It all took a turn when Jason Dominguez tackled Jazz Chisholm Jr. just after the game wrapped up.
It was quite the rough day for the Yankees. Their performance was almost comically bad, reminiscent of something from Benny Hill’s skits.
For the first time in their history, the Yankees managed to record just three hits across four consecutive games. Their lackluster offense was unable to compensate, leading to a 7-3 defeat against the Tigers. This marked their fifth straight loss and eighth in ten games.
Injuries might explain some of the struggles better than the team’s recent blackout. However, the recurring defensive issues can’t solely be blamed on backup players from Triple-A.
“That was bad,” Cody Bellinger admitted. Dropping pitches and going 0-for-4 made things worse. “I’m not sugarcoating it,” he said.
It wasn’t just the defense at fault. The offense struggled to hit anything against Casey Mize until Amed Rosario finally hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning, giving the 40,506 fans a brief moment to cheer. But overall, the crowd saw many reasons to boo as the Yankees (48-36) allowed five more earned runs, totaling 14 in their past five games.
Ryan Weathers had the shortest start of the Yankees’ season, giving up five runs (two earned) on seven hits and one walk in just one-third of an inning. His early exit was largely due to the shaky defense, including Austin Wells’ passed balls.
“We allowed a lot of hits in quick succession,” Weathers said, reflecting on his inability to strike out two batters. “The bleeding just wouldn’t stop.”
It’s difficult to defend him. Maybe things might’ve turned out differently if Anthony Volpe had handled Spencer Torkelson’s grounder properly.
Or had third baseman Jose Caballero successfully thrown to Paul Goldschmidt in the second inning, they could have had two outs instead of allowing a sacrifice fly from Dillon Dingler.
After two singles, a walk, and three runs later, Weathers was out, and the bullpen saga began.
An exceptionally rough fourth inning saw Bellinger drop a fly ball, and both Chisholm and Dominguez collide while chasing another. Chisholm ended up hitting Dominguez’s elbow and had to leave the game due to concussion protocol.
“Our defense was generally good but just didn’t execute the plays,” said manager Aaron Boone. “The misplays mainly came from our dependable players.”
The manager seems puzzled by the offense, which managed only one hit against Mize – a lead-off double from Spencer Jones, who remained at second base for the inning. They haven’t had more than three hits in a game since the season opener in Boston.
With Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Trent Grisham, and Ryan McMahon either absent or just expected to return soon, there’s been no one to turn to for help.
Ben Rice is struggling, going 0-for-18 in his last five games. Bellinger, too, seems stuck, managing just two hits over his last 27 at-bats. Goldschmidt isn’t faring any better, hitting 0-for-12.
“We clearly need to improve,” Boone stated. “We’ve faced some tough pitching lately, but we need to apply more pressure on opposing teams.”
Some players downplayed any sense of additional pressure due to injuries. Yet the truth is, both offense and defense are experiencing a timing slump right now.
“When you’re not swinging the bat well, you have to focus even more on defense, and we’re not doing a good enough job there,” Boone observed.
