The New York Yankees‘ pitching fails again
After the Yankees’ loss to the Rays last night, they discovered that they had plummeted not only to the bottom of the East but had fallen to the last place in all of the American League. There are two reasons; one is that they do not have dependable pitching. If you are a starter and your name isn’t Gerrit Cole, you have not performed to your abilities.
On paper, the New York Yankees have a stellar starting pitcher staff. Cole, Corey Kluber, Jameson Taillon, Domingo German, and Jordan Montgomery, the Yankees’ second-best pitcher to date, and even he in his two starts have been good in one and bad in the other. In his first game, he shut out the Orioles, but he gave up four earned runs in his start against the Rays and only went five innings.
Meanwhile, the Yankees are burning their way through the bullpen. With proper pitching, a bullpen should be ready to relieve for two, three at the most innings in a game. So far this season, the Yankees have had to rely on the bullpen for four, five, six, and yes, seven innings. The consequence of this overuse is that if it continues, the bullpen that has been one of the brightest encouragements this season will eventually fall apart due to overuse. Last night the Yankees used an opener. Nick Nelson, in only one inning he gave up two earned runs and now has an ERA of 10.80 across four games.
Yankee hitting is awol
Last night against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Yankees could only muster up 3 hits in the game; that in itself is no big deal, but the fact that lack of hitting in so many games makes it a huge deal. Last night they were up against a mediocre pitcher and still couldn’t hit. They left no men in scoring position. To do that, you have to have a man on base, something the Yankees couldn’t do. The puzzling fact in all of this is that the Yankees have one of the most powerful lineups in baseball and this season is anything but.
The Yankees hitting problem will not last forever, but with every game lost early this season, they draw closer to doom at the end of the season. Last night Giancarlo Stanton drove in the only 2 runs of the game with a massive line-drive homer. That hit was one of only three in the 8-2 loss to the Rays.
Yankee fans are frustrated
As a sportswriter, it is getting to the point that I can have a stock article about the Yankees losing and change the names. Because I am life long New York Yankee fan, it’s becoming frustrating and depressing to write these articles. I hate to see the Yankees beat up on social media, but that is beginning to happen. The in-person fans are now getting into it. Last night, while the Yankees were batting fans, they began to throw baseballs out onto the field, halting play.
Fans are concerned with why the Yankees can’t play better against the Rays. For the past two seasons, the Yankees and Rays records are near identical in the win/loss columns. How the season goes is pretty much how these teams play against each other in head-to-head matchups. Fans know that the Yankees must win games against their nemesis, or they won’t be successful. In their last 21 matchups, the Yankees have lost 15 of those games. So far this season, the Yankees have only won one game out of four against them.
Tonight the Yankees will again face off against the Rays at Yankee Stadium. Tonight the Yankees’ Jordan Montgomery will have his hands full against the Ray’s ace Tyler Glasnow. Glasnow, in his last start, struck out 14 Rangers. He has a 1.54 ERA pitching at Yankee Stadium, and in his three starts this season, he carries a .046 ERA into tonight’s game. Montgomery had better be in top form, and the Yankee hitting has to be there, or the Yankees have no chance of a win.