Rosters Expand But Jasson Dominguez Remains Buried in Triple-A

Another terrible weekend of baseball from the Yankees, furthering my never-ending belief that this team is going nowhere. They lost another series to a team that simply isn’t very good, but that has been a common theme for three months as they are now 39-39 since June 1. Oh, and now that they’ve lost four of their last five, their lead over the Orioles is down to a half-game. Lets get to it.

There were already some frayed nerves on Sunday and that was before the Yankees took the diamond in the Bronx and proceeded to puke all over themselves with one of their worst games of the season, a complete abomination of epic proportion.

In the morning, with rosters expanding to 28 players now that Sept. 1 has arrived, everyone assumed - or I should say hoping - that Jasson Dominguez would be called up from Scranton and Alex Verdugo would be sent to the bench for the rest of the season. Nope. Dominguez is still in Triple-A because these were the moves they made:

Activated Anthony Rizzo off the IR, and from Scranton brought up relievers Scott Effross and Ron Marinaccio and some new dude named Duke Ellis who they claimed off waivers from Seattle earlier in the week who apparently runs fast because that’s what the Yankees need most, a pinch runner.

To create the needed space for all this, they DFA’d reliever Josh Maciejewski and sent back to Triple-A the unplayable Will Warren and Ben Rice, two kids who proved they are not ready for the big leagues.

But no Dominguez, who continues to flourish in the minors with a slash line of .298/.354/.457 for an OPS of .811 in 38 Triple-A games, while Verdugo sucks in pinstripes because even with his two hits in Sunday’s 14-7 debacle of a loss, he’s still one of the least productive left fielders in MLB and since June 1 has a woeful .590 OPS with three homers in 75 games.

Now look, who the hell knows if Dominguez can actually make a difference this season. We all saw his eight-game binge last September - meaningless games for the Yankees who were out of playoff contention, by the way - and it was exciting, but can he be that player over the long haul, especially coming down the stretch here in a pennant race?

He’s the Yankees’ No. 1 prospect, so he sure as hell better be, but we’re not going to find out if they don’t call him up and stop giving us the excuse that there’s no path for everyday at bats because there is. There is a very clear path: Sit Verdugo, and get rid of Trent Grisham once and for all - or Duke Ellis, for Christ’s sake - to make room on the roster.

“He will remain in the conversation moving forward,’’ Aaron Boone said of Dominguez. “When he comes up here, we’re gonna want to play him every day, so he’ll continue to remain in the conversation. We feel like the past couple weeks, he’s starting to play well, coming back from the oblique injury. It was a tough call right now, but that doesn’t mean that doesn’t change in a couple days (or) two weeks, but it’s important for him to continue to play right now.”

Shaking my head. He can play. In the majors. On your team. Make it happen.

So yeah, not a great start to the day, and then came the game, as embarrassing a performance as they’ve had all season. The Cardinals came into this series with a bottom quarter offense in MLB but Sunday they scored 14 runs on 21 hits, season highs for them, and the 21 hits were the most allowed by the Yankees since Aug. 15, 2019 when Cleveland had 24 in a 19-5 blowout. For the series, they went 15-for-30 with runners in scoring position.

What a joke.

And so since Aug. 1, the Yankees played nine series - eight against teams that were below .500 when the series began - plus one against the Guardians who at the time were in a deep slump. They went 14-13 in those games. Again, I say, what a joke.

“It’s not been easy, but we’re in a great position,’’ Boone said. “We’re sitting atop the division, (with) the best record, or right around there, in the league. It’s definitely been a grind for us. It’s right there for the taking. I’m excited for this final push and hopefully to set us up to play in October.’’

Doing his best Boone impression, Nestor Cortes, whose terrible performance started the trouble Sunday, said, “As bad as people think we’re playing and as bad as it might show we’re playing, we’re still in first place. It goes to show it’s there for us to take.”

All these guys are delusional.

Aug. 30: Yankees 6, Cardinals 3

The Lead: Austin Wells had a night

That would be putting it mildly regarding Wells because the rookie catcher has really come on the last couple months, and he was the man of the match in this one with a pair of two-run homers, the first which broke a 2-2 tie in the third, the second which gave the Yankees some much needed breathing room and allowed Cardiac Clay Holmes to work with a three-run cushion in the ninth.

It was the first two-homer game of Wells’ career and it helped the Yankees overcome a nothing night from Aaron Judge who is proving human lately as he went 0-for-4 and had his 19-game on-base streak snapped, setting up what became a miserable one-hit, seven-strikeout weekend for him.

“Those were two big at-bats,’’ Boone said of Wells. “He continues to be a real presence in the middle of our order. I think you’re seeing the experience and maturity of a good hitter. That’s who we drafted.”

Game notes and observations:

➤ Marcus Stroman gave the Yankees seven innings despite allowing nine hits, and the reason he was able to last so long is he didn’t walk anybody and he worked some quick at bats. He allowed nine singles and a double by Paul Goldschmidt, and he should have had a scoreless outing, but his defense let him down.

