Batting Cleanup: Angels in the Outfield
Ohtani had the Yankees’ number at the plate this week, but not the mound (AP).
This series was a mess, both weather wise and performance wise. The Yankees dropped their second straight series, this time to the Angels, in a set of games that featured wild pitching, weather delays, mound sickness, and a blown lead that will haunt the Yankees for a while. Since today’s game is postponed, you’re getting the recap early, which is good and bad. Let’s break down the week that was as Hal Steinbrenner speaks about how good of a job Aaron Boone is doing this year.
Game 1: Yankees Lose 5-3
The Yankees definitely needed a win badly to open Monday’s series and instead they got more of the same performance as the weekend. Offensive ineptitude combined with a pitching staff that is less than perfect and can’t make 2-3 runs per game stand up anymore. Let’s look at what went wrong as we try not to panic too much by a six (six!) game Wild Card deficit.
Same O-ld Story
Whatever offensive gains the Yankees made in the Toronto, Oakland and Kansas City series went completely out the window in Boston and things weren’t much better in this game. The team scored three runs or less for the fourth straight game and failed to put baserunners on against an Angels pitching staff that literally vomited on the mound.
Yes, Dylan Bundy left of heat exhaustion but his mound demonstration summarized how many of us felt after this weekend. In came Jose Suarez, who held the Yankees to one run in five innings and allowed the Angels to push across a few runs off of the Yankees bullpen and secure a lead. Much like Adam Ottavino and Garrett Whitlock, Suarez neutralized the Yankees right handed bats inning after inning. It’s agonizing to watch this team be handled so easily by opposing pitching staffs. The lack of a left handed threat is damning - and don’t tell me no one could have predicted Aaron Hicks would be out for the year. When your backup plan is Rougned Odor, a decrypt Brett Gardner, and JAY BRUCE, something is seriously wrong in your roster construction. Yes, the team can hit home runs still, as Urshela and Stanton proved in this game. However, when there’s no one on base for the home runs, they don’t matter very much. They’re still pretty cool though.
Ohtani Bomb
The most exciting player in baseball is in town this week and he wasted no time asserting himself in the Bronx. Shohei Ohtani batted in the top of the first inning against Michael King and bombed a long home run to right field. It was an impressive piece of hitting on a pretty good pitch.
Ohtani only went 1 for 5 and actually struck out swinging against King in the fifth on a high fastball, but the home run was quite the introduction into the Bronx, especially against a fanbase that is still probably annoyed that he isn’t on the Yankees (and I will say that there’s a 0% chance that fans would have been ok with him being hurt for three years before this - there’s a certain amount of patience you’re afford in Anaheim that you don’t get in New York). The Angels offensive attack came from sources other than Ohtani, but his home run got things started in Anaheim’s eventual victory. I will say that every time the man swings, he looks like he’s going to swing out of his shoes. It’s very apparent why all of his hits are so hard.
Managerial Malaise
I am so sick and tired of Aaron Boone not managing or acting like there is any urgency with this team. His team is collapsing right before us and all he can say is that they’re “inconsistent” or he’s happy in how they competed. Today, Brain Cashman gave Boone and the coaching staff a vote of confidence, saying it isn’t their problem and allowing Boone to continue this charade of pretending like everything is alright. The Yankees are acting like they’re a first place team on a short skid and that’s so far from the truth. They’re a fourth place team in danger of throwing away their season and everyone has their head in the sand. The same lineup gets run out every day and there’s almost no emotion shown from anyone in the organization. I get that the Yankees pride themselves on being professional and keeping things close to the chest, but there is a time and a place to put everyone on notice that things need to change. Otherwise the same nonsense will go on every day without repercussions. A team takes on the characteristics of its leader and this team certainly has - uninspired and plodding towards the end. It’s going to take more than a “Savages in the Box” rant to save Aaron Boone’s job if this continues for much longer.
Game 2: Yankees Win 11-5
Now that’s more like it. The Yankees had one of their largest blowout wins of the season, stomping on the Angels 11-5 and scoring double digit runs for the first time in two months. Crazy stuff, that is. Let’s recap this well timed victory and be thankful the team isn’t facing Shohei Ohtani tomorrow with a five game losing streak on their backs.
Bronx Bombers At Last
The Bronx Bombers were back in town for one night only (hopefully more than that, but not taking my chances). Things looked bleak early one, when a Jose Iglesias home run put the Angels up 2-1 in the second inning. Then, as they say, the Boys Started Boppin’. Sanchez, Judge and Andujar all homered in this one and combined with their offensive output and a multi hit, multi RBI game from the struggling Gleyber Torres, helped the Yankees to score 11 runs and secure an easy victory. It hasn’t been easy going offensively for the Yankees this year, which has contributed to most of their struggles. If they can regularly “bop” like this, the entire league should be put on notice. A small start, but one worth celebrating after the poor performance of the last few days.
