Yankees Pitching Leads Way in Impressive Series Win Over Rangers

The Yankees remain in a deep offensive slumber, but they found a way to win two of three against Texas to complete a 4-2 homestand. They are now 43-35, a distant 9.5 games behind the uncatchable Rays, but they currently sit second in the wild-card standings behind the Orioles and just ahead of the Blue Jays.

I’ve had no problem complaining about the Yankees offense over the past month because the facts are the facts. I know you’re probably sick of hearing it, but they have literally been the worst offense in MLB in June and the gory numbers are there for everyone to see.

However, the Yankees deserve some credit for the fact that they won four of six games on this homestand, including two of three against one of the best offensive teams in the sport, the Texas Rangers. They did this despite scoring only 17 runs on 36 hits and going 6-for-29 with runners in scoring position in the six games, continuing the misery that has plagued them ever since Aaron Judge went down.

Given that sickly production, I’d say it was rather miraculous that they won four of six, but it’s not because when you pitch as well as the Yankees have all season, you can occasionally overcome a terrible offense, and that was the formula during this homestand.

If you take Domingo German’s 10-run nightmare last Thursday against the Mariners out of the equation, this is what the rest of the Yankees staff did in the six games combined: They threw 51.2 innings and allowed just eight earned runs on 41 hits and 11 walks with 45 strikeouts for an ERA of 1.39. That’s why they were able to win four of the six games.

Against a Rangers team that is averaging 5.94 runs per game, the Yankees’ pitchers gave up just seven runs (five earned) in 28 innings. Crazy. That drops the team ERA down to 3.67 which is fourth-best in the majors, and the bullpen is No. 1 in ERA (2.85), WHIP (1.17) and batting average against (.213).

The Yankees starters have allowed two earned runs or fewer in five of their last eight starts and 10 of the last 15. I really don’t know if they can keep pitching like this, but if they do and the offense can figure something out, there may be hope in the chase for one of the three wild card spots.

➤ Speaking of pitching, so far so good for the phantom free agent, Carlos Rodon. He made his second rehab start at Double-A Somerset Sunday and he pitched four scoreless innings allowing one hit with four strikeouts. His first start was June 20 and he went three innings giving up a run on one one hit, a walk and five strikeouts. He’s probably making one more start down there, and then maybe, just maybe, he’ll actually appear in a game for the Yankees. “I feel like that was pretty close to normal,” Rodón said. “I feel ready. That’s a decision we have to talk about, where I fall into the rotation and where they schedule it.”

Click the image for Rodon’s post-game comments.

➤ Josh Donaldson is horrendous and he should not be on the team, but at least Aaron Boone may finally be recognizing how useless he is. Boone benched Donaldson for all three games against Texas, with the exception of one simply incomprehensible pinch-hitting appearance in the Friday game which I’ll get to in the recap.

Of course when asked about sitting Donaldson, Boone couched it by saying he just wants the third baseman to take a break and recalibrate. Yeah, whatever. The bottom line is Donaldson is an abyss in the lineup and Boone had to get him out of there.

“It was just a tough decision that I was wrestling with, kind of all day (Saturday),” Boone said. “I felt like I wanted to give him a couple days to kind of work through … that was kind of just my decision, through this stretch, but I expect him to get consistent at-bats (after the break).”

I’m not sure what was tough about it. Donaldson is slashing a woeful .125/.197/.406 with a .603 OPS, six homers and eight RBIs this season. He is as close to an automatic out as there is in MLB, and neck and neck with his fellow overpaid buddy Giancarlo Stanton, though at least he proved he still has a pulse this weekend.

Here are my observations on the three games against the Rangers.

June 23: Rangers 4, Yankees 2 (10)

➤ When you’re playing one of the best teams in MLB, you can’t make as many mistakes as the Yankees made in this game and expect to win. Oh, and you can’t continue to be feeble on offense, your best bullpen options can’t falter, and the manager can’t make decisions so stupid that they defy reality. All of that conspired to sink the Yankees in a game that was eminently winnable.

➤ Let’s start here: Clarke Schmidt pitched great in holding this Rangers offense to one run - an unearned run at that - into the sixth inning. I was really down on Schmidt earlier and I still think his problem putting hitters away is a concern, but he’s been very good in his last six starts, a 1.97 ERA and a .238 batting average against. He deserved better, but his teammates failed him like they fail every other pitcher this month.

➤ The Yankees were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position as both their runs scored on outs. The second inning was disgusting, but certainly not surprising. Anthony Rizzo was hit by a pitch and DJ LeMahieu doubled, so second and third with no outs. The inning was over three pitches later. Isiah Kiner-Falefa grounded out on the first pitch he saw, Billy McKinney hit a squibber on his first pitch slow enough to get a run home, and Jose Trevino hit a slow roller to second on the first pitch he saw. Unbelievable. In the eighth, IKF and McKinney singled so it was first and third with no outs. From there, pinch hitter Kyle Higashioka hit a sacrifice fly, but then Anthony Volpe whiffed on three pitches and Harrison Bader lined out, killing yet another chance.