➤ In the third, he got the first two outs, gave up a pair of singles, then induced a foul pop to third by Brendan Donovan. Jazz Chisholm got in position to make the catch, and he dropped it. He was right against the screen so it wasn’t super easy, but it was absolutely a play that should have been made. Naturally on the very next pitch, Donovan singled home a run when the inning should have been over, and Goldschmidt followed with an RBI single to give the Cardinals a 2-1 lead.

➤ The Yankees first run came in the second when Giancarlo Stanton doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Anthony Volpe, and then in the third, Gleyber Torres walked and scored on a Juan Soto double, and Wells homered to make it 4-2.

➤ Nolan Arenado homered off Jake Cousins in the eighth to make it sweaty, but Torres led off the bottom half with a single and after Soto and Judge whiffed, Wells hit his second homer, a no-doubter to right.

Aug. 31: Cardinals 6, Yankees 5

The Lead: More misery with Will Warren

It’s rather incredible to me that Warren apparently is the only option the Yankees have in Triple-A to take Luis Gil’s spot in the rotation because we are now five starts into his MLB career and it’s clear this kid is nowhere near ready for this.

He was unimpressive again as he gave up four runs in the third inning and though the Yankees nearly climbed out of the hole he put them in, it ultimately proved too deep thanks to Mark Leiter sucking once again and giving up the two runs in the sixth that proved to be the difference.

“Just got to be better, learn from every outing, and move on to the next one,” Warren said. He now has a 9.55 ERA and his next start, and probably all of the rest of his 2024 starts, will come in Triple-A.

Game notes and observations:

➤ As Warren was getting drilled, I started thinking that the Yankees were dead in this game because they are so bad at rallying to win. So I looked it up and counting Sunday’s loss the Yankees are now 3-42 in games where they trail by at least three runs at any point. All teams have bad records in these situations, but that’s third-worst in MLB behind only the Blue Jays (3-53) and White Sox (2-72). And when it gets late in a game, the Yankees are now just 9-44 when they are trailing after the sixth inning, 4-47 when they trail after the seventh inning. They are the ultimate frontrunners.

➤ The Yankees scored first when Wells led off the second with a double and scored on a hard single by Volpe, but after two decent innings, Warren crumbled in the third. He walked the No. 9 hitter, Victor Scott who was batting .167, to start it, and then Volpe made another bad play which has become a thing lately. Masyn Winn hit a tailor-made DP to Torres who fed Volpe and Volpe bobbled the transfer and couldn’t complete it. And of course that came back to haunt the Yankees because what followed was a single, an RBI single by Arenado, and a three-run homer by Brendan Donovan and in the blink of any eye it was 4-1. The Cardinals almost got more as Goldschmidt doubled, and after the second out, Ivan Herrera singled to left but Verdugo made a great throw home to prevent another run and end the inning.

➤ Once again the offense was held in check by a mediocre pitcher in Kyle Gibson, a veteran who had allowed 15 earned runs over 14.1 innings in his previous three starts. Against the Yankees he went seven innings and gave up just one run on five hits with no walks.

➤ Tim Hill pitched a scoreless fifth, and then Leiter came on for the sixth and for the seventh time in 14 appearances he gave up runs. Back-to-back doubles by Herrera and Jordan Walker, then a wild pitch and when Wells tried to throw Walker out at third the ball ended up in left field and Walker trotted home to make it 6-1.

➤ Once Gibson came out, the Yankees finally came alive in the eighth and routed Matthew Liberatore for four runs. Torres led off with a single and then Soto grounded into a double play so it looked like another dud of an inning. But then consecutive singles by Judge, Wells, Chisholm and Volpe scored a run, and with the bases loaded and Andrew Kittredge replacing Liberatore, Boone sent Stanton up to pinch hit. In his career he was 4-for-45 with four RBI as a pinch hitter. Well, he smoked one to left center that missed being a game-tying grand slam by two feet. It hit the top of the wall and three runs scored, but that still left the Yankees trailing 6-5, and naturally, Verdugo killed the rally with his patented ground out to second. Game of inches, man.

➤ The Yankees had a chance in the ninth against closer Ryan Helsley, but it didn’t start well. Oswaldo Cabrera stupidly got nailed for a pitch clock violation on a 2-2 count and thus struck out. Don’t blame the ump; that was on Cabrera and he admitted so afterward. After Torres flied out, Soto kept the game alive with a double, and then the Cardinals smartly walked Judge intentionally, even though that put the winning run on base. Didn’t matter as Wells struck out on a 3-2 pitch to end the game.

