Even Gerrit Cole can't stop the New York Yankees' losing streak. The Yankees turned to Gerrit Cole Saturday afternoon, in desperate need of a win against the Boston Red Sox. Instead of giving New York a dominant performance, the Yankees' ace was pummeled by the Red Sox shortly after the game started. Fans couldn't help but pile on.

Red Sox second baseman Luis Urias hit a grand slam off Cole in the fourth inning to give Boston a 4-0 lead. Two innings later, Connor Wong's two-run homer put the Yankees in a 6-0 hole. The fourth inning was Cole's last. He allowed eight base runners and saw his ERA move above 3.00 for the first time in 2023.

Cole has been the Yankees' most reliable player this season, and it hasn't been particularly close. The right-hander entered Saturday's game with a 2.76 ERA, good for second in the American League. Cole has an MLB-best 5.0 ERA and is the 2023 AL Cy Young favorite.

Any optimism that Yankees fans tried to muster up was likely dashed by Coles's outing.

The Red Sox blew out the Yankees 8-3 Friday and are on their way to another route in Saturday's game. The defeat will extend New York's losing streak to seven games. The Atlanta Braves shut out the Yankees in back-to-back games to complete a series sweep Wednesday. Barring an unforeseen comeback against Boston, New York will fall to 60-63.

The Yankees entered play Saturday 15 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East. The fourth-place Red Sox will extend their lead ahead of New York to five games with Saturday's victory.