THE BRONX, NY — The Yankees lost to the Twins 6-1 to lose the series. It’s the third straight series loss for the Yankees, who drop to 1-9 in their last 10 games. The brand of baseball the Yankees have showcased as of late has frankly been pathetic. From lifeless at-bats to lackadaisical baserunning and defense, the Yankees are a mess as of late.
The worst part is the Yankees are heading to Tampa to take on the red-hot Rays with both the Yankees’ pitching and bats ice-cold.
The Offense
Another day, another offensive struggle. The lineup on Friday scored five runs for the first time in two weeks. Yesterday, they got four runs, and today was a complete zero. Give credit to Joe Ryan, who dominated the Yankees once again.
Ryan’s last start against the Astros was a labor, but this one was not. The Yankees did not put on the best at-bats on him throughout the game, recording only three hits in the seven innings Ryan was on the mound. Ryan’s stuff was phenomenal, and he absolutely shoved, but the Yankees’ at-bats and overall approach at the plate contributed to some degree.
Weathers’ Outing
It was a bounceback outing for Ryan Weathers, though he took the loss. The pitch count was high, and he was unable to get through five innings as a result. Weathers gave up four runs to a Twins offense that leads the American League in runs scored, so that should be a positive.
Weathers used his changeup to get swing and miss today, at a 46% (6/13) rate, according to Baseball Savant. Weathers got six strikeouts in his 4+ innings of work. His stuff was better today, but he needs to learn to go deeper into these games. Not recording an out in the fifth inning is an issue, especially when you’re short in the bullpen going into a big divisional series.
Bullpen Woes
Paul Blackburn has gotten a good amount of work over the last few weeks, mostly good from someone who came into the season on mop-up patrol. Today was not his best work, giving up a big two-out, two-run single, allowing the Twins to extend their lead. Both of those runs were inherited from Weathers.
The Yankees have a Camilo Doval problem. Today was progress, where he only gave up two runs for a change. Prior to today, in his last two outings, he gave up five runs each. To be fair to Doval, the defense has not helped him one bit. According to Baseball Savant, Doval has a -4 fielding run value behind him, which essentially means the Yankees’ defense does nothing to help Doval. There was another error today, committed by Anthony Volpe.
The Yankees will now head to Tropicana Field for their biggest series of their season against the division-leading Rays. The Yankees should look to secure at least a series split to remain in good standings to make a true run for the AL East crown. Given how bad the Yankees have played and how good the Rays have played over the past two weeks, it’s a tall ask.
Full series probable starters:
MON: RHP Cam Schlittler (8-5, 2.08) vs. RHP Griffin Jax (4-5, 3.45)
TUES: RHP Will Warren (7-3, 3.73) vs. TBD
WED: RHP Gerrit Cole (3-3, 4.01) vs. RHP Shane McClanahan (7-5, 3.05)
THURS: TBD vs. RHP Drew Rasmussen (7-4, 2.78)
This story will be updated postgame
