The New York Yankees appeared to be in cruise control at the halfway mark of the campaign, and there was plenty of reason to remain optimistic as they headed into the dog days of the 2024 MLB regular season. New York's bats were producing, thanks in large part to the blockbuster offseason acquisition of Juan Soto, and they got a few pitching reinforcements, with Gerrit Cole returning to action in June. However, the Yankees have been going through quite a rough patch over the past month or so.
In early July, they were in the middle of a ghastly 5-16 stretch — becoming the only team thus far in 2024 to win just five of 21 at one point in the season. Things haven't been much better for them since then, as they have lost seven of their past 12 games, including a 9-7 defeat to archnemesis Boston Red Sox on Friday night.
This latest loss underscores the Yankees' struggles on the pitching side of the ball. There simply hasn't been much consistency. Allowing nine runs after a game in which they let 12 runs cross the plate (in a 12-3 defeat to crosstown rival New York Mets) is not something anyone would expect from a team with contending aspirations. Nonetheless, manager Aaron Boone sees the light at the end of the tunnel — he just needs his team to stick to the task and not let this malaise fester into something much worse.
“There's definitely an end in sight, and we're gonna get there. It's hard, obviously, but I'm not going to keep talking about how hard it is and tough. We gotta close out innings, close out games. I'm absolutely confident we will,” Boone said, per Gary Phillips of NY Daily News Sports.
Can the Yankees snap out of this funk?
To those counting at home, the Yankees have now gone 10-23 over the past 33 games. That is a putrid winning percentage of 30.3 percent. If that held for the entire season, they would only be better than the Chicago White Sox, a team that's about to sell off the remaining quality players they have on the roster.
New York simply couldn't put together a consistent winning formula over the past month. Either the starters are stinking up the joint or the bullpen is blowing leads, and there is rarely any synergy between the Yankees' pitching. On Friday, it was the bullpen that gave the game away, allowing five runs combined in the seventh and eighth innings to allow a Red Sox comeback from down 7-4.
With the trade deadline looming, expect the Yankees to look for some outside reinforcements to help them steady what has been a sinking ship.
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