The New York Yankees were able to salvage the series against the Tampa Bay Rays with a 9-1 victory on an unusual Monday finale to open the second half. While they were inconsistent offensively, they did show signs of life, and they were hoping that Monday’s game would be the start of a run for them after weeks of agonizing struggles. With Luis Gil going up against Jose Quintana, the Yankees had the pitching advantage on paper, but it would be the Mets who came out on top in what ended up becoming a battle of the bullpens.
With awful performances with RISP and a crucial two-run home run from Jeff McNeil, the Yankees would ensure the season series loss to the Mets and ensure they cannot win this two-game set with their 3-2 loss.
Offense Can’t Come Through, Yankees Drop Another Close Contest
The Yankees had chances early and often to cash in, collecting 14 bases in this contest, and yet still they couldn’t get more than two runs on the board. It was a promising start for the Yankees, who saw rookie sensation Luis Gil sparkle in the first few innings and even got an early lead thanks to a Gleyber Torres solo homer. It was all downhill from there, as while Luis Gil managed to work out of a bases-loaded jam with just one run allowed to keep the game tied, the offense couldn’t muster a single big hit.
Not cashing in was the theme of the evening for the Bronx Bombers, who had chance after chance to get a big hit but simply could not. It’s a consistent theme for this team, one that has become their identity in recent weeks. Sure, J.D. Davis won’t be on the roster when Giancarlo Stanton is back from the IL, but does that change the fact that DJ LeMahieu is one of the worst everyday regulars in the sport? They need to acquire someone now, as the teams behind them in the Wild Card are slowly creeping up on them.
This has been a disaster stretch for the Yankees, who were two errors away from sweeping the Orioles and had ample opportunities to take the series against Tampa Bay but simply couldn’t break through. This team is not close to turning the corner. They are not close to finding it. They are as far away today as they were three weeks ago from getting back on course and looking like title contenders.
See this moment right here? That’s an emotional Luke Weaver getting a huge strikeout to end a potential threat from the Mets in the eighth inning, a strikeout that kept this team in the game. The offense still couldn’t find anything against a bullpen that has blown lead after lead over the course of the season. It’s a problem. They’re a problem. I don’t have words to describe this team beyond being a group of players who got hot the same way the 2022 team did and cooled off the same way the 2022 team did.
Michael Tonkin surrendering a two-run blast to Jeff McNeil is a rare blunder by him, but not a rare sight for the Yankees’ pitching staff as a whole, who have given up far too many longballs over the last couple of months. We’re still seeing the same offense that refuses to do damage on contact, as they only had two (2) extra-base hits in the entire game, both of them being run-scoring events with Torres’ HR and Alex Verdugo’s RBI double to the left-center gap.
The Yankees are lost right now. Very lost. We’ll see if they can find it soon.