Yankees need to turn things around after ‘awful’ week

The New York Yankees had a bad week, dropping five of seven games against two rivals in the quest for the division crown: the Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox. They are now in fourth place, 6.5 games back of the Rays.

Last night’s 6-5 loss against the Sox was marred by a completely botched call by the home umpire, calling the third strike on Rougned Odor on a 3-2 breaking ball by Red Sox’s closer Matt Barnes that was, at least, four inches off the plate.

That killed the opportunity for the Yankees to load the bases in the bottom of the ninth with the game tied. Instead, the called third strike ended the inning, and Boston ended up prevailing in ten frames.

Two Yankees coaches were ejected after arguing with the crew: Phil Nevin and Carlos Mendoza.

“They were the better team tonight, but a lot of good things happened tonight,” said the Yankees’ Aaron Judge. “A lot of good at-bats, a lot of clutch at-bats late in the game, guys picking each other up. There’s a lot of positives out of this game, even though we didn’t get the win. It’s tough getting swept at home, especially against your rival, but a lot of guys showed a lot of heart.”

The Yankees showed heart, but they need much more than that

That hear Judge is referring to was represented by Nevin, Mendoza, and hitting coach Marcus Thames standing up for the Yankees and letting the umpire know he made a game-altering call, Gleyber Torres smacking a game-tying double in that same inning, and his own impressive run from first to score on Gleyber’s two-bagger.

But the Yankees need more than just heart right now. The have dropped 10 out of their last 13 contests and are starting to lose ground in the American League East.

“An awful week for us, culminating in the end of this homestand,” manager Aaron Boone told MLB.com. “We’ve got to get right. We’ve got to get better. And it starts now, on the road, as we head to Minnesota.”

Referring to the specific strike three called to Odor, Judge said: “We saw it a little different, of course. But we want balls off the plate, too, when our guys are on the mound. It’s just part of the game.”