The New York Yankees dropped the series finale on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Rays. Their struggles are ongoing, and they are ugly enough that some fans are asking for manager Aaron Boone’s dismissal.
Defensive miscues and a curious decision to leave Yankees’ ace Gerrit Cole to start the seventh after he already had 98 pitches contributed in the loss, but once again, the offense (or lack thereof) was the main reason the Bombers dropped yet another game.
“Good things are on the horizon, but I don’t have the magic wand,” Cole told the Yankees’ official site. “I don’t know when it’s going to turn. Right now when you’re going through it, you’ve just got to keep grinding and play hard baseball.”
“We’re frustrated,†DJ LeMahieu said. “They (Tampa) have good pitching, but I feel like we have a better lineup than we showed this series, and we’ve showed this year so far. No one’s going to feel sorry for us; no one’s going to throw softer or throw easier for us. We’ve got to find it within ourselves to continue to get better and play the way we’re capable of.â€
The Yankees still have the worst record in the AL
The 5-10 Yankees have the worst record in the American League. People in the organization have confidence that the turnaround will start soon, but they are dropping costly games.
Boone said the better: “We’re getting punched in the mouth right now,†he said. “We’ve got to swing the bats better, period. We’ve got our ace on the mound today and just couldn’t mount enough.â€
The last place Yankees will have a series against the Atlanta Braves to start the week. The season is still extremely early, but pressure is starting to build up as the team gets into a bigger hole with each passing day.