The New York Yankees dropped their fourth consecutive game on Tuesday by a score of 1-5. With ace Gerrit Cole on the mound, this was the team’s best opportunity to get back in the win column, but they continue to plummet down the AL East standings and are slipping away in the Wil Card. Currently, the Bombers are 9.5 games back from the Tampa Bay Rays in the East, and they’re only 0.5 games ahead of Boston, who lost to Tampa on Tuesday. The Toronto Blue Jays are two games behind the Seattle Mariners in three games.
If the Yankees aren’t careful, they could be in serious danger of losing their WC spot and potentially missing the postseason.
Good news and bad news for the Yankees:
Another game full of negative takeaways, as Cole removed himself from the loss with a tight hamstring. This is a fear-inducing injury for Yankee fans, and while he hasn’t been ruled out from his next start, he plans to be careful with an injury that has plagued him in the past.
Cole had been performing at an All-Star level the entire season, and losing him is a massive blow to the starting rotation. Boone seemed confident Cole with fight through any discomfort from the hamstring Injury, but Cole was far more cautious, saying he would wait until further evaluations to make any statements.
With the Yankees down 3-1, Cole left the field — there’s no timetable for his hopeful return. Despite skipper Aaron Boone benching both Joey Gallo and Gleyber Torres for their lack of offensive efficiency, the Yankees were still only capable of scoring one run.
If there’s any good news to take away from the loss, it is that reserve shortstop Andrew Velazquez had a phenomenal game, recording two hits on three at-bats and one run, scoring off an Anthony Rizzo single to left field. At this point, Velazquez might’ve earned himself more playing time with Torres struggling defensively and failing to get much going with his bat.
The only other good takeaway has nothing to do with the current Yankees team, but rather Derek Jeter being inducted into the Hall of Fame. That is something we can all celebrate while this team flounders and risks missing the postseason.
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