Wednesdays 12-3 loss to the Mets may be the low point of the 2024 Yankees season.
After getting out to one of the best starts in MLB, the Yankees have sputtered in June and most of July. The Yankees were 50-22 after beating the Red Sox on June 14, but theyve mustered just 10 wins to 22 losses since. Thats the second-worst record in the majors, behind the 27-77 Chicago White Sox.
Now, the Yankees (60-44) are a much better team than the White Sox but something is amiss. Is it the pitching staff? The bullpen? The lineup? It seems like its a combination of all three, with one aspect being the teams downfall on any given day.
But the consensus in the Yankees locker room after Wednesday’s loss is that something has to change, and that the team will figure it out.
Nobody has higher expectations than us in that frickin’ room and we understand that. Were pissed off, we gotta play better. This has gone on long enough, Aaron Boone said after the game. Its very frustrating to go through. But I also know were competing our asses off. Just gotta make sure we continue to walk in with the right level of edge and willingness to compete because no one is gonna pull us out of this but us.
On Wednesday, ace Gerrit Cole was the main culprit of another Yankees loss. The reigning AL Cy Young winner just didnt have it, giving up three home runs and six runs in his 5.2 innings of work.
In two games against the Mets this season, Cole has allowed 12 runs and given up seven home runs.
Im frustrated. Frustrated sitting in the emotions of this loss, but our job is to flush it and not let the play of the last six weeks affect the way we prepare for the next game, Cole said. Its not like were not feeling it, but at the same time, our job is to take it one game at a time.
Cole said he doesnt see doubt in the locker room, but knows from a results perspective they are simply not getting it done.
Juan Soto, one half of the Yankees powerful duo with Aaron Judge, launched a solo home run that gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead that the pitching staff just could not hold. After the game, Soto voiced his confidence in his team’s ability to turn things around.
Just got to see what we did at the beginning of the season. It tells you we have everything we need, Soto said. Youre going to have ups and downs. We have to try and find a way to get out of the downs and get back up.
Pitching aside, the Yankees lineup has been the focus of a lot of the finger-pointing these past few weeks, and rightfully so. Aside from Judge and Soto, the rest of the lineup has not shown up consistently.
Per ESPN, since June 15, the Yankees’ two and three holes in the batting order have produced a 1.061 OPS, which ranks first in the majors. The other seven spots in the lineup have combined for a .625 OPS, only better than the aforementioned White Sox.
These stretches are dangerously close to becoming trends but a frustrated Boone pushed back on the data and insisted the Yankees will turn their season around.
“We gotta play better, OK?” Boone said. “We have it right in front of us. We’re a really good team that has played sh–ty of late. We need to be better.
“I’m not going to define stretch, this or that. We got to go win, right? And we’re right there. We’re watching other teams struggle around us. We know we got to be better. We’re pissed off in there. We got a lot of pride in there. We got a lot of expectation in there. So, stretch, slump, recent, I don’t give a s—. It’s we got to play better the rest of the way.”
The Yankees have an off day Thursday before heading to Boston to take on the rival Red Sox. Well have to see if that change occurs this weekend.