Last 3 Losses By New York Yankees Have Wasted Great Starting Pitching, and Led To Questions About the Future

The last three losses by the New York Yankees have been particularly bad for the team, which has won just four of the last 14 games. The way in which these games have unfolded makes fans of the team feel queasy, and they are justified in doubting the future of the team this season.

There is no question that the Yankees have one of the best starting pitching rotations in baseball. However, as the last three losses have shown, having great starting pitching is not enough. If a team does not hit and makes errors in the field, they will lose. Do you think there is any chance the Yankees will win the World Series?

The Last Three Losses For the Yankees

The last three games for the Yankees have been an unmitigated disaster, one worse than the next. They have fans of the team questioning if the team will be successful in their quest for a World Championship. So, here they are.

Three games ago, the Yankees lost 2-1 to the Toronto Blue Jays. Carlos Rodon started this game. It was his third start of the season, and in contrast to his first two starts, he pitched well. However, when he exited the game, with runners on base in an otherwise scoreless start, the bullpen allowed two runs. The Yankees, who had one run, could not score another in three trips to the plate. The team was, no doubt, happy to have Rodon throw well, but if they do not score, they cannot win.

That principle was demonstrated in spades in the next game. The Yankees wasted an outstanding pitching performance from Cam Schillitler as they were shut out by Trey Yesavage and the Toronto Blue Jays. They lost this game 2-0, and it shows; there is no way to win if a team does not score.

The game yesterday was even worse. As has been noted several times, last night was the season debut of Gerrit Cole. He was outstanding. He threw six scoreless innings. However, as soon as he was removed from the game, Chandler Simpson hit a ground ball to Shortstop Jose Caballero, who booted it.

Then, a couple of batters later, relief pitcher Tim Hill, a usually reliable fielder, booted a would-be double-play ball. A couple of batters later, Ryan Vilade hit a successful sacrifice fly, despite the throw beating the runner to home; the runner was safe. He was safe because the Yankee catcher, Austin Wells, dropped the ball.

The Yankees have been called brain-dead and caveman-like because they hit home runs and cannot manufacture runs when they need them, and because they play bad defense. Both of these problems have been on display in the past three games, as the team has only scored three runs.

A Couple Of Baseball Truisms

As the last three games show, a baseball team cannot win if it does not score. This is a baseball truism. The Yankees are having trouble scoring runs. Aaron Judge is ice cold, and how he goes, so goes the team. The Yankees have scored three measly runs in their last three games.

A second baseball truism is related to the first and also evident in the last three Yankees games. Namely, a team must field the ball. If they make mistakes, as the Yankees did in the seventh inning last night, the opponent is going to take advantage. We saw the Rays do exactly that in the game last night.