Red Sox Embarrass Anemic Yankees

The worst series of the season for the Yankees was made even worse because it came at the hands of the hated Red Sox. It was an embarrassing showing at Fenway, but as the Yankees were on their way out of that place, they got some pretty good news. Lets get to it. 

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Deplorable.

That’s the best word I’ve got to describe what we all just watched across three ridiculous losses to a Boston team that a week ago was 10.5 games behind the Yankees in the AL East and looking dead in the water.

Well, the Yankees just gave them mouth-to-mouth resuscitation by losing the final two games last weekend at Yankee Stadium and then losing all three at Fenway.

And because the eternally annoying Rays swept the Mets at Citi Field, the Yankees lead is down to 3.5 games on them, it’s 4.5 on the Jays who thankfully got swept by the Phillies, while the Red Sox are right back in it just 6.5 out.

It was almost inconceivable how shitty the Yankees’ offense was in this series. How shitty, you ask? They scored four runs, tying their fewest ever in a series of three games or more at Fenway, a futility mark originally set in 1916 and matched in 1922.

In between repetitive swearing at the TV, I was rubbing my eyes all weekend trying to process how lifeless this team was despite playing their fiercest rival, a rival that kicked sand in their face last weekend, and has a punk rookie pitcher named Hunter Dobbins trash-talking them as if he’d earned the right, and then backing up his big mouth by dominating them. What a bad look for the Yankees.

All you had to do was take a gander at Aaron Judge’s batting line to get a grasp on why they got swept. He went 1-for-12 with nine strikeouts and looked completely lost which is understandable against ace Garrett Crochet, but unfathomable against Dobbins and Brayan Bello.

Obviously it wasn’t all Judge’s fault, but what really worries me is that not a single guy on this team stepped up with Judge in a coma all weekend. Judge is human, after all, and he’s going to have stretches like this because he has throughout his entire career, just like every player in MLB. The fact that no one else did a thing is problematic because as we all know, one man can’t carry a baseball team the way, say, a great quarterback or a great goalie can.

“It sucks losing to the Red Sox. We never like that,” Aaron Boone said. “But it’s why teams don’t win 120 games. We’re really good. I think that’s going to continue to show itself. We had a tough weekend. And frankly, had a chance to potentially win all the games, even back at home against them. Credit to them, they were a little bit better than us this weekend. Long season. We’re in the middle of a tough stretch right now, obviously (playing) 16 in a row. We get home and start anew and hopefully get the bats going and have a big home stand.”

OK, now for silver lining to this puke-a-thon of a weekend. A couple hours after Rafael Devers homered to help the Red Sox win the finale 2-0, the Red Sox traded him to the Giants.

That’s right, the Red Sox traded Devers to the Giants in a move that we all should be thrilled about, especially the Yankees, given how much torture that guy has inflicted on them through the years. I don’t care who the Red Sox got in return, I don’t care that they were reportedly able to unload his entire contract on the Giants which will help them down the road by giving them more payroll flexibility.

In the here and now, getting the face of evil out of the division, and out of the American League, is a major reason to celebrate. For me, that news certainly softened the blow of the sickening sweep. Ever since Devers crushed that home run off Aroldis Chapman in 2017 which, at that time was almost impossible to do, Devers has terrorized the Yankees. During his career, he has played them 119 times in the regular season and he hit 31 home runs with 78 RBI and an OPS of .874. Those 31 homers are 10 more than any other opponent has hit against them since 2017.

It felt like every time the Red Sox beat the Yankees, he was somehow a key reason why, and even when he didn’t have an impact, he scared the living hell out of you every time he stepped into the box.

So yes, while pitchers Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks will probably help the Red Sox, and outfielder James Tibbs III (the Giants No. 4 prospect) and pitching prospect Jose Bello could become something, trading Devers is very good news for the Yankees.

June 13: Red Sox 2, Yankees 1 (10)

➤ Obviously, given the way they were completely overwhelmed by Crochet all night, with the exception of one pitch to Judge, the Yankees didn’t deserve to win the opener. Still, that doesn’t make it any less maddening that they lost, ruining one of the best moments of the year when Judge crushed Crochet to tie it in the ninth.

➤ Once again, the Yankees sucked in extra innings. It’s hard to explain why they’re so bad once the game goes to overtime. They are now 1-4 this year and here’s why: In those five games they have gone 1-for-19 with three walks and scored just one run, even with the free runner starting each inning at second base. It’s almost impossible to be that bad. The only game they won was May 7 against the Padres, and they did it with a sacrifice bunt and then a walk-off sac fly by JC Escarra. Since the start of 2020 when the free runner rule was instituted, the Yankees are now 12-26 in road extra inning games, a .316 winning percentage which is the worst in MLB.

➤ Crochet is gonna be a nightmare in the AL East. It was laughable how bad the Yankees were against him, but Alex Cora sent him out to complete the game and it burned him when Judge launched a 3-2 pitch 443 feet for an epic home run that went over the Green Monster, over the monster seats, and completely out of Fenway. Man, that was some theater. Before that at bat, Judge was 0-for-6 against Crochet this season, all strikeouts, and then after that at bat, Judge went back to being a strikeout machine the rest of the series.

