Yankee Losing Streak at 7 -- How Soon Before Fireworks?

As we enter the 4th of July weekend, the Yankees are blowing up. And not in a good way. More like a planned fireworks display gone wrong.

After getting swept in 4 straight by The Scum in Boston, they came home to face the Detroit Tigers. No problem, right? They handled the Tigers, including their young ace Tarik Skubal, in Detroit last week, right?

Well, it was a problem. On Monday night, Ryan Weathers had nothing. He didn't get out of the 2nd inning, putting the Yankees in a 5-0 hole that proved impossible for a team without Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton injured to come out of.

Spencer Jones led off the 3rd inning with a double. Jasson Domínguez led off the 8th with a walk, Jones hit another double, and Amed Rosario hit a home run, to at least make the final score look slightly respectable. But those were all the baserunners the Yankees got: Casey Mize pitched 7 innings for the Tigers, allowing 1 hit, no walks, striking out 10. Overall, Tiger pitchers struck out 13 and walked none. Tigers 7, Yankees 3.

With Gerrit Cole still feeling his way back, and Max Fried and Clarke Schmidt injured, it was time for Cam Schlittler to pitch like an ace. He didn't, allowing 6 runs in 4 innings. Control wasn't the issue: He walked only 1, and struck out 5, but allowed 7 hits, including 3 home runs in the 1st. Ben Rice hit a home run, but the Yankees only got 4 hits and a walk, as Skubal got revenge. Tigers 6, Yankees 1.

On Wednesday night, the Yankees got a decent start from Will Warren, 2 runs in 5 1/3rd. From the 6th inning to the 10th, the bullpen allowed no runs, no hits, and 1 walk.

But the Tigers got another great start, from Troy Melton. Rice led off the 1st with a single, and drew a walk in the 3rd. Jazz Chisholm doubled with 2 outs in the 4th. Those were the only 3 baserunners the Yankees got off Melton. Jones and José Caballero led off the 8th with singles, and Oswaldo Cabrera bunted them over. But Rice struck out and Domínguez flew out, and it was still 2-0 Detroit.

With 1 out in the bottom of the 9th, Rosario homered again. 2-1. It's been a while since the Yanks had a good comeback win. Chisholm singled. He stole 2nd. He stole 3rd. Tiger reliever Drew Anderson was rattled, and threw a wild pitch. Tie ballgame. Anthony Volpe was at bat, and he didn't have to do anything: Like Jackie Robinson used to do in the late 1940s and early '50s, Chisolm created a run all by himself.

Then, Volpe did do something: He hit a grounder back to Anderson, who couldn't handle it, and got to 1st base. Winning run on 1st, only 1 out. But then he tried to steal 2nd, and was caught, and Jones popped up. Extra innings. Ghost runners.

Fernando Cruz got through the 10th without allowing a run. But the Yankees couldn't push a run across, either. Cruz had already thrown 17 pitches, so Boone brought Camilo Doval out to pitch the top of the 11th. At first it seemed to work: He got the 1st 2 outs.

But Boone ordered an intentional walk to Riley Greene, to set up the inning-ending force play. This pushed his luck too far: Greene, as anybody in the stadium but Boone (and, maybe, Brian Cashman) could have guessed he would try, stole 2nd, to eliminate the force play. Then Doval walked Hao-Yu Lee, to re-setup the force play, but also to load the bases.

Then he walked Spencer Torkelson, to force home the go-ahead run. Then he gave up a single to Zach McKinstry. On the throw home, Ali Sánchez, who's been a decent backup catcher so far, made an error, and 3 runs ended up scoring. The Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 11th, and the Tigers had won, 6-2.

Few losses are as deflating as those where you come from behind to tie or take the lead, and then blow it afterward, anyway. This was one of those.

*

The Yankees have now lost 7 in a row. And the Tampa Bay Rays keep on winning: The Yankees are now 4 games behind them, 5 in the loss column.

Cliché Alert: In the days of single-division leagues, it was an old baseball adage that the team in 1st place on July 4 usually went on to win the Pennant. In fact, it only happened about 65 percent of the time. And, with the start of Divisional Play in 1969, Major League Baseball went from 2, to 4, to 6 teams in 1st place. Still, being in 1st on July 4 usually gives a team a 65 or so percent chance of winning their Division.

The Yankees will not be in 1st place on the 4th of July. Certainly, injuries are a reason why. But Brian Cashman should have built a team capable of substituting good players for injured ones. He hasn't.

Tomorrow is a night for literal fireworks. How soon before metaphorical fireworks take place in Yankeedom?

Tonight, the Yankees begain a home series against the Minnesota Twins, who are also struggling. We'll see.

UPDATE: Carlos Rodón has been put on the Injured List, with elbow inflammation. In the words of the immortal Vince Lombardi, "What the hell's goin' on out here?"

Yanks Take 2 of 3 In Detroit, Head for Boston

"Who loves ya, baby?"

Since the 2006 American League Division Series, the Detroit Tigers have provided the Yankees with more difficulty than they had before it, including 3 postseason series wins. The Yankees went to Comerica Park for a 3-game series in the Motor City.

