The thing about June is that it is just June.
The losses the Yankees have suffered at the hands of the last-place Red Sox have been equal parts dull and maddening, but they are ultimately just losses in June. Even after this 4-1 loss on Saturday afternoon, they are at worst in a tie for first place in the AL East. However, it remains remarkable how often the Yankees ship up to Boston in June and seemingly leave all their good bats behind. My colleague Michael Zeno found that this entire decade, the Bombers
have gone 1-14 at Fenway in the month as opposed to 19-11 in Beantown every other page of the calendar.
Today’s defeat, like yesterday’s, felt over from the jump. Rookie starter Jake Bennett had the Yankee hitters in a blender and Gerrit Cole gave up a leadoff home run en route to another forgettable start as the Red Sox won the series. They will have to stave off an ignominious four-game sweep at the hands of their last-place archrivals tomorrow night.
The tone was set extremely early on, which is never a good thing for a struggling team. The Yankees went down in order against Bennett in the first inning, then Cole’s second pitch of the afternoon was launched into the Boston bullpen by Masataka Yoshida. The DH has not been a powerhouse this year, as that home run was just his second of the season. And Cole’s pitch wasn’t even in the strike zone. But that’s the way this series has gone.
The second inning brought more of the same. Bennett easily worked around a leadoff walk in the top half, and the Sox got another homer in the bottom half. Former Yankee prospect castoff Anthony Seigler (boy, Boston sure likes collecting those) snuck an opposite-field fly ball just over the Green Monster for a 2-0 lead. These are just solo homers, blips that Cole can usually live with when his offense is hitting. They just are not hitting this weekend.
Oh yeah, and it was Seigler’s first big-league homer. Congratulations to him, I suppose.
Regrettably for Cole, it was not just a pair of solo shots he had to contend with today. Boston put a pair of ducks on the pond in the third, which Willson Contreras was more than happy to call back to the nest. On 1-2, Cole’s fastball caught too much of the plate, and Contreras hit it where it was pitched. The ball easily split the outfielders and reached the left-center wall to plate a pair and double the Boston lead again. All this while the Yankees hadn’t managed a single hit of their own through four for the second day in a row.
The Yankees managed to end the no-hitter and shutout one swing in the top of the fifth, and it came from an unlikely source. Max Schuemann clubbed a ball out toward the triangle in left center field. The ball hit off the yellow stripe which denotes the ‘end’ of the Green Monster; essentially, if it hit to the left of that line it would have been in-play.
Schuemann’s first homer as a member of the Yankees made it a 4-1 game.
Cole departed with one out in the sixth having once again allowed a few too many big hits. It was quite reminiscent of his previous start against the Tigers: his command was not bad, per se, but he continually missed in crucial spots, and the opposing lineup was ready to take advantage every time.
Meanwhile, Boston’s good-young-southpaw-starter factory seems to have endless output. For the third straight game, the Bombers found themselves flummoxed by a lefty. Jake Bennett worked through six almost-spotless innings, the lone hit that Schuemann home run. He worked a bevy of quick 1-2-3 frames, preventing the Bombers from building any kind of early momentum. Seriously, I am formally requesting a moratorium on further precocious left-handed pitchers in the Boston organization. The bit gets old when you see it three days in a row.
The Yankees’ best opportunity to climb back into the game came in the top of the seventh when Bennett allowed a pair of singles. While the Red Sox bullpen got going, Bennett faced Jasson Domínguez, and struck him out on a changeup to grab a crucial first out. Interim manager Chad Tracy then made the move to Justin Slaten, who, it must be noted, entered action with a 6.48 ERA. Naturally, he came in and struck out José Caballero on a perfectly-located fastball at the knees (and we know it was perfect because Cabby challenged it), then got pinch-hitter Jazz Chisholm Jr. to wave over the top of a cutter to send the Yankees to the stretch emptyhanded.
The worst part about these losses is the individual who has shown up in the ninth inning to put them to bed. Aroldis Chapman started the ninth by rocketing a trio of fastballs past an overmatched Ben Rice, who suffered another oh-fer today. After Amed Rosario rolled over to shortstop, Cody Bellinger worked an admirable walk. So, like clockwork, Caballero popped out on the first pitch to make that battle meaningless. This is just what happens in June. The good news: June is almost over! The bad news: July awaits.
As ESPN was more than happy to point out ahead of the final out, at least this game and the one before were quick affairs, completed in a little over two hours.
All that is left to do is prevent the four-game sweep in Beantown. Tomorrow night, the Yankees will once again be on national TV. NBC will have the Sunday Night Baseball broadcast between Carlos Rodón and Sonny Gray. Note that first pitch is set for 7:20 PM.
