The New York Yankees have a 10-game lead in the AL East and the fourth-best record (72-44) in MLB. But it certainly doesn’t feel that way lately.
New York was shut out 4-0 by the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night at Yankee Stadium.
FINAL: Rays 4, Yankees 0.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 16, 2022
Easy as 1-2-3 pic.twitter.com/ibMRP5Av1R
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) August 16, 2022
The Yankees have now lost 10 of their last 12 games and five of their last six. They’ve been shut out in consecutive games (3-0 at the Boston Red Sox on Sunday), and three times over the last six games (including a 1-0 loss in 13 innings at the Seattle Mariners). And over the last six games, the Yankees haven’t scored more than three runs in any game.
Since starting the season with a ridiculous record of 61-23, the Yankees have gone 11-21. That’s quite the regression.
(You can see more about Anthony Rizzo’s frustration here)
The Yankees this year have gone 61-23 then 11-21. 😬 pic.twitter.com/D3rGYAjl3l
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) August 16, 2022
So, it’s a pretty alarming drop-off for a Yankees team that seemed like a full-on juggernaut.
But, again- they still have a 10-game lead in the AL East, and they’re only 2.5 games behind the Houston Astros for the best record in the AL. And they still have a ton of talent, led by Aaron Judge, who’s having an absolutely absurd season (46 home runs and is worth 7.6 wins above replacement per FanGraphs) that will likely result in winning the AL MVP award.
Odds are that the Yankees will turn things around, but their recent woes will naturally leave the fan base feeling uneasy in a title-or-bust season.
Here’s a look at how the baseball world is reacting to the Yankees’ shutout loss:
The Yankees have lost each of the last 5 games in which their starter recorded a quality start, their longest such streak since 1995 (May 24 to June 3).
The last time the Yankees had a 6-game losing streak with quality starts was 1979 (April 25 to May 2).
h/t @EliasSports pic.twitter.com/8ALXCZdamd
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 16, 2022
Yankees are shut out in consecutive games for the first time since a three-game streak from Sept. 22-24, 2016
— New York Yankees Stats (@nyyankeesstats) August 16, 2022
Yankees have lost 10 of their last 12 games while scoring just 38 runs over that span.
It’s their first 2-10 stretch with fewer than 38 runs scored since May 28 – June 10, 2005.
— New York Yankees Stats (@nyyankeesstats) August 16, 2022
Yankees have allowed 15 runs in the 9th inning or later since July 12.
That’s tied with the Brewers for the most in MLB over that span.
— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) August 16, 2022
The #Yankees‘ slide continues, losing for the 10th time in the last 12 games, 4-0 to the #Rays. Their offense has gone AWOL. They have been shut out 4 times in their last 9 games, scoring just 8 runs in the last six games.
The good news: They still lead the AL East by 10 games.— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 16, 2022
The Yankees have now lost ten of their last 12 games. pic.twitter.com/ArXLkWBuKv
— The Athletic MLB (@TheAthleticMLB) August 16, 2022
There’s only one man that can save the Yankees’ offense:pic.twitter.com/AM7mSzvxs8
— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) August 16, 2022
Yankees went from being can’t-miss TV to can’t-watch TV
— Allison Case (@ThatNYYChick) August 16, 2022
All of us watching the Yankees over the last month: pic.twitter.com/gndgZexAys
— everythingnyyankees (@EYYankees) August 16, 2022