Taillon Troubles
Another step forward, another step backwards for the struggling Jameson Taillon. Taillon picked up the win but allowed 5 runs and 5.1 innings. The culprit today was the long ball, one by Iglesias and two by the otherworldly Ohtani (who is pitching tomorrow!!!).
Taillon is allowing far too much contact even though his strikeout numbers are good and isn’t providing enough length to be a consistent rotation option. He now has a 5.43 ERA through 15 starts, which is no longer a small sample size. Any hope for progress comes at the cost of the Yankees winning games and that should be enough to put his rotation spot in danger, if the Yankees weren’t starting freaking Michael King as well. Where art thou, Luis Severino and Corey Kluber? Yankees Universe turns its lonely eyes to you. Much more entertaining was Nestor Cortes retiring Shohei Ohtani with his funky delivery. Cortes has a 1.02 ERA which is really good! More Nestor Cortes please!
Miggy Magic
In a year where so much has been disappointing for the Yankees, the resurgence of Miguel Andujar has been one of the only things that has gone well for the team. After an abysmal start, Miggy Bats has really turned things around, hitting .284/.333/.500 in June, numbers straight from the 2018 Miguel Andujar playbook. He has slotted in as the starting left fielder which is both a knock on the Yankees depth and a testament to the work that Andujar has done to learn the outfield and become a viable option in a time of need. Last night, Miggy homered and had three hits, helping the Yankees lock down a victory. Definitely one of the surprise stories of this year and something that I don’t know if many people saw coming after his 2019/2020. We’re all rooting for you Miguel, as the literally one player outperforming expectations this season.
Game 3: Yankees Lose 11-8
What an ugly, ugly, ugly loss. Seven is supposed to be a lucky number, but it was unlucky for the Yankees tonight, as their seven run first inning was supplanted by a seven run ninth inning for the Angels, that took place after hours of rain delays. We have a contender for the new “worst loss of the season”, folks.
Awful Aroldis
For as good as Aroldis Chapman had been over the season’s first two months, he has been just that bad in the month of June. Pitching for the first time in a week since his meltdown against the Royals, Chapman managed to top that this time out, walking the bases loaded and then giving up a grand slam to Jared Walsh.
Aroldis has absolutely no idea where the ball is going right now and it was criminal for him to be allowed to stay in the game as long as he did. He’s now rocking an 11.42 ERA in June. Just terrible, terrible managing by Boone. The grand slam allowed the Yankees to blow their 8-4 lead and they subsequently handed the lead to the Angels as well, as Lucas Luetge came in and gave up three more runs. An 8-4 lead became an 11-8 deficit and when the Yankees failed to rally in the bottom of the ninth, it sealed the loss. This win probability graph is one of the grossest things I’ve seen in a while.
Just an absolutely brutal loss and the exact opposite of what the Yankees needed to do in this game. Chapman either needs to hit the IL with a phantom injury or be demoted from the closer role for a bit, because to have him closing out games is malpractice.
Oh No Tani
The game ended very poorly for the Yankees, but it started off very well, as in a shocking turn of events, the team put up a seven spot in the first inning off of Shohei Ohtani. The anticipation for this start was high, but when Shohei walked the first three batters, things seemed to be breaking the Yankees' way. Singles by Stanton and Torres scored runs and an RBI groundout by Miguel Andujar gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead. When Ohtani couldn’t retire Brett Gardner for the final out, he was pulled in the bottom of the first inning. The big blow came off the bat of DJ LeMahieu, as he drove in three runs to make it 7-0 Yankees in the first. Ohtani’s ERA rose all the way to 3.60 and he didn’t get to bat more than once for himself. Great offensive inning by the Yankees against one of the toughest pitchers in the league.
Rain, Rain Go Away
The rain was one of the big stories in this game, as there were two separate rain delays, pushing the end of the game past 1:00 am ET. It looked at times as if the Yankees might escape with a rain shortened win, and it’s kind of pathetic that this would have been a better outcome than what actually happened. Equally as pathetic was the fact that after scoring seven runs in the first inning, the team only managed one additional run off of a Brett Gardner home run. This could have been a blowout, Chapman-proof win, but instead we got a heartbreaking loss. Typical for the 2021 Yankees - a great moment overshadowed by poor performance on the rest of the team.
The Yankees’ nightmare season resumes tomorrow night against the Mets and we’ll have a series preview for you tomorrow afternoon. Enjoy your Thursday and try not to think about how poorly the last week has gone for the Bronx Bombers.