Sept. 1: Cardinals 14, Yankees 7

The Lead: Juan Soto had his worst day

Soto has been great for the Yankees, but let’s be honest here, that has not been the case lately and Sunday was the worst game he’s played in pinstripes. At the plate he singled in his first at bat, then got thrown out stealing while Judge was striking out, doing it at half speed. Just a bizarre play. He grounded out in the third, killed a rally by grounding into a double play in the fifth, flied out with the go-ahead run on third in the sixth, and grounded out in the ninth.

But in the field he was even worse as he allowed three balls to go over his head, all of which should have been caught. Two had a 99% catch probability, the other was 75%. Those failures cost the Yankees six runs, including five in the seventh that turned a 7-7 game into a 12-7 blowout.

Soto has never been known as a good fielder, but he’s been OK for the Yankees, at least until Sunday. More worrisome is his offensive slump. He’s batting just .222 since Aug. 1, and in his last 10 games he’s 7-for-41 (.170) with one homer and three RBI.

Couple that with a bad week by Judge who went 4-for-21 in the six games against the Nationals and Cardinals with no homers and one RBI, and factor in some shitty pitching and awful defense, and is it any surprise the Yankees lost four of these six games?

“Tough day for us,’’ Boone said. “We know how important these games are, certainly. We had another opportunity to win a series that we weren’t able to finish and that sucks. We’ve got to play our best.”

Game notes and observations:

➤ After three great starts, Cortes was horrible. Granted, he got no help from his defense but he also gave up five runs on nine hits and a walk. Soto’s misplay in the second led to the first run, and then in the fourth, what a nightmare. A downpour hit and he gave up back-to-back singles with the wet grass hurting him on a ball that Volpe probably should have had. Then he got two whiffs and was one strike away from getting out of the jam, but Winn hit a fly ball down the left field line and Verdugo couldn’t make the catch. He had a long run, but he should have caught it. Instead, two runs scored. Then Luken Baker crushed a two-run homer and it was 5-2.

➤ In the fifth, Effross appeared in his first MLB game 2022 and it did not go well. He gave up a hard single, got a double play on a smoked grounder, gave up another hard single, and then served up a two-run homer to Jordan Walker. All four balls were clocked at over 100 mph. Walker entered the day batting .143 and he went 5-for-5 against this Yankees pitching staff that was just brutal all day. He became the first Cardinal with a five-hit game since Matt Carpenter in 2018, the first Cardinal aged 22 or younger to do so since Stan Musial in 1943. Nice job Yankees.

➤ The Yankees actually rallied to tie the game with three runs in the fifth As Rizzo returned with an RBI double and Verdugo and Torres had RBI singles, all with no outs before Soto spiked the rally. And in the sixth, Chisholm reached on a fielders’ choice, stole second and scored on Volpe’s single. With the bases loaded, Torres was robbed of a three-run double, but one run scored on the sac fly to tie it

➤ So you’re thinking OK, they actually showed some stones to get back into it, but that good vibe died quickly. In the seventh, a ball up the middle caromed off reliever Jake Cousins and went for a single. If it didn’t hit his leg, it probably would have been an inning ending double play, so that was a bad break. Here, Tommy Kahnle relieved, and disaster ensued, with Soto in the crosshairs. Kahnle, who hadn’t allowed an earned run since July 14, got the second out but then gave up a single to load the bases, and Nootbaar hit a line drive to right. Soto misread it and it wound up as a three-run double. It should have been the third out. Soto had another chance to make the third out when the next batter, Scott, hit one to right. Again he misread it and another run scored, and after Kahnle left, Phil Bickford came in and promptly threw a bunt away which allowed the fifth run to score.

➤ Marinaccio pitched the ninth, and he sucked, too, allowing the last two runs on three hits. “The difference is we couldn’t close out that inning with two outs,’’ Boone said of the seventh. “It was one of those games.” Oh, that was one difference, but there were many other moments where it all went to shit for the Yankees.

Now the Yankees have another series against a sub .500 team, the defending World Series champion Rangers who have been one of the most disappointing teams in MLB this season. Of course, that’s a perfect recipe for them to get their shit together just in time against the Yankees.

The Yankees took two of three from Texas a few weeks ago, though they nearly blew the rubber game before holding on to win 8-7. Sunday, the Rangers rallied to beat the A’s in 10 innings, 6-4 on Jush Jung’s walk-off three-run homer off Oakland closer Mason Miller which improved their record to 65-72.

This team has plenty of talent led by Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Adolis Garcia, Jung and Wyatt Langford. Believe me, it is very easy to make the case that the Yankees aren’t winning this series, not the way they’ve played, because this might be the best of the sub-.500 teams they’ve played in the last month.

The pitching matchups are as follows: Monday at 8:05 on YES it’s Gerrit Cole (3.86 ERA) against a TBD; Tuesday at 8:05 on YES it’s Carlos Rodon (4.31) against Andrew Heaney (3.95); and Wednesday at 8:05 on Amazon Prime it’s Marcus Stroman (3.81) against Nathan Eovaldi (3.60).