By Andy Singer
June 28th, 2024
The Big Story
The Yankees have now lost 4 in a row and 8 of their last 10 games. The team is firmly in the midst of a freefall. Carlos Rodon was again totally ineffective in his first 2 innings, and the nicest thing you can say is that at least he saved the bullpen by righting the ship over his next 3 innings. The Yankee offense, potent through the season's two and a half months was merely offensive, with the only whiff of impact coming from a Trent Grisham 2-run homer in the 5th inning. The Yankees managed just 2 other hits the entire game, though Soto, Wells, Rice, and Verdugo at least got on-base with walks.
There's simply no way to sugarcoat it: the Yankees are playing awful baseball right now. Any of the good vibes the first 65-70 games of the season produced have been trampled by the team's totally uninspired play over the last two weeks. The team miraculously remains tied for first place in the AL East as the Orioles have stumbled of late as well, but if the Yankees keep playing like they did against the Jays last night, they'll have a fight on their hands...for third place with the Red Sox.
Quick Stats
Rodon (L): 5 IP, 10 H, 8 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 2 HR
Berrios (W): 7 IP, 2H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, 1 HR
Springer: 3-3, 2 HR, 6 RBI
Judge: 0-4, 2 K
Soto: 0-3, 2 K, 1 BB
Grisham: 1-3, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Notable Performances
Plenty on the Jays, but not much to write home about for the Yanks. Grisham homered in the 5th, but it felt like the Yankees' balloon had popped by that point.
Better To Forget
That the Yankees "played" baseball last night. There was nothing redeeming about last night's loss.
My Take
You will all note that I am eschewing my normal game recap format, in which I usually take a deeper dive into the mechanics and statistics from the previous game. There's no point to that here. This game was worth ranting about, and we don't need to mar that with rationality. I am not one for demonstrative outbursts, but if I were managing this team, the clubhouse would look...disheveled after I was done. There was very little good to take away from last night's drubbing. The Yankee bats flailed helplessly at the plate for most of the night. Sure, there were some just misses; multiple balls were sent to the warning track, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
Once again, Rodon was awful. If I were in the mood to be kind, I'd give him credit for pivoting from his disastrous first two innings to right the ship. He did ultimately save the bullpen with his performance over his final 3 innings. I'm not absolving Rodon. He is being paid like an ace, and he needs to pitch like it. He knows that hitters are teeing off on his fastball, which allows them to lay off the slider. So what was the game plan? Living and dying by the four-seamer. It's not an issue of stuff; his stuff was sharp last night. It's plain old stubbornness. Rodon began the year with a new cutter that was really interesting. I noted that the right way to use it was to have the cutter replace more four-seam fastballs as opposed to sliders as was Rodon's early season pattern. Rodon had largely abandoned the pitch through his recent struggles, prior to the third inning last night. Lo and behold, he started mixing and matching the four-seam and cutter in similar locations, and all of his other stuff played up because of it.
If we were to see the glass as half-full, we'd say that Rodon found something to build on for a future start. My glass half-empty interpretation: why was Rodon so flat-footed to shift his game plan? We've seen Rodon argue with coaches on the bench, so I have a hard time believing that Rodon's over-reliance on the four-seamer is the fault of the coaching staff. He needs to get right. Now.
Meanwhile, the offense is pathetic. The team is stressed, and it shows. Wells drew a beautiful walk in his first at-bat. In his next at-bat, rather than work the count, he swung at the first pitch and drilled it into the ground for a 1-pitch out. How do you do that?!?!? That's basic hitting fundamentals 101. I even got annoyed with Soto last night. Discussing balls and strikes with the umpire in every at-bat is cute when you're hitting like Ted Williams. When you're hitting like Freddy Williams, it's annoying.
It's up to Boone to rally his guys and get them back on track before this season slips away. Particularly after last night, I'm not very optimistic he can do that. I still believe in this team's talent, but at some point, they need to produce.
Looking To Tomorrow
The Yanks play their second game against the Jays in Toronto tonight at 7:07 PM. Marcus Stroman takes on Yusei Kikuchi, who the Yanks generally struggle against.
