After winning 13 straight games, the New York Yankees find themselves on the other end of the spectrum. They have dropped four consecutive contests, two against the Oakland Athletics and two against the Los Angeles Angels.
Jameson Taillon was, in two at-bats (one in the fourth and one in the fifth) one strike away from getting out of jams on Tuesday, but instead, allowed a three run homer to Jared Walsh and a two-run single by Phil Gosselin. He ended up failing to complete five frames and earned his first loss since May.
The Yankees’ offense did itself no favors, hitting for five (!) double plays, or one more than they hit on during their 13-game winning streak.
“It’s never easy coming out west, especially this late in the year,†Anthony Rizzo said to MLB.com. “Our pitching has been pretty solid; we just haven’t scored enough runs. I think we just stay the course and continue to build a belief that we’re not out of any game.â€
The Yankees are now way behind in the AL East
The Yankees are now eight games behind the division-leading Tampa Bay Rays. “Losing four in a row is very frustrating; just unacceptable,†outfielder Brett Gardner said. “We’ve been playing really good baseball for a while now. Anytime you win that many games in a row, you’re playing well and having some things going your way. These last few days, we’ve been in the games and had opportunities to change the outcome. We just haven’t been able to.â€
Among the highlights for the Yankees was a long home run by Gary Sanchez, his first in his last 20 games.
“I thought we were having a lot of really good at-bats all night,†Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone said. “We had our chances. Tonight was a night that we felt like, man, we should have really broken it open.â€