How to watch New York Yankees games without cable: Video
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NEW YORK – Maybe we’ll recall this June swoon as just that – a dim period for a Yankees lineup that eventually found its way.
Otherwise, it’s the period when serious structural offensive defects began to show up, threatening the Yanks’ pennant chances in a major way.
“We haven’t performed our best the last couple of weeks,’’ said Paul Goldschmidt, speaking for a lineup that came up empty Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, where the A’s scored a 7-0 win.
On Friday night, the Yanks’ four hits was enough for a 3-0 win against the A’s (34-51) occupying last place in the AL West.
Saturday, the Yanks (47-35) managed just three hits off JP Sears and Jack Perkins and watched their AL East lead drop back to a half-game over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Yankees’ offense still regressing
Some shoddy, late-inning defensive play and poor decision making – in another bad Yankee flashback to last summer – led to three more runs, but the game was already out of reach.
“We’re going through it now,’’ said DJ LeMahieu. “I know we’ll be fine.’’
That’s accounting for track records of veterans who’ve stalled and the promise of young players who’ve lately been lost at sea, even against an A’s pitching staff with a collective 5.41 ERA.
A shutout by Clarke Schmidt wouldn’t saved the Yanks on Saturday, and Schmidt saw his scoreless innings streak end at 28.1 innings on Brent Rooker’s fourth-inning solo home run.
After two walks, Nick Kurtz essentially put it away with a three-run homer off Schmidt, and now the Yankees turn to Marcus Stroman – just off the IL – to win a series against the A’s.
And they’ll be going against a motivated old friend, A’s starter Luis Severino, back at home in the Bronx.
The ever-optimistic Aaron Boone sees these current scoring issues as the opposition’s ability lately to prevent homers, and the Yanks’ inability to “cash in when you’re getting opportunities.’’
If we’re back to Aaron Judge having to be the nightly MVP and carry the club, well he’s batting a far more human .247 (22-for-89) this month, down to just .354 overall from .398.
At least Judge (0-for-3, walk) sent two drives to the warning track Saturday – one to center, the last pitch by Sears, the ex-Yankee farmhand who entered with a 5.44 season ERA.
Boone sees it as a “minor timing” issue for Judge. In the bigger picture, the Yanks have now been shut out four times since June 15.
Across-the-board Yankees’ batting lapse
Before blanking the Yanks on two hits across 5.2 innings Saturday, the lefty Sears was 0-4 with a 5.74 ERA in six career starts against his old club.
“I feel fine,’’ said Goldschmidt. “But I haven’t played well these last few weeks. It’s hurt our team, the way I’ve played this month.’’
Since May 30, Goldschmidt is batting .138 (12-for-87) after a sensational start, but he’s certainly not sliding alone.
This Yankees’ lineup became longer, and supposedly more lethal, with Giancarlo Stanton’s presence.
But after a 4-for-7 opening off the IL, Stanton is 4-for-27 (.148) without an extra-base hit.
Still trying to find any traction past the season’s midpoint, lefty-hitting catcher Austin Wells is in a 6-for-43 slide (.140) over his last 12 games, with one extra-base hit and one walk.
