Punchless Yankees swept by Red Sox in doubleheader
BOSTON — It can always get worse.
After Saturday’s washout followed Friday’s stinker, the Yankees’ miserable weekend at Fenway Park sank even lower on Sunday when they were swept out of town.
The Red Sox claimed both games of the day-night doubleheader, 6-2 and 4-1, sending the reeling Yankees back home licking their wounds.
“It sucks,” Anthony Rizzo said. “It’s definitely a low in the season, but this is part of the ups and downs of the big-league season.”
Across 18 innings on Sunday, the Yankees mustered just nine hits — six of them from Jake Bauers and Gleyber Torres combined.
After being stifled by a Red Sox bullpen game in the afternoon, they were shut down by Brayan Bello in the nightcap, continuing to look punchless in Aaron Judge’s absence.
With most of their big bats going dormant in unison over the last two weeks, the Yankees (39-33) have now lost eight of their last 11 games — all of them without Judge.
“That’s the storyline, so we’re going to get beat over the head with that,” manager Aaron Boone said between games. “The reality is that team we’re rolling out there is capable of doing damage offensively. And even more capable obviously with Judge. You take the best player in the world out.
Luis Serverino reacts to giving up a two-RBI double in the Yankees loss in Game 2 to the Red Sox on Sunday. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
“That, to me, is just an excuse right now. We’ve got plenty of guys capable of putting up big runs. I know it’s going to be the story every day until we start banging away. But we’ve got more than capable people to get it done. We just gotta get a little more consistent right now.”
The Yankees hit into some louder outs on Sunday night, but had little to show for it as they were swept in a doubleheader by the Red Sox (37-35) at Fenway Park for the first time since 1976.
The bats that the Yankees need to be their biggest have all gone cold at the worst time. Giancarlo Stanton is 5-for-41 (.122) since coming off the IL. DJ LeMahieu is 15-for-90 (.167) over his last 24 games.
Rizzo, after being robbed of extra bases by center-fielder Jarren Duran in the nightcap, is 4-for-48 (.083) since missing three games with a stiff neck. And Josh Donaldson is 4-for-33 (.121) with three home runs since coming off the IL.
Jarren Duran of the Boston Red Sox catches a fly ball hit by Anthony Rizzo of the Yankees to end the third inning. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
“I think usually these types of things do stem from trying to do a little bit extra when a guy like Judge is out,” hitting coach Dillon Lawson said.
“These types of stretches, they’ll beat you up. But you gotta have confidence. You gotta have trust. And you’ve got to believe in the things that you do well.”
The Yankees scored in the first inning in each of the three games, though it hardly mattered much.
After Torres’ two-run homer put them ahead in Game 1, Clarke Schmidt lost the lead in the fifth inning before the Red Sox broke a tie against Michael King with three runs on four straight two-out hits in the sixth.
Then in Game 2, Luis Severino turned in another mediocre start across five innings, giving up all four (three earned) of the runs he allowed with two outs.
Anthony Volpe reacts after striking out during the Yankees’ Game 2 to loss to the Red Sox. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
The Red Sox went ahead for good in the fourth inning when Reese McGuire reached on catcher’s interference by Kyle Higashioka with the bases loaded, forcing in Alex Verdugo from third.
It was a fitting turn of events on a weekend in which the Red Sox outscored the Yankees 25-8 and out-hit them 36-19.
And after the Yankees opened the series with some sloppy defense in a 15-5 clunker, the Red Sox finished it with a sterling night in the field, taking a few sacred hits away from Boone’s club.
With Judge not looking likely to return any time soon from his sprained right big toe, the Yankees will have to find a way to turn things around without him before their current tailspin gets much worse.
“We’ve gotta win games regardless [of whether or not Judge is playing],” Stanton said. “Obviously it’s a big blow for us, but we’ve gotta figure out how to win games. That’s the situation we’re in, so can’t have excuses.”
“There’s 30 teams in baseball right now that don’t have Aaron Judge on it,” Rizzo added. “He’s our captain, he’s our leader. It sucks, but one guy doesn’t make the biggest difference in the world. For us as a unit, we gotta come together and rally for us, for him, for everyone.”
Source: New York Post
