The Yanks lost to Tampa Bay, 2-1. The AL East lead is down to 4. The pitching has been ok during this collapse. The hitting except for Judge has gone ice cold.
On Twitter, there is a video of a Yankees fan, and it could be me, you, anyone of us, watching Judges’ 9th inning HR on TV, and screaming “HELP HIM OUT, GUYS! HE CAN’T DO IT ALONE! HELP HIM OUT!”
Precisely.
The Rays got two in the third. A single, single and sac bunt put runners on second and third. A ball hit back at Yankees’ starter Clarke Schmidt. If he can field it, maybe he gets out of the inning with no runs allowed. Instead, it ricocheted off him, went into right field for a single, and both runners scored. When things go bad, you aren’t getting any breaks. Just like the night before, when Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s drive hit the very top of the fence. 4 inches higher and it is a HR. All luck is against the Yanks right now.
In the seventh, the Yanks nailed a runner on the bases, Cabrera to Torres. Cabrera has played what, 10 games? And he has what, 3 outfield assists?
Judge hit his HR in the ninth, and that avoided a second straight shutout. He was leading off the inning.
Judge 2 hits, Solo HR (52)
Schmidt (L, 5-4) 4 2/3 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 0 W, 2 K. 1 HBP. 3.02
Trivino 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 2 K. 4.87 (Combined A’s/NYY ERA)
Marinaccio 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 W, 1 K. 1.82
Loaisiga 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 5.03
The pitching hasn’t been bad. It’s the hitting. The pitchers are under so much pressure right now, probably feeling that they have no margin for error.
Before the game, Andrew Benintendi went on the 15-day IL, Estevan Florial called up. Anthony Banda DFA’d, Ryan Weber called up.
There isn’t much more to say, except …
“HELP HIM OUT, GUYS! HE CAN’T DO IT ALONE! HELP HIM OUT!”
The Sommer Frieze 
