For the 13th time in their last 17 games, the Yankees were losers on Tuesday night, falling to the Rays at Tropicana Field (TB 6, NY 4). And for the second straight night, the Yankees struck out 17 times. They are the first team in American League history to strike out 17 times in back-to-back games, and the 34 strikeouts are a new franchise record for a two-game span.
“That’s a lot of strikeouts,” Cody Bellinger, who went 1 for 4 with two strikeouts Tuesday, reported after the game (via MLB.com). “I knew we had 17 yesterday. I didn’t feel like we had that many today. But the Rays, they’ve notoriously got really good arms.”
The strikeout issue is coming to a head, but it is not new. During this 4-13 skid, the Yankees have struck out 10-plus times in 12 of the 17 games. They also haven’t walked often or hit as many home runs as they usually do. It is no surprise then that New York’s offense has been the worst in baseball (by a lot) since the 4-13 stretch started on June 20:
| Yankees | Next worst team | |
|---|---|---|
|
Runs per game |
2.94 |
Blue Jays (3.63) |
|
Batting average |
.181 |
Mariners (.217) |
|
On-base percentage |
.237 |
Blue Jays (.273) |
|
Slugging percentage |
.318 |
Mariners (.330) |
|
Strikeout rate |
30.9% |
Guardians (26.6%) |
“I’m confident in our approach,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone reported Tuesday (via MLB.com). “But we’ve got to get some guys on track right now. We’ve got some really good players that are going through a tough time right now. Part of our approach is being a tough out and being situational. We’ve got to do a better job of that right now.”
Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are injured, and other than Ben Rice, who has four homers in the last seven games, just about every Yankee is slumping. Bellinger is 8 for 66 (.121) in his last 18 games. Paul Goldschmidt struck out four times Tuesday and is in an 0 for 30 rut. Bottom of the lineup hitters like Ryan McMahon and Austin Wells haven’t hit at any point this season, really.
Add in a rotation that has hit a rough patch (Will Warren allowed six runs in four innings Tuesday), a perpetually shaky bullpen, and the fact that the Yankees do not take care of the baseball, and you have a recipe for a 4-13 skid. The Yankees are operating with zero margin of error right now and the strikeouts are only exacerbating things.
“We’ve got some guys clearly going through it right now, and in a little bit of a funk,” Boone reported (via MLB.com). “They’re a little bit in-between, coupled with we’re facing good pitching. But at the end of the day, we’ve got to find a way offensively, especially the times when it’s challenging.”
Tuesday’s loss dropped the Yankees to 50-41 and four games behind the Rays in the AL East. They are in the top wild-card spot and 5 ½ games up on a postseason berth.