➤ IKF has at least been decent recently, but man, he hurt the Yankees in this one. The Rangers’ run in the fourth came when Leody Taveras hit a pop fly to short center with a man on first and two outs. For some reason IKF got a terrible jump, then was hesitant with Volpe coming out and the ball fell between them, though it was IKF’s ball all the way. Worse, he overran it and that allowed the man on first to come all the way around to score the tying run. IKF was back at it in the fifth. After he led off with a single he stole second and was called safe. For some reason, he thought he was out, started jogging to the dugout and was tagged out. Little League stuff. “That’s another dumb play that can’t happen again,” IKF said. “That’s just a bonehead play that cost us a rally.”

➤ By the way, the runner who scored from first for Texas in the fourth was left fielder Ezequiel Duran, one of the players the Yankees sent to the Rangers in the 2021 trade that brought them the gem that was Joey Gallo. By game’s end, Duran was hitting .314 with a .358 on-base. Do you think that guy could have helped the Yankees in left field this season, far and away their worst position?

➤ Clay Holmes has been great for two months, but he hit a speed bump in allowing the go-ahead run in the eighth on a double and then Mitch Garver’s two-out RBI single. And then came the Michael King show in the 10th. King is apparently making a change to his mechanics, and while he’s trying to figure it out, he’s killing the Yankees. The first pitch he threw was hit by Adolis Garcia into the left-field bleachers to win the game. “Just can’t throw it over the middle,” King said. “Good hitter, and if I make a mistake, he’s gonna hit it and I just didn’t execute the pitch.” In his last six appearances, King’s ERA is 9.82 and he has two blown saves.

➤ We’ll conclude the eulogy of this game with our favorite manager just doing dumb shit. With one out and the free runner at second in the 10th and lefty closer Will Smith on the mound, Boone decided to pinch-hit for McKinney, despite his two earlier hits and .319 average. Who did Boone turn to? None other than Donaldson who was hitting .127. I mean, in your wildest imagination, or in your most brain dead moment, is that a choice you would make? It’s just incredible to me that Boone would make that move, but then again I remember how little feel he has for any moment in a game. To the surprise of no one except Boone, Donaldson whiffed on four pitches, then Higgy popped out, game over.

BOX SCORE

June 24: Yankees 1, Rangers 0

➤ Luis Severino snapped out of his funk with six tremendous scoreless innings against a relentless Rangers lineup. In his previous four starts in June, Sevy’s ERA was 9.16, opponents were hitting .358 against him, and even the ever-upbeat Boone had to be a little concerned. In this one, it was Sevy at his best as he gave up five hits and two walks. He had only four strikeouts, but his velocity was back to normal.

➤ The offense continued to be next-level awful. The lone run came on a McKinney home run. Yeah, the same McKinney who is currently the best hitter on the team, the guy Boone pinch-hit for on Friday. He tagged one off Rangers starter Jon Gray who otherwise allowed only two other hits and two walks in five innings. And then against the Texas bullpen the Yankees had just two singles the rest of the way giving them four for the game.

➤ Texas nearly scored in the first as Sevy walked two and gave up a single to Josh Jung, but thanks to a terrible send by the third base coach, right fielder Jake Bauers gunned down Nathaniel Lowe at the plate to kill the threat. The only other innings the Rangers had two men on base came in the eighth and ninth, lending some drama to the day. Wandy Peralta continues to struggle as he gave up two singles and the third batter he faced should have walked on a 3-2 pitch but the ump gave Peralta a very generous called strike three. Boone pulled him and Holmes bounced back from his Friday fail and got out of the jam. Then in the ninth, Ron Marinaccio, who hadn’t pitched since June 18, gave up a single and a walk and I didn’t think he had a chance of escaping, but he did. Two strikeouts and a pop fly to save the game. Nice work indeed.

➤ How good was the day? Even Stanton had a single, plus we were spared having to watch Donaldson because he was on the bench. I’d say right where he belongs, but where he really belongs is off the team.

BOX SCORE

June 25: Yankees 5, Rangers 3

➤ Scoring three runs in the eighth inning counts as an offensive explosion for the Yankees these days, and it could not have come at a better time. Down 3-2 and looking as lame as they have all month, the Yankees suddenly burst to life. Volpe led off with a double and Trevino singled and was replaced by pinch runner Oswaldo Cabrera, a smart move by Boone that actually paid off. After Gleyber Torres failed to advance the runners, the Rangers brought in Yerry Rodriguez who was just called up from Triple-A. He promptly gave up a two-run double to the gap in left-center to Harrison Bader, and Cabrera was able to score from first for the go-ahead run, something Trevino would never have done. And after an intentional walk to Rizzo, Stanton dropped all of our jaws with an RBI single to left to make it 5-3. Ballgame.

