The Yankees needed extra innings at home to beat the team at the bottom of the AL East last Sunday, so they needed a deciding game — and then some — to beat the Blue Jays, 4-3, in the 10th inning to take the season series against arguably the most disappointing team in the major leagues, 7-6.
All of this highlights two problems plaguing the Yankees this season: They haven’t been particularly good in the AL East or in the Bronx. Can they still win the division? Of course they can. They’ve been good on the road and out of the division, and were neck and neck with the Orioles for the AL East lead. But it’s a much tougher road to get there (no pun intended).
To perform mediocrely in those areas and still earn a first-round playoff exemption and home-field advantage (if there is home field advantage) would go against their history of being unable to upset what is going on in the 10451 zip code area.
The Yankees lost two of three games at home to the Angels, who had the third-worst record in the AL, following a series with the Blue Jays, who had the fourth-worst record in the AL. This only reinforces that this is “the house that truth built” in 2024. Facts are facts, and the Yankees simply can’t win in their own stadium in the way that they often did in seasons when they were elite.
Overall, their record at Yankee Stadium going into Saturday’s game was 30-26, but that was the 15th-best home record in the major leagues. What’s even more disturbing is that in their past eight games in the Bronx, the Yankees were 1-6-1 and 1-draw for an overall record of 9-18 during that stretch. That’s their worst 27-game home record since going 9-18 in 1992, the last time the Yankees finished under .500 in a season (the last time they finished under .500 at home was 1991).
The Yankees’ winning percentage at home this year was .536 through Friday, the third-worst in the Wild Card era (since 1995). They were worse than that, .531 in 2013 and .519 last season, both years they missed the postseason.
It’s odd to see this version of the Yankees struggling in the short-right porch, given that the Yankees roster has returned to the left-handed balance it has sorely lacked in recent years. The Yankees had faced lefties 2,124 times at bat through Saturday, more than in any season since 2018, and their combined OPS by left-handed hitters at home was their highest since 2019.
But it’s a familiar story for the 2024 Yankees. Aaron Judge and Juan Soto teamed up for a 1.036 OPS at home, while the others hit .669, with Alex Verdugo (.615), Gleyber Torres (.604) and DJ LeMahieu (.550) being particularly bad at home. Soto’s home OPS was 1.007 in 239 plate appearances, while the Yankees’ other lefties hit .671 in 738 plate appearances.
Meanwhile, in their past eight series against the Bronx, the Yankees have been outscored in home runs, 49-22, and their ERA has soared to 4.97 through 27 games.
And remember, the Yankees do in fact have a winning record at home. They’re 22-23 and are unwinning in the AL East. And the team with the best record in the AL East has won the division in the last seven consecutive seasons and 11 of the last 12. The only difference is that in 2017, the Red Sox won the division with a 41-35 record and the Yankees were in the wild card despite being 44-32. Maybe a strong division should have revealed the Yankees’ mettle, since they made it to Game 7 of the AL Championship Series.
Baltimore just lost two of three games to Toronto but still sits at 24-12 in the division. The Red Sox were next at 14-13. Don’t discount Boston’s lack of games in the division, because 13 of their remaining 33 games are against the two teams they sold the most at the trade deadline, Tampa Bay and Toronto, who are less talented than most of the teams the Yankees faced.
The Yankees finished their season series against Tampa Bay and Toronto with 7-6 records against both teams, 4-5 against Boston and 4-6 against Baltimore.
The Yankees have lost the AL East five times in the past 20 years, missing the playoffs four of those times, but have won the division eight times in the past 20 seasons, finishing as the best in the division seven of those times.
The gap between Judge and Soto and the other four teams in the AL East (1.144) and the rest of the team (.694) is again stark, especially Verdugo’s .492 ERA. Nestor Cortes, Carlos Rodon and Marcus Stroman have a combined 6.31 ERA in 19 starts in the division. Clay Holmes has four of his MLB-high nine save blowns in the AL East with a 5.91 ERA.
The Yankees overcame their home and division problems to start the weekend tied with the Orioles for first place in the AL East, but as long as that continues, it will be difficult for the Yankees to finish the season in first place in the division. The Yankees entered Saturday’s doubleheader against the Rangers with 25 home games and just seven in the AL East.
However, all seven games between the Red Sox and Orioles will be played in the final two weeks of the season, and at Yankee Stadium.
