
The New York Yankees fell in the first game of a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday evening. With Gerrit Cole on the mound, most would’ve expected a better outing. Cole lasted five innings, throwing 103 pitches and allowing four earned runs. While he did log seven strikeouts, he gave up two-homer and eight hits, further damaging his ERA. His last outing against the Atlanta Braves was also quite tumultuous, as he gave five runs over five innings.
This minor cold streak that Gary is on has not helped the Yankees one bit during their last two weeks’ worth of games. Despite coming off three consecutive wins against the Mets over the weekend, we had previously gone on a seven-game losing streak.
Good news and bad news for the New York Yankees:
GOOD NEWS:
The good news for the Yankees boils down to several offensive players and one young relief pitcher. DJ LeMahieu had two hits on the night, scoring one run. Like Voit smashed a two-run homer in the eighth inning to draw the Yankees within two. However, ten strikeouts hurt the Bombers and their attempt to make a comeback.
Nonetheless, young pitcher Miguel Yajure made his MLB debut, pitching three innings and allowing zero hits. While he did walk three batters, he struck out two and showed impressive command with his breaking ball. With the bullpen struggling in recent days, his emergence was a motivating sign, especially with Deivi GarcÃa dominating the Mets over the weekend in a starting role.
BAD NEWS:
The bad news comes down to Cole’s struggles lately and the lack of offensive production. Two consecutive poor outings from Cole have been problematic, but luckily the remainder of the Yankee starters have risen to the occasion.
Offensively, Gary Sanchez went another night hitless, and Mike Tauchman failed to get on base. Brett Gardner continues to struggle, hosting a .171 batting average.
The more surprising news comes in the form of Luke Voit and a potential foot injury. Voit has reportedly been dealing with foot issues, according to manager Aaron Boone. It seems as if the Yankees’ first baseman is the only player capable of battling through an injury and still producing.