When the rain came, it was a downpour at Citi Field.
Such is life for the Yankees these days.
Alas, Wednesday’s game was also delayed in the fifth inning by the worst storm the ballpark has seen in nearly 40 years. The rain was so hard you couldn’t see the outfield fence from the press box, and within minutes a sixth giant lake had formed down the left field line, with the rain pounding on the seats and concrete making a loud, audible noise.
Now, back to the current sinking team: the Yankees are sinking in so many areas that it’s hard to pick the worst one.
Of course, things change quickly in a long season. Think back to June 11, when the Yankees thumped the Royals 10-1, still had the best record in the major leagues, and with Gerrit Cole on the brink of returning, seemed poised to go even further. The Mets fell to 28-37 after losing their home opener to the underdog Marlins, but that moment felt like a declaration that their season had no “on” switch.
In the two weeks since, the Mets have posted a major league best record of 11-2. On Wednesday, they won 12-2 at the Subway, achieving their second straight victory, and their winning percentage has risen to .500 (39-39) for the first time since losing 18-18 on May 7. The Yankees, after two days of being “horrible” at Citi Field, in the words of manager Aaron Boone, still hold the third-best record in the major leagues and lead the AL East. But the atmosphere in New York baseball has completely changed.
Now, the Yankees have one special player left in Aaron Judge. The Yankees scored nine runs in the NBA finals, and he had seven RBIs. His two-run homer scored the Yankees’ run on Wednesday, giving him 30 home runs and a slugging percentage of .712. No eligible hitter has batted over .700 since Barry Bonds in 2004.
But the world around him is falling apart. After losing just three of their first 22 series, the Yankees have now lost four in a row. They gave up 21 runs in two games against the Mets and are 2-8 with a horrific 7.24 ERA in their last 10 games. For most of the season, their starting pitchers have been strong, covering innings and making up for questionable pitching. But now, both teams are struggling.
Luis Gil is the center of the slump. He missed most of the past two seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but he maintains he has the arm strength to pitch regularly. Boone said the rookie right-hander lost his form and his best fastball. But here’s what we do know: In his past two starts against the Orioles and Mets, Gil went from call to coal in the Yankees’ stocking. Even at his best this year, Gil won with power over precision, and that special kick that overwhelmed hitters is now even more advanced…
Prior to his start against the Orioles, Gill was striking out batters on 13.7% of his pitches, one of the best in the major leagues, but that has dropped to 8.2% in his last two games. Prior to his last two starts, Gill had 11 hits in 155 at-bats (.096 batting average) with two strikes, but in his last two games he has gone 4 hits in 10 at-bats (.400 batting average), with four walks and one hit by pitch.
Francisco Lindor doubled as the leadoff hitter in the top of the third to put the team ahead by three runs on an 0-2 pitch, and Brandon Nimmo walked after being down 1-2. Two walks with a full count in the fifth brought out Gill, bringing in a worrying relief pitcher. Caleb Ferguson allowed an RBI double to the only batter he faced before a rainout that lasted 1 hour, 27 minutes, and Yoendris Gomez took the mound for the big loss.
There’s not much mobility if Gill needs rest. Clark Schmidt and Cody Poteet are far from returning. Clayton Beater is injured in Triple-A, Will Warren has a 6.53 ERA in Triple-A and Gomez, Triple-A’s best starter, will likely return to Triple-A after giving up five runs in two innings.
And the offense hasn’t taken the pressure off the starters. The Yankees failed to score in two innings with the bases loaded and no outs on Tuesday and with the bases loaded and one out on Wednesday, ending with an Alex Verdugo double play on Wednesday, and then gave up another hit in the fourth before going 0-for-22 with two singles in garbage time. Boone benched Gleyber Torres, which was essentially 60% to give the struggling second baseman a mental break and 40% to send a message to a player whose attention and energy tend to be easily distracted. Will Torres get the message that he’s a pedigree hitter when the Yankees are desperate for someone other than Judge and Juan Soto?
“The last two weeks have been bad for us,” Boone acknowledged, “but that’s part of it. We knew adversity was coming. We’re just hitting a little bit of adversity right now. We have all the pieces in place. It identified some areas we need to improve on. We need to move forward, but I’m confident we can.”
The Yankees have been doing well this year and suddenly they are looking for some signs of victory.
