Over the weekend, the Yankees' injury-induced difficulty in scoring runs continued, over the border in Toronto. And those pesky Blue Jays took advantage, nearly sweeping the series.
When it should have been the other way around.
On Friday night, Gerrit Cole pitched 6 innings, allowing 2 runs, 1 of them earned, 5 hits and 2 walks, striking out 5. On Saturday afternoon, Cam Schlittler went 5 1/3rd innings, allowing 1 run on 4 hits and 3 walks, striking out 7. And on Sunday afternoon, Ryan Weathers went 7 1/3rd innings, allowing 1 run on 6 hits and 1 walk, striking out 7.
I'll do that math for you: For the Yankee starters, that's 3 earned runs, times 9, is 27; divided by 18 2/3rds innings, for an ERA of 1.45. If that's what your starters give you in 3 games, your hitters should hit enough for you to win 3 games.
On Friday, Trent Grisham led off the top of the 6th inning with a home run. Other than that, the Yankees got 4 hits and a walk, and lost, 3-1.
On Saturday, Spencer Jones led off the top of the 2nd with a single, stole 2nd, and was singled home by George Lombard Jr. Other than that, the Yankees got 2 singles and 2 walks. Brent Headrick allowed a run in the 7th, and Tim Hill allowed 2 in the 8th, and the Yankees lost, 4-1.
Over the 1st 9 innings on Sunday, the Yankees got 2 runs on 4 hits and 5 walks. David Bednar blew the save in the 9th, and sent the game to extra innings.
In the top of the 10th, José Caballero bunted "ghost runner" Ali Sánchez over to 3rd base. Although the right thing to do, it proved unnecessary, because Ben Rice hit a home run. This made it 4-2 Yankees, and put Bednar in position to be the winning pitcher. Personally, I believe that a pitcher who blows a save should be disqualified from being the winning pitcher, and the credit should go to someone else, at the discretion of the official scorer.
Hill relieved in the bottom of the 10th. He got a groundout, then allowed an RBI single that made it 4-3. I got a sinking feeling. But he got the next 2 men out, and the Yankees had salvaged the series finale.
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There are 38 games left in the regular season, to be played over 6 weeks. The Tampa Bay Rays lead the American League Eastern Division by 5 1/2 games over the Yankees, 8 1/2 over the Boston Red Sox, 13 1/2 over the Baltimore Orioles, and 14 1/2 over the Toronto Blue Jays. Cliché Alert: In the All-Important Loss Column, the Rays lead the Yanks by 6, the Sox by 9, the O's by 14 and the Jays by 16.
One of my guidelines is that if there are fewer games behind than weeks remaining, you can still win the Division, because making up 1 game per week shouldn't be too much to ask. So the Yankees can still win the Division.
If they get healthy. They cannot go on with Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Clay Bellinger all injured. Manager Aaron Boone said that Bellinger will play minor-league games this week, as part of his rehab, and could be activated for the weekend. Starting pitcher Carlos Rodón and reliever Luis Gil are pitching well in rehab games, and while their return aren't a must, either would be a boost.
Judge has begun playing catch as part of rehab, but he still hasn't swung a bat since May 31. Stanton has been running bases, but that's it. I still don't expect either of them back before September 1. Starter Clarke Schmidt also won't be back before September 1, and if he does come back, there might not be a place in the rotation for him, so Boone is considering putting him in the bullpen.
Today was a travel day for the Yankees. Tomorrow night, they begin a 3-game series in Baltimore.
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