if we just focus on us and what we got to do, we'll be where we want to be.' So hopefully nobody's looking at the standings. I'm certainly not," reported ESPN. I get that, but you still have to win ball games, particularly these ball games coming down the stretch against teams like the Sox who's season is over mathematically.
It is very simple. Hit. And in particular situationally hit, which is something the Yankees don't do well. They rely on the home run and it is not working. Aaron Judge was shocked to hear that his home run on Friday night was the first in 16 games. "Was it 16 games? I didn't really know that," Judge said. "It's just another day. I really don't focus on hitting homers. I don't focus on any of that. I've got a job to do," reported ESPN. Yes, as we well know, it is the Yankees brass that emphasize the home run. But big blasts can't be the end all be all. There has to be more if the Yankees are going to support days like Friday and Saturday when starting pitching is not going to hold down their opponents.
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--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof
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