The Savagery Had to End Sometime

The Yankees took a 5-game winning streak into yesterday's series finale with the Colorado Rockies at a scorching hot Yankee Stadium. Aaron Boone's guys had been "fucking savages in that box," but, well, I suppose the savagery had to end sometime.

James Paxton started for the Yankees, and didn't have much. He allowed a run in the 1st inning, 4 in the 3rd, and was taken out after allowing 2 in the 4th. The bullpen was fine: Between them, Chad Green, Adam Ottavino, Stephen Tarpley and Aroldis Chapman went 5 2/3rds innings, allowing just 1 unearned run on 5 hits and 3 walks. (Chapman got work because he hadn't been needed in the Yankees' 2 previous wins, both blowouts.)

But the bats couldn't back it up. Between DJ LeMahieu stunning his former team with a leadoff home run, and Mike Tauchman hitting one out in the 5th, the Yankees got only 2 baserunners, both walks, both stranded at 1st base. It was 7-1 before Tauchman hit his shot, and it was pretty much over.

Aaron Hicks added a homer with Tauchman aboard in the 8th, but the Yankees got no closer. Rockies 8, Yankees 4. WP: German Marquez (9-5). No save. LP: Paxton (5-5).

*

The Yankees have 64 games left, over a span of 10 weeks. They are in 1st place in the American League Eastern Division, 9 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays, 11 ahead of the Boston Red Sox, and the only major league team with a better record, and thus would have home-field advantage in a postseason matchup, is the Los Angeles Dodgers. Their Magic Number to clinch the Division is 52.

The Yankees now hit the road, going to Minnesota for 3, and then Boston for 4, a series in which they can pretty much end any hope The Scum still have. Then they return home to face Arizona.