The New York Yankees have reached a new low point in their current losing skid. They failed anew to get out of their slump as the Bronx Bombers got blanked by the Atlanta Braves Wednesday night, 2-0, to finish the series on the road against the No. 1 National League team without a win.
With the loss to the Braves, the Yankees dropped to 60-61 and for the first time since the mid-1990s, got under .500 at this point of the season, per ESPN Stats & Info.
The last time the Yankees were under .500 this late into the season:
– Derek Jeter was recalled from the minors (for good)
– 9 active Yankees weren't born yet
– Manager Aaron Boone was in Double-A
That was Sept. 5, 1995.
The Yankees got victimized again by their nonexistent offense. It was the second straight day that they got shut out, with the Braves also shutting New York down in Game 2 of the series, 5-0. Even the mighty Aaron Judge was not effective against the Braves in the series finale, as he went just 1-for-4 with three strikeouts. Two other Yankees got punched out three times each.
Yankees playoff outlook
New York is virtually out of the running for the American League East division title. They mathematically still have a chance but being 14 games out of first place this deep into August isn't encouraging for the Yankees' chances to leapfrog the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, and Baltimor Orioles.
If the Yankees are to sneak into the MLB postseason, it will be via the Wild Card route. However, they are still 6.5 games behind the race for the last Wild Card spot in the AL, which is currently occupied by the Blue Jays.
New York's odds of making the postseason is just at 2.5 percent according to FanGraphs but their chances of topping the AL East is at 0.0 percent.
Speaking of the Red Sox, the Yankees can gain a little bit of ground if they start to right their ship against their bitter rivals in the next series. The Yankees will host the Red Sox for a three-game series that starts this Friday.