HAVE THE YANKEES MET THEIR MATCH?

Going into this season, it was safe to assume that the Yankees' biggest issue was going to be COVID-19. It turns out that their biggest issue is actually the Tampa Bay Rays. After this series against the Rays, the Yankees are 1-6 against the team, making them the team's new nemesis. They have also been knocked off their first-place perch, falling half a game back from the Rays.

Not only did the series against the Rays take our number one spot, but it also took some of our players due to injuries. Zack Britton was placed on the IL due to a strained left hamstring and was joined by Gleyber Torres who also had tightness in his left hamstring. Worst of all, James Paxton is out with left elbow and arm discomfort. 

“Adversity’s coming our way, whether we like it or not,” Aaron Boone said. “That’s part of this game. That’s part of being a major league athlete and player, and I don’t care how great of a season we have and we expect to have a great season and hopefully finish with a championship.“But adversity, we know, is inevitable. It’s going to come in different ways, unexpected ways, and certainly, in 2020 it’s been a lot of unexpected ways. I do feel like we’re uniquely equipped to handle it and deal with it, and that’ll be the expectation as we grind through a tough spell here with some injuries and a tough series.”

The battle is not even close to being over as the Yankees have three more series to play against the Rays. They might have more luck against their new nemesis if Aaron Judge, DJ LeMahieu, and Giancarlo Stanton can get healthy for the next time up. Not going to lie, this feels like a bad repeat of what happened to our players last season, and I'm not the only one who thinks that.

“It’s crazy it’s happening again,” Luke Voit said. “But you know what? We’re going to fight through it.”

Now, the Yankees' next game against the Mets has been postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests from their opponents. Meaning that there might not be any New York games to watch this weekend. However, the Yankees could benefit from a few days off to hopefully recover some injured players as well as reset mentally. 

Let's hope they can because this is starting to feel a lot like the last season when we lost so many players. The losses against the Rays are not helping morale either. It is time for the Yankees' to turn this adversity around and come out stronger!

--Missy O'Rourke

BYB Contributor

Twitter: @missy_orourke