In the 4-game weekend series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, the Yankees had leads in all 4 games. They had their chances to win all 4 games. Doing so would have put them right back into the American League Eastern Division race, and would, at the least, have solidified them as a legitimate contender for an AL Wild Card slot.
Instead, still in a hole, they kept digging.
Domingo Germán started the series finale. He hadn't pitched well lately. This time, he was fantastic. He allowed a walk in the 3rd inning, and through the 1st 7, that was it: A no-hitter. At Fenway Park.
That kind of performance deserves a lot of support. But the Yankees wasted a leadoff double by DJ LeMahieu on the 1st. Two walks and a Roughned Odor single got a run home in the 3rd. A Gleyber Torres doubled and a single by the returning Gio Urshela made it 2-0 in the 4th.
The Yankees wasted a leadoff single in the 5th. Odor led off the 6th with a home run. They wasted bases loaded with 1 out in the 7th, thanks to a Giancarlo Stanton strikeout and Odor flying out. Still only 3-0.
A Gary Sanchez triple and a Torres single began the 8th, and it was 4-0. But they couldn't get anymore.
No matter: Germán for 3 outs in the 8th and Aroldis Chapman for 3 in the 9th, right?
Wrong. Germán starts the 8th by giving up a double to Alex Verdugo. And Aaron Boone takes him out.
Not because he's obviously tiring. He's not. But because he's thrown 93 pitches, and with Brian Cashman's rules for pitchers, Boone isn't allowed to let a pitcher throw that much. Unless he's pitching a no-hitter. Gotta leave him in as long as he's got that. It's good for publicity.
So Jonathan Loáisiga is brought in. He's been good most of this season. This time, he allows RBI double (and YES Network viewers could already feel the wheels beginning to come off), RBI single, single, RBI double. He gets nobody out, and it's 4-3.
Boone brings in Zack Britton. Injury has left him a shadow of his former self. He actually gets the next 3 outs, but the 1st 2 are a groundout that brings home the tying run and a fly ball that brings home the winning run.
Had Britton been brought in instead of Loáisiga, the groundout might have moved Verdugo over, and the fly ball might have brought him home, but it would only have been 4-1 Yankees at the end of the inning.
Instead, it was 5-4 Red Sox, and the worst part is just how inevitable it all felt when it was still 4-1 Yankees.
But, what the heck, it's still only a 1-run deficit. At Fenway. Surely, the Yankees could overcome it. Well, these are not your father's Yankees (of 1996 to 2003), or even your big brother's (of 2009).
Cliché Alert: The Yankees went down quietly in the 9th. Greg Allen flew out to left. LeMahieu grounded to 2nd. Stanton singled. Boone sent Tyler Wade in to pinch-run for him, and he stole 2nd. There was the tying run. But Odor, who had done so well earlier in the game, popped up to 3rd to end it.
Red Sox 5, Yankees 4. WP: Brandon Workman (1-2). SV: Matt Barnes (21). LP: Loáisiga (7-4).
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So, needing at least 3 out 4 in Boston to legitimately get back into the AL East race, the Yankees had leads in all 4 games, but ended up losing 3 out of 4. They are 51-47, 9 games behind the Sox, 8 games in the loss column. They are 3 1/2 games out of the AL's 2nd Wild Card slot, for all the good that would do them.
Once again, I am enraged. Really, the "quality" of the game should matter more than the identity of the opponent. But I have hated the Red Sox as long as I have loved the Yankees, and this is unacceptable.
I looked it up. The Yankees have had 16 bullpen meltdowns this season. If they had half of them, 8, and at least 1 fewer against the Red Sox, they would be tied for 1st place.
Blame Boone for bad pitching changes all you want. The fact that we don't have a reliever capable of preventing half of those losses is on Cashman.
The hole is getting deeper. Still, Cashman's has the "DIG WE MUST" sign out.