After a few years with the Houston Astros, including some postseason trouble for the Yankees, Framber Valdez signed as a free agent with the Tigers. Again, on Monday night, he gave the Yankees trouble, going 6 strong innings. In contrast, Gerrit Cole only pitched 4 1/3rd innings, allowing 5 runs on 9 hits. At least his control was good: Of 89 pitches, 62 were strikes, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts. Paul Blackburn and Ryan Yarbrough went the rest of the way, allowing just 2 baserunners, both walks by Yarbrough.

The Yankees stranded men on 1st & 2nd in the 1st inning. With 2 out in the 2nd, José Caballero walked and stole 2nd, and Ali Sánchez doubled him home. It was 1-0 Yankees. They stranded men on 1st & 2nd in the 3rd, and then fell 3-1 behind the Tigers, and then 4-1 behind in the 4th, and 5-1 in the 5th.

With 2 out in the 7th, Sánchez was hit by a pitch, and Amed Rosario hit a home run. But they could get no closer, again stranding men on 1st & 2nd in the 8th. Tigers 5, Yankees 3.

*

Carlos Rodón was a bit better on Tuesday night, allowing 3 runs over 5 1/3rd. The bullpen, with Fernando Cruz, Brent Headrick and David Bednar, was scoreless the rest of the way, allowing just 2 hits and a walk.

At one point, Jazz Chisholm went out to 2nd base with a green lollipop in his mouth. Aaron Boone got upset with that. What if he got hit with a line drive? Even if it wasn't in the mouth, having that lollipop would have been unsafe.

Well, in the top of the 6th, with the Tigers up, 2-1, Paul Goldschmidt singled, and Chisholm hit a home run. Getting back to the dugout, he held his bucket of lollipops up to the camera. As a great New Yorker, Telly Savalas, who was at the Chris Chambliss Game in 1976, would have said while sucking on a lollipop while starring on Kojak, "Who loves ya, baby?" After the game, Boone said he can have as many lollipops as he wants, just not on the field.

After the homer, Spencer Jones struck out, but Caballero singled, and Austin Wells doubled him home, making it 4-2 Yankees. The Tigers closed to within 4-3 in the bottom of the 6th, but that was as close as they got.

*

Last night, Goldschmidt led off the game with a home run. He hit another in the 3rd. Both were off Tarik Skubal, possibly the best pitcher in baseball right now, These homers were the 385th and 386th of his career, and, on the all-time list, he surpassed Dwight Evans and... Aaron Judge. He tied Aramis Ramírez. Next up for him: Johnny Bench, with 389.

Ryan Weathers started for the Yankees, and was strong: 6 innings, 2 runs, only 1 earned, 6 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts. Camilo Doval, Cruz and Bednar went scoreless the rest of the way. Jasson Domínguez added a homer in the 6th, and the Yankees won, 4-2, to take the series.

Meanwhile, in a rain-forced doubleheader, the Mets got swept by the Chicago Cubs at Citi Field, 10-3 and 10-5. Twenty runs in one day? So much for "run prevention." And you thought Brazil beat Scotland badly.

*

The Yankees are 48-31, on a pace to go 98-64. They have the best record in the AL. They lead the Tampa Bay Rays by 3 games in the AL Eastern Division, though just 2 in the loss column, as the Rays have 2 games in hand.

Ryan McMahon has an infection, so he's been put on the Injured List. Oswaldo Cabrera has been called back up, having not played for the big club since May 12, 2025, though he was doing well at Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this year. He hasn't been called up because Chisholm, Caballero and McMahon, and sometimes even Anthony Volpe, have been doing well at the positions he can play. There hasn't been a place for him. Now, there is.

And now... off to the Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy, for 4 games. Fortunately, the Yankees did not follow the pattern of unloading a bunch of runs right before going to Boston, and then playing as if we'd used them all up, as has not always happened, but has happened often enough to stand out. Hopefully, this means we have a few runs to spare, to spread all over that little green pinball machine in the Back Bay.

I also hope, for our fans' sake, the Hub City has restocked the bars, now that the Tartan Army have gone down to Miami. Scotland fans took over Fenway Park last week, while their team was playing World Cup games in Foxborough, and made an appearance at Yankee Stadium II as well. They were certainly better behaved than most Red Sox fans. Better dressed, too.

Here's the pitching matchups:

* Tonight, first pitch scheduled for 7:10 PM, on YES: Cam Schlittler vs. Connelly Early.

* Friday, 7:10, on YES: Will Warren vs. Payton Tolle.

* Saturday, 1:00, on ABC: Gerrit Cole vs. Jake Bennett.

* Sunday, 7:20, on NBC: Carlos Rodón vs. former Yankee Sonny Gray.

I must say, I'm liking MLB's return to the classic networks, NBC (Saturday Game of the Week) and ABC (Monday Night Baseball). If only we had This Week In Baseball as a pregame show. I can hear the opening theme now. And the closing theme... 

Anyway, BEAT THE SCUM!