➤ However, amped as they were about tying the game, the Yankees wasted it with a stupid 10th inning. Anthony Volpe was the free runner and he tried to steal third and was gunned down, pretty much killing any chance the Yankees had of scoring against ex-Yankee Garrett Whitlock. Jasson Dominguez struck out, and then DJ LeMahieu appeared to chalk the right-field line for what would have been a double, but it was ruled foul. Boone called for a replay, and even though it looked fair, barely, the umps did not reverse the call. After Boone threw his gum and got ejected, LeMahieu grounded out, then told the ump it was a brutal call, and the thin-skinned dipshit who blew the original call tossed LeMahieu out, too. Not because he swore, but because he properly said it was a brutal call. Too many umpires are such assholes.

➤ In the bottom half, a stupid decision was made that cost them. Free runner David Hamilton took third on a grounder, so Tim Hill intentionally walked Devers, then struck out Marcelo Mayer. And here, whoever was calling the shots - I guess it was bench coach Brad Ausmus - decided not to walk Carlos Narvaez, a right-hand hitter, so that Hill could go after rookie lefty swinger Roman Anthony. Anthony is going to be a star, but he had started his MLB career 1-for-15 and he probably wasn’t ready for bases loaded, 10th inning against the Yankees. Well, they pitched to Narvaez and after Hill got ahead 0-2, Narvaez, another ex-Yankee, drilled one off the wall to win it.

➤ Ryan Yarbrough had a nice bounce back from his disaster against the Red Sox last week. He went 4.2 innings and gave up just one run on four hits and three walks. Jonathan Loaisiga, Ian Hamilton (amazingly) and Fernando Cruz then tacked on 4.1 scoreless innings allowing just one hit and two walks. It was really a shame because a lot of great pitching went to waste.

What they said in Friday’s clubhouse

• Boone: “Fair ball down the line that they miss in real time and don’t have the courage to overturn. I want the courage to overturn the call. A quarter of the ball’s on the line ... so, whatever, it’s over with. Not saying we score there. In the end they outlasted us tonight.”

• LeMahieu on what he said to umpire Jeremy Rehak: “I just said, ‘That was a brutal call.’ He was like, ‘What did you say?’ I was like, ‘That was brutal.’ That was it. Of all the (worse) things I’ve said to umpires, I was pretty surprised. Obviously, it’s a high-intensity moment in the game and high-pressure and emotions are running high.”

• Judge on Crochet: “He’s an incredible pitcher. That’s why they traded for him. He works both sides of the plate, has overpowering stuff. I was trying to get on base to start a rally, and I was happy to tie it. What I was thinking and trying to do wasn’t working, so you’ve got to make an adjustment. That’s what this game is.”

June 14: Red Sox 4, Yankees 3

➤ Another maddening, aggravating night losing to this team as it wore its second consecutive idiotic alternative uniform which only makes me hate the Red Sox even more. I sent a message out via X to FOX during this latest loss to this most hated rival, asking the network to please do us a favor and take the Yankees off their schedule. This is three straight Saturday night shit shows we’ve had to endure, as well as the rest of the national TV-watching baseball fans, most of whom probably love watching the Yankees get drummed.

➤ Dobbins has certainly worked his way into the pantheon of Red Sox we hate. After he shit-talked last week and said he’d retire before he’d ever play for the Yankees, he made them look foolish for the second time in six days. Six innings, no runs on two measly hits and one walk. He’s now 2-0 against the Yankees with a 2.45 ERA. This guy just painted an X on his own back in this rivalry.

➤ I fully expected the Yankees to lose the Crochet game, but after losing to Dobbins last weekend, I thought Carlos Rodon would deliver a big performance in the rematch, but he didn’t. Rodon lasted only five innings and gave up all four runs, three earned, on seven hits and two walks.

➤ Of course, Rodon’s teammates sure didn’t help him, both at the plate and in the field. Rob Refsnyder led off with a double and was still there with two outs when Volpe made an ill-advised try at a long Jeter-like jump throw in the first inning and it got past Goldschmidt for an error that allowed Refsnyder to score. Boston made it 2-0 in the fourth on doubles by Narvaez and Story, and it became 3-0 in the fifth when Rodon his Kristian Campbell and he scored all the way from first on a double by Romy Gonzalez. And in the sixth, another Story double ended Rodon’s night, and Yerry De los Santos gave up a sac fly.

➤ The Yankees finally showed a pulse in the seventh, but unfortunately, a ridiculous mistake cut short their rally. With Dobbins out of the game, Goldschmidt and Jazz Chisholm - back in the lineup after sitting out two games - drew walks and they scored on back-to-back RBI singles by Dominguez and Wells. But then LeMahieu struck out, and when Trent Grisham swung and missed at a 2-1 pitch, Dominguez, thinking it was strike three, was way off the bag at second and was ready to go to the dugout. Narvaez saw this, fired to second, and Dominguez had no choice but to try to make it to third and he was gunned down easily, inning over. My God, just an inexcusable gaffe.