➤ This certainly wasn’t prime Gerrit Cole as the Rangers ultra dangerous offense finally began flexing its muscles. He gave up three runs on nine hits and a walk, but he struck out seven and to his credit, got himself out of some sticky jams. He threw 107 pitches and didn’t even get through five innings, the first time that has happened since June 9, 2022.

Here was Aaron Boone’s opening statement Sunday afternoon. Click the image.

➤ There were two huge moments in this game for the bullpen. Cole left runners at first and third with two outs in the fifth and Jimmy Cordero got Jonah Heim to ground out. And in the sixth, after Cordero got the first two outs he gave up a walk and a single so Nick Ramirez came in lefty-to-lefty for Corey Seager and struck him out to keep the Yankees within 3-2.

➤ Ramirez went on to pitch a perfect seventh, Marinaccio worked around a Duran double in the eighth, and then the nervous ninth began with King trying to close it out against the top of the Texas order. As I said earlier, King’s had a rough go of it, but he was nails in this one. He struck out Marcus Semien, got Seager to fly out, and after Lowe singled, he whiffed Garcia, revenge for King after what happened to him against Garcia Friday.

➤ LeMahieu is showing signs of life. Stanton walked and Bauers doubled to open the second inning just after Texas had taken a 3-0 lead and LeMahieu ripped a two-run double off Nathan Eovaldi. That was all the damage against Eovaldi who continued to own the Yankees most of the day.

➤ Heim is the kid from Buffalo who is having a breakout season as the Rangers catcher. He had as many extra-base hits (two) in this game as the Yankees’ catchers have had since May 29. Trevino has only one in his last 26 games going back to May 2.

BOX SCORE

➤ June 26, 1939: More than 36 years into their history, this was the first time the Yankees had ever played a night game, and the lowly Philadelphia A’s had to be thinking that they should have turned on the lights sooner.

The three-time defending champion Yankees had beaten the A’s in all eight meetings in 1939 heading into this historic game at Shibe Park, but Philadelphia rallied from a 2-1 deficit by scoring the tying run in the seventh on a double play grounder, and then the winner in the eighth on Eric Tipton’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly off Yankees starter Bump Hadley.

New York’s runs came in the second when Bill Dickey doubled and scored on a single by Joe Gordon, and in the fifth when George Selkirk tripled and scored on a wild pitch by A’s starter Cotton Pippen with Babe Dahlgren at the plate. The game was not secure until Pippen retired Joe DiMaggio, Dickey and Selkirk in order in the ninth. A month earlier, Pippen had pitched brilliantly, but he lost a 1-0 decision to the Yankees Oral Hildebrand at Yankee Stadium.

How unusual was this result? In 1939, the Yankees beat the A’s in 18 of 22 games and outscored Connie Mack’s team 179-68.

Dahlgren was just about through his second month as the starting Yankees first baseman, having taken over for Lou Gehrig who had only weeks earlier learned that he was suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the disease which would lead to his death in 1941 and eventually become known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

The Yankees wouldn’t play the first night game at Yankee Stadium until May 28, 1946, and they lost that one as well, 2-1 to the Senators.

The Yankees head to the West Coast to start a three-game set in Oakland Tuesday. The A’s had a brief and stunning revival when they won seven games in a row a couple weeks back, and I’m not quite sure how they did it. They’re back to reality with 10 losses in their 11 games since that streak including a 12-1 pounding at Toronto Sunday which dropped their record to a ghastly 20-60. That’s not a typo. They’re 20-60!

The Yankees swept them at the stadium back in early May by a cumulative score of 28-10, but that seems like a lifetime ago and the way the Yankees hit these days, I seriously doubt they’re scoring 28 runs in these three games. Hopefully, they’ll spare us the embarrassment of losing to Oakland, but it would not shock me if the A’s get one. After all, their team on-base percentage is .301 while the Yankees is second-worst in MLB at .296.

Oakland’s team ERA is an MLB-worst 6.08, as is its 1.56 WHIP and its .272 average against is second-worst. There simply are no excuses for the Yankees not to hit and score and sweep.

Oakland has a couple productive hitters who are doing more than most of the Yankees hitters this season. Rookie DH Brent Rooker leads the team with 13 homers, 38 RBI and an .810 OPS while first baseman Ryan Noda leads with a .387 on-base percentage and has contributed 31 RBI and an .804 OPS.

It looks as if the pitching matchups will be as follows: Tuesday, 9:40 p.m. on YES, Jhony Brito (4.89 ERA) against Paul Blackburn (4.21); Wednesday at 9:40 on YES it’s Domingo German (5.10) against JP Sears (4.10); and Thursday at 3:37 p.m. it’s Clarke Schmidt (4.32) against an undetermined pitcher.