After sweeping a lowly Kansas City Royals at home, the high-spirited New York Yankees hosted city rivals New York Mets for the second and last subway series of the ongoing MLB season. However, the winning streak abruptly came to an end as the city rivals trashed the hosts 9-3 in the opening game. The Yankee offense, who looked in their natural element vs. the Royals, once again fell flat on their faces. The hosts went scoreless for six straight innings. However, apart from the offense, three major persistent flaws contributed heavily to the humiliating loss. Let’s take a deep dive into those flaws one by one.
Yankees Struggling Offense
Let’s discuss the obvious one first, the Yankees struggling offense. Mets future hall-of-fame starter Justin Verlander looked in his usual rhythm. He pitched as many as six scoreless innings while striking out six Yankee hitters. Anthony Rizzo and leadoff Jake Bauers went hitless. While Gleyber Torres extended his hitting streak to a career-high 14 games, no other batter could record multiple hits. It has been the same story with the Bronx Bombers all along. During crucial matchups, the offense just chokes out of nowhere. With Aaron Judge likely returning in a week’s time, the struggling offense could get a boost. However, it would be highly unrealistic to expect him to end the offensive woes single-handedly. Having said that, the series is still wide open. The next two games would remain highly crucial.
Weak Outfield Defense
The outfield depth is already limited. On top of that, the outfielders available in the battleground have been nothing short of disappointing. On Tuesday, Billy McKinney messed up a play that had a 90 percent catch probability, according to Statcast. Mets Pete Alonso launched a long hit in the left field, and Billy’s poor run gave the city rivals a 1-0 lead. Further, at the end of the third inning, center fielder Harrison Bader and right fielder Jake Bauers nearly collided while attempting a flyout. Luckily, the duo secured the play. However, Bader looked pissed as he shook his head after looking at Bauers. These rare instances of misplays need to be stopped. The Yankees cannot ensure October’s success with these silly miscues.
Starting Pitcher Lets Down…Again
Domingo German, after pitching a perfect game, has been mostly inconsistent. He ended his start against the Mets by giving away six runs, seven hits in six innings pitched. Since June 16, his ERA has soared to 7.21. Overall, barring the perfect game, German has not helped the Yankees significantly. Throughout the season, the Yankees’ rotation has been plagued by injuries and inconsistent performances, leading to uneven results on the mound. Carlos Rodon has been average since return. With Nestor Cortes returning in a few days, the rotation would likely get a boost. Regardless, a strong starting rotation is crucial for any team’s success. The Bombers’ starting pitchers must find more consistency in their outings, limit walks, and home runs, and provide the team with quality starts to give their offense a chance to take control of the game.
With the loss, the Yankees have once again slipped to the last spot in the AL-East division, three games behind the ultimate playoff wildcard spot. With Orioles, Rays, and Astros coming up next, the Yanks must up their game imminently.
