The New York Yankees had a brutal night on Wednesday, losing to the Cleveland Guardians. Starter Luis Gil left the game with lower back tightness and they used every pitcher in their bullpen. They entered the 12th inning tied at 3 and ended up losing 9-5. The offense went scoreless from the fourth inning to the 12th despite having multiple opportunities to win the game. After the longest game of the season, Yankees manager Aaron Boone called out the offense to ESPN.
“Obviously, with their pen, they can roll out a few really good arms,” Boone said “But for us, it's been a few games now, where we've struggled a bit offensively. The offense has been in a really good place for a while. But it's been a few games now where we've struggled in those spots. … It's just a little slow patch, and we've got to get it going offensively.”
Aaron Judge hit a home run and had three RBI while Juan Soto added a solo shot of his own. Outside of those two stars, the Yankees put up just five hits in 31 at-bats, a .161 batting average. Anthony Volpe had two of those hits and the only other RBI. The bullpen bounced back after a brutal series against the Tigers but ran out of steam in the 12th.
The Yankees have Soto for only this year and while they want to keep him, they must push for a World Series title while they have him. What has to improve on both sides of the ball for them to win their 27th title?
The Yankees must improve to win the World Series
The American League is wide open for the Yankees to make a run. They have a similar record to the Orioles and Guardians and the Astros are trailing not far behind. The four teams will vie for the pennant with the defending champion Texas Rangers on pace to miss the playoffs.
While New York sits 20 games over .500 and has a great chance of winning their division, they have holes on their roster. Clay Holmes has the most blown saves in the entire league with 10. Although he was fantastic against the Guardians, Holmes recently blew a save against the Tigers and must improve to keep the job in the playoffs.
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The offense has struggled since the middle of June. Volpe and Alex Verdugo have particularly struggled at the plate. Since the series against the Red Sox that ended on June 16, Volpe is hitting .219 with an OPS of .610. In that same stretch, Verdugo is hitting .196 with an OPS of .543. These are the two players who hold the key to winning in the playoffs for the Yankees.
Meanwhile, Judge is looking to break his own American League record of 62 home runs in a season. His first-inning blast on Tuesday was his 45th of the season, the most in the majors. That is four home runs behind his pace from 2022, but he can still make a historic run to get back into the 60s.
Juan Soto has been exactly what the Yankees needed. After their disastrous 2023 season, they needed a second bat to protect Judge in the lineup. Soto is just one home run away from breaking his personal best and is an MVP candidate.
