Had a team ever needed an off day more than the Yankees?
If nothing else, just to ensure that they could not inflict more damage on themselves while trying yet again to end a losing streak that now stands at seven games?
Sometimes when a team is in the depths of despair, it wants to get back on the field as soon as possible to try to climb out of it. The Yankees keep attempting that and it has only gotten worse, so Thursday they had what Aaron Boone described as “a day to refresh the body and mind.”
There may be no better slump buster than the Twins arriving in town Friday, though if the Yankees losing streak somehow reaches eight against their perennial punching bags, the panic may reach an all-time high.
“Ten more [games] before the [All-Star] break,” Cody Bellinger said. “Hopefully we get rolling.”
Before then, here are the five biggest areas of concern from an absolutely brutal week in Yankee land:
Lineup lacks punch
There is plenty of blame to go around for the terrible week, but first and foremost, the Aaron Judge-less offense has been the most responsible. During the seven-game skid, they have combined to hit just .137 (31-for-226) with a paltry .191 on-base percentage and .230 slugging percentage.
Their .421 OPS is the worst in any single seven-game stretch in franchise history.
Yes, losing Judge to the injured list hurts, but this is more than that — this is almost every hitter on the roster slumping at the same time.
“I feel like right now, collectively guys are just trying to do too much, trying to be the one guy that will hit the grand slam with nobody on,” Judge said. “It’s like, ‘Hey, just take your approach, take your at-bat.’ ”
The Yankees have been even worse against starting pitchers in particular. They have faced some tough arms, but those starters have combined to give up just five runs (four earned) and 22 base runners (14 hits, seven walks, one hit batter) with 54 strikeouts in 46 innings. The Yankees have hit a putrid .093 with a .311 OPS against them.
Stars shooting blanks
Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger will likely be named All-Stars with Judge on Saturday, but they certainly haven’t played like it over the past week. With Judge on the IL for the foreseeable future, the Yankees need Rice and Bellinger to hit like they are capable of — which they did earlier in June when Judge first went down, only to go ice-cold at the same time.
Rice is 2-for-25 during the losing streak while Bellinger is 1-for-23 with two walks.
“Missing my pitches and then swinging at some pitcher’s pitches,” Bellinger said. “I got to be better. I just got to continue working and continue to trust myself and trust my plan.”
Poor defense
Among the more stupefying stats of the skid: The Yankees have scored as many runs as they have given up unearned runs: 17.
Officially, they have committed 10 errors — two by Austin Wells (catcher interference each time), two by José Caballero (one at second base, one at third) and one each by Bellinger, Amed Rosario, Oswaldo Cabrera, Ali Sánchez, Yerry De los Santos and Cam Schlittler — along with a handful of additional defensive miscues, all for a unit that had taken decent care of the ball before this stretch.
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Part of the problem is the absence of Trent Grisham and Ryan McMahon — both are expected to be activated off the IL on Friday — which has forced some guys to play at positions they are less comfortable with.
“We haven’t done a good job of that this week,” Boone said. “Even with some of the guys out, we should still be better at that.”
Cracks in the rotation?
The last time the Yankees finished an inning with a lead came in the fourth inning last Thursday in Boston. Since then, along with not scoring enough, they have been falling behind early and having to play uphill.
This does not yet rise to the level of concern as the rest of this list, but the rotation has had some clunkers over the past week, including Schlittler, who may start the All-Star Game for the AL. The stud right-hander needs to make sure it was just a blip and not a sign of anything else to come as his innings mount. Same goes for Gerrit Cole, who enters Friday’s start having pitched to a 6.12 ERA in June.
Rays rising back up
The seven-game losing streak has coincided with a seven-game Rays winning streak that they brought into Thursday night, turning a three-game Yankees lead into a 3.5-game deficit atop the AL East.
The teams have a four-game showdown next week at Tropicana Field, where the Yankees will need to play better to make up some ground.
