The 27-time world champion Yankees are not usually a team that scores moral victories, and they usually shouldn’t be judged based on averages.
But these are not normal times in the Bronx.
Sure, the Yankees lost 3-0 to the rival Red Sox on Sunday night, again in front of a nearly sold-out Yankee Stadium and a national television audience — their 16th loss of 22 games — but at least the 45,250 fans who attended applauded for the second straight game.
(Jansen passed Kenley Rodd on the career saves list, but the Yankees were said to have no interest a few weeks ago when Boston was thought to be on the market. Now, like the Yankees, they’re in the wild-card position.) In any case, prior to that, fans were cheering a near-total dominance performance from Yankees’ young starting pitcher, Luis Gil.
After the game, manager Aaron Boone said of Gill’s game, “It was very encouraging at a tough end to a tough series.”
The Yankees’ losing series against Boston marked the start of this unexpected and unfortunate streak, and there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding them.
Most of the rest of the starting rotation, which has posted an MLB-worst 7.37 ERA over the past 19 games, is still trending downward.
The bullpen, which posted a 5.17 ERA during the same period, still doesn’t seem perfect.
The lineup still seems too top-heavy and could tip over.
Still, the final two games were better: sudden sensation Ben Rice’s three-home run outing on Saturday was a sheer joy for New York, marking the first time a Yankees rookie has done so (which is great, of course, since the sport’s marquee team has had a ton of great rookies).
Rice, a Boston native and Dartmouth College graduate who was picked by Yankees scouts in the 12th round after playing pickup games in Northborough and Duxbury, Massachusetts, while the Ivy League schedule was canceled for the second straight year because of the coronavirus pandemic, has a story that is nothing short of miraculous. They may need more.
Rice’s performance in Saturday’s 14-4 win dazzled the crowd, but Gill’s night may have been even more meaningful. After being the best pitcher in baseball through the first eight weeks, Gill’s ERA rose from 1.82 to 3.41 and he missed out on a spot on the All-Star team. But he returned to action on Sunday.
Yankees fans were thrilled — and relieved — to see Gill back to the form that made him such a sensation in April and May. Gill’s outing would have been a shutout had not the Yankees’ perfect killer, Rafael Devers, hit the first of two solo home runs in the seventh inning.
Gill, who was a source of pride for his first 12 starts but mostly a source of frustration for his next four, was described as a “work in progress” by manager Aaron Boone before the game.
Well, this is definitely a real step forward.
Gill struck out nine, walked none and allowed just four hits in 6 2/3 innings. Unfortunately, Red Sox starter Cutter Crawford outplayed him, holding him scoreless through seven innings. That’s been the story of the past three-plus weeks.
Gill hit the ball at 99 mph at least six times, eliciting a victory-hungry crowd that gave the Yankees their first series win in nearly a month, the last coming against a rising, in-form team, the wide-eyed Royals.
That hit could have been much more, but the Yankees’ lineup couldn’t do much against Crawford. Their best hope came in the seventh inning when Juan Soto smashed a double to right-center field, but Judge struck out, Alex Verdugo grounded out and Anthony Volpe hit a sharp liner to left field that kept Soto from reaching base.
“It’s never fun to be like this, but it’s part of the game,” Soto said. “I think we have everything we need, we just have to stay positive and keep trying.”
Gill was phenomenal earlier this year, but his ERA went up a half-point at one point, forcing the Yankees to temper their expectations. They believe in Gill’s talent, but his performance gives them reason to wonder if his time is up. Not surprisingly, they view Gill as a diamond in the rough.
“[Gil] “He’s a very raw pitcher in his baseball life and career,” Boone said.
The Yankees currently need to rely on younger players with many of their veteran players struggling, underperforming or simply not producing.
Marcus Stroman’s ERA has increased nearly a full percentage point over his past few starts, from 2.60 to 3.58.
Carlos Rodon’s score increased by 1.5 points, from 2.93 to 4.45.
Soto and Judge also still aren’t getting enough help.
DJ LeMahieu’s OPS was just above .500 thanks to some rare long hits.
Gleyber Torres has looked out of sorts all year after missing two straight games with groin tightness.
Volpe has been great defensively, but he has looked a lot like 2023 Volpe at the plate recently.
Gill appears to have fixed the source of the problem, but there is not enough space here to list and explain all the other issues.
