The situation could get worse at any time.
The Yankees were one strike away from securing the win they needed, but instead fell to yet another miserable losing streak.
After Clay Holmes gave up a two-run lead with two outs in the top of the ninth, Tommy Kahnle gave up a two-run homer in the top of the 10th and the Yankees lost their fourth straight game, losing 5-3 to the Red Sox on Friday night in the Bronx.
On a rain-interrupted, muggy stadium night, the Yankees came close to an ugly victory.
They committed two defensive errors, one costly base-running mistake and only had five hits going into the ninth inning, all singles.
Holmes got two outs, but then former Mets player Dominic Smith pinch-hit for the lead and singled to extend the game.
Then Masataka Yoshida came on, threw eight pitches and silenced the sellout crowd of 47,158 with a game-tying, two-run home run to right field.
Then Sedan Raffaella hit a two-run homer off Kahnle as leadoff hitter in the top of the 10th.
The Yankees (54-36) brought on their core pitcher in the bottom of the 10th inning to face Kenley Jansen.
Juan Soto singled to get on base and send runners to the corners before Jansen got Aaron Judge and Alex Verdugo popped out on two pitches.
Oswaldo Cabrera, who was playing in place of Gleyber Torres (right groin strain), grounded out to end the game.
Nestor Cortez pitched well, allowing just one run over six innings, but his opponent Tanner Hawk lost control during a 38-minute rain stop.
The Yankees used this to their advantage, scoring three runs on an error, a walk and a grounder with the bases loaded in the fourth inning and appearing to have enough offensive power.
Luke Weaver then pitched two scoreless innings and avoided a run in the eighth, including two errors (one of his own), to help the Tigers maintain a 3-1 lead.
Still, the night ended badly for the Yankees.
It was just three weeks ago that the Yankees faced the Red Sox (48-39) in Boston and won the series opener on Friday night before going on a 4-13 losing streak into this Friday night.
The recent rivalry has given the Yankees a chance to snap out of their slump, but it’s been a disastrous start for the Yankees.
After Cortes finished pitching three easy innings, the sky opened up.
By the time he took the mound in the top of the fourth inning, nearly 45 minutes had passed since he last pitched.
The Yankees gave up one run during a rain stop in the bottom of the third inning.
Ben Rice hit a sharp grounder to first base, which Romy Gonzalez caught and threw to second, resulting in a double play with one out and runners on each corner.
However, DJ LeMahieu couldn’t get a rundown between first and second base, and Anthony Volpe didn’t rush home, so Raffaella tagged LeMahieu out just before Volpe reached home, ending the inning in brutal fashion.
After the stoppage, Hack lost control and the Yankees were able to take advantage in the fourth inning.
Hawk started the inning by walking Soto and Judge to get the first out.
Torres then loaded the bases with an infield single, but paid the price by leaving the game with right groin tightness.
Austin Wells, who had two of the Yankees’ five hits, came up next to bat but hit a grounder to second base for what looked like a double play, drawing groans from the crowd.
However, Emmanuel Valdez’s throw to second base went wide, putting all runners on base and giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead.
Volpe then walked to add another run, but Trent Grisham singled on a grounder to make the score 3-0.
Gonzalez gave up a solo home run to Cortes in the fifth inning, but he struck out eight and walked one, allowing only those runs on the night.
