The New York Yankees hoped to turn things around after a walk-off grand slam against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night, but they bounced back in the first game of a four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays with an absolute dud.
After acquiring Frankie Montas at the trade deadline, the Yankees expected he would provide a crisp No. 2 option behind Gerrit Cole. However, he’s been completely demolished in his first three starts wearing pinstripes.
In fact, he’s given up 14 runs in 14 innings to start his tenure with the Bombers, whereas Jordan Montgomery has given up one earned run in his last three starts for the St. Louis Cardinals.
It seems as if general manager Brian Cashman made an awful decision, trading away Montgomery for Harrison Bader, who is still sporting a walking boot as he recovers from plantar fasciitis. Unfortunately, the Yankees continue to learn valuable lessons after each loss, but Toronto provided a devastating blow, tallying nine runs on 13 hits and just six strikeouts.
The Yankees need offensive support, and now:
The Yankees can’t rely on their starting pitching to carry them through the playoffs, they desperately need their offense to step up and provide electrifying production. We’ve seen the Yankees go through streaks of unbelievable firepower, considering they still feature a +189 run differential this season. However, they now sit nine games above the Rays and Blue Jays in the AL East standings, cutting the deficit to single digits.
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One sliver of hope came from Oswaldo Cabrera, who looked sharp defensively at shortstop and produced two hits on four at-bats — a double to deep right-center and a single to deep right.
With Jameson Taillon on the mound for Friday’s game against Kevin Gausman, the Yanks need to show up and provide run support.
Gausman hosts a 3.16 ERA this season but gave up five earned runs on nine hits in 4.2 innings against the Cleveland Indians in his last start on August 14.
Gausman has had a few tumultuous outings over the past two months, so this matchup presents an opportunity for Aaron Boone and his crew to get back in the win column. Luckily, they are expected to get Giancarlo Stanton back next week, but he first needs to start a minor-league rehab assignment.