➤ The Yankees threatened in the ninth when Goldschmidt doubled, came around on a pair of groundouts, and then Dominguez doubled, but Wells flied out to end the game.

What they said in Saturday’s clubhouse

• Dominguez: “I thought he had two strikes, but I have nothing to say, no excuses. I made a mistake. For sure, after I had this experience, I will pay more attention.”

• Dobbins: “It was a lot of fun, but I’m more worried about the win column - whether it’s against them or anybody. My job is to try to help this team win as many games as we can and play in meaningful games. I think what makes this one more satisfying is that we won the series and we're building momentum. We're crawling back into this race where there's a lot of season left. We're building momentum for the rest of the year. And that's what's more satisfying to me.”

June 15: Red Sox 2, Yankees 0

➤ Going back to the finale in Kansas City, over the past 36 innings the Yankees have scored five runs. The offense has gone to sleep and when you’re playing the Royals you can survive, but you certainly can’t against the relentless Red Sox. But what was really frustrating is the Red Sox didn’t exactly hit the cover off the ball in this series, yet they won all three games.

➤ Max Fried has been a brilliant stopper all season as he had pitched eight times following a loss and the Yankees had won every time, but that streak ended Sunday. Fried was rock solid - seven innings, six hits, two walks with nine strikeouts - but he got zero help.

➤ Refsnyder, yet another ex-Yankee who has become a pain in the ass since leaving New York, led off by reaching on another error by Volpe, but then Devers bounced into a double play. Great, right? Nope. Gonzalez tripled and he scored on a single by Story who, thanks to the Yankees, has suddenly turned his lousy season around by killing them. The only other run came in the fifth when Devers hit the last of his 215 career homers for Boston.

➤ Grisham led off the first with a double, and Bellinger walked, but Chisholm wasted the threat with a groundout. In the third, Rice and Bellinger singled, but then Rice got picked off second base, just like Dominguez the night before, to end that chance. I have no words for how poorly the Yankees ran the bases in this series. Fundamentally pathetic. In the fourth, Chisholm led off with a walk and Volpe promptly hit into a DP. And in the eighth, Goldschmidt and Grisham opened with singles, but LeMahieu whiffed and Judge capped his nightmare with an inning-ending DP.

➤The Yankees are 8-11 against the AL East this season; that’s the worst record of any of the teams. Even the last-place Orioles are better at 8-8.

What they said in Sunday’s clubhouse

• Judge: “Got to swing at strikes. That usually helps any hitter when you swing at strikes. We just couldn’t really get anything going. We couldn’t really string those couple of at-bats together and drop some runs across. They scored first every game, put us in a hole and we weren’t able to dig out of it.”

• Boone on Judge: “Just had some swing and miss. They pitched him tough, obviously. It’s baseball, man. It’s why guys don’t hit .450 with 900 homers. You’re gonna have a weekend where they execute and they get you.”

The Yankees limped back to the Bronx and will now host the Angels for four games. A few weeks ago they swept them in Anaheim, but since then, Mike Trout has returned from an injury and though his numbers aren’t great, he’s starting to get back into form. Still, this is a 33-37 team and the Yankees need to take care of business and get the ship righted after the debacle in Boston.

Here are some of the Angels top players to watch:

➤ RF Mike Trout: He’s hitting just .220 but he does have 11 home runs and hey, he’s Mike Trout so there’s always a chance he can do something spectacular.

➤ LF Taylor Ward: His average is lousy at .214, but he has been mashing as he leads the team with 18 homers and 47 RBI.

➤ SS Zach Neto: The Yankees wish they had a leadoff hitter like this guy, a constant pest with an .807 OPS and 11 stolen bases.

➤ C Logan O’Hoppe: He’s solid behind the plate and he has 14 homers and 31 RBI.

➤ RP Kenley Jansen: This has been a lousy Angels bullpen, and the closer has 14 saves but also a 4.94 ERA and 1.352 WHIP so no lead is safe for the Angels.

The pitching matchups are scheduled to be:

• Monday, 7:05, YES: Clarke Schmidt (3.60 ERA) vs. Jose Soriano (3.86) who has actually pitched well in parts of three seasons with a career 3.61 ERA in 74 appearances.

• Tuesday, 7:05, YES: Will Warren (4.86) vs. Kyle Hendricks (5.20), an extremely soft-tossing righty who was washed up with the Cubs last year but the Angels still signed him as a free agent.

• Wednesday, 7:05, Amazon Prime: Ryan Yarbrough (3.96) vs. Jack Kochanowicz who started great when he faced the Yankees and threw three perfect innings before getting shelled for four runs in the fourth.

• Thursday, 1:05, YES: Carlos Rodon (3.01) vs. Tyler Anderson (4.44) in a rematch of their game against each other on May 27, one where Anderson allowed just one earned run in six innings.