This has been a bad week for the Yankees.
Theyve lost Aaron Judge, DJ LeMahieu and Zack Britton to the injured list within the previous week, dropped 5 straight games to the Rays– including Thursdays 10-5 defeat to conclude a three-game sweep in your home– and fallen out of first place in the AL East.
As if that wasnt enough, star shortstop Gleyber Torres left Thursdays video game in the third inning with left hamstring tightness and starting pitcher James Paxton faltered in the 5th frame with pain in his forearm and elbow. It is unidentified how much time, if any, the 2 will miss out on.
What transpired Thursday was a summation of all that has actually gone wrong for the Yankees over the last 2 weeks– throughout which they also lost three of four in Tampa and put Giancarlo Stanton on the injured list– and a precursor of how easily things can fall apart for a World Series favorite in a 60-game season.
Of course, things might be far worse for New York than they are now. In between the 2 series versus the Rays, the Yankees beat the Braves two times and took all 3 games against the Red Sox in the Bronx. Judge is anticipated to be activated from the hurt list as quickly as Saturday. Gary Sánchez is coming out of his rough offending funk to begin the season and is playing far better defense. Luke Voit has a 10-game striking streak and a four-game house run streak, and hes batting.405 with six house runs throughout that period.
But the Yankees wont have to fret about Boston or Atlanta to advance to their first World Series given that 2009. If it wasnt currently, its clear now that their most significant danger this season is Tampa Bay. The Rays have the pitching to suppress the New York bats, especially if the Yankees are without a third of their starting lineup due to injury, and they have the depth on offense to pester the Yankees rotation and bullpen if they dont have their best things and/or are not at full strength.
” Its definitely a little discouraging to get completely beaten like that,” stated reducer Adam Ottavino, who allowed 3 of the five runs in the Tampa sixth. All 4 of the runs credited Ottavino this year have actually come in the 2 2/3 innings (three video games) hes pitched against the Rays. They also are the only team to score earned runs off Britton, who leads the league with 8 saves. (He quit an unearned go to the Red Sox Sunday night.).
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Its not just the Yankees, either. Per Stats LLC, the Rays are the very first group in 30 years to sweep series of three-plus video games at Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium on the exact same road journey.
” We have a lot of difficulties ahead of us, but you dont have lots of road journeys like we just had,” said manager Kevin Cash..
That next difficulty comes this weekend with a four-game series versus the Blue Jays at Tropicana Field. Toronto is riding a five-game winning streak of its own after sweeping the Orioles and then taking both games of Thursdays doubleheader versus the Phillies. Might a 3rd group be getting in the AL East department race?
The season is not yet halfway through, and the Yankees stay the most skilled team in the American League, if not in all of baseball. They have 3 more games versus the Rays, in the house, starting a week from Monday. In the meantime, they have two weekend series versus the Mets– presuming the Subway Series can go on following a pair of favorable COVID-19 tests in the Mets organization– and another two-game set versus Atlanta.
The Yankees are 15-3 versus all non-Tampa teams. They are in no danger of missing the postseason, especially not in this years broadened 16-team format.
However its insufficient for the Yankees simply to make it to October. With the signing of Gerrit Cole, a bullpen stocked 4 closers deep and a lineup of clean-up players, they are a group built to win the World Series. If they dont, it will not be because of tight hamstrings, shoulder tiredness or the Houston Astros.
No, it will be due to the fact that of the Rays.
Quick Hits:.
– Dont pack the bases versus the Padres. Eric Hosmer ripped a grand slam in the fifth inning Thursday against the Rangers, San Diegos 4th straight contest with a grand slam, a MLB record.
In between the two series against the Rays, the Yankees beat the Braves two times and took all three games versus the Red Sox in the Bronx. The Yankees wont have to stress about Boston or Atlanta to advance to their first World Series because 2009. The Rays have the pitching to suppress the New York bats, specifically if the Yankees are without a 3rd of their starting lineup due to injury, and they have the depth on offense to bother the Yankees rotation and bullpen if they do not have their finest things and/or are not at complete strength.
The season is not yet halfway through, and the Yankees stay the most talented group in the American League, if not in all of baseball. Its not enough for the Yankees simply to make it to October.
– The Cardinals won their very first nine-inning game because returning from the coronavirus break out that forced them to go 16 days without playing..
Tracking 4-2 in the ninth with no one out and the bases packed, Yadier Molina hit an RBI infield single to bring St. Louis within a run in his very first video game back because recuperating from COVID-19. Reds better Raisel Iglesias then balked home the tying run and enabled the other 2 runners to advance. After an out, Kolten Wong lifted a walk-off single to deep right-centerfield.
Look at what took place to the Phillies in the second video game of Thursdays doubleheader. Philadelphia scored seven runs in the top of the first inning and held a comfy lead up until the bottom of the 6th, when it was Torontos turn to score 7 runs, offering the Blue Jays a two-run lead in their 9-8 win.
– The Astros finished a four-game sweep of the Rockies in Colorado on Thursday, providing 8 straight wins. Theyll opt for No. 9 without Alex Bregman, who was put on the 10-day injured list Thursday. Houston currently had actually been playing without Yordan Álvarez and Justin Verlander prior to losing Bregman.
