If Wednesday’s come-from-behind victory was going to help the New York Yankees get out of the funk that’s plagued them for most of the second half of the season, it hasn’t happened yet. Wednesday’s dramatic victory gave way to a blowout loss against the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday.
The Blue Jays and Yankees opened up a four-game series in the Bronx. It was all Toronto. The Jays opened up a 5-0 lead in the top of the second inning. While the Yankees got two runs back in the third, Toronto’s offense responded with one in the fifth and three more in the seventh, leaving New York on the wrong side of a lopsided final score.
FINAL: Blue Jays 9, Yankees 2.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 19, 2022
It was an all-around terrible performance for New York. Only four Yankees recorded a hit (though three of them notched a pair of hits).
Frankie Montas, the trade deadline acquisition who was supposed to help stabilize New York’s starting pitching, had a poor outing. He went six innings, allowing six runs (all earned) with eight hits and two walks. In three starts with the Yankees, Montas now has a 9.00 ERA 1.714 WHIP, and a K/9 rate of 5.1. While it is a small sample size, that’s a dramatic drop from the 3.18 ERA, 1.137 WHIP and 9.4 K/9 rate that he had in 19 starts with the Oakland Athletics.
The MLB world had a lot to say about New York’s latest struggle.
Yankees fans yesterday: “Josh Donaldson’s grand slam just turned our season around!”
The Yankees turning their season around: pic.twitter.com/ag980kc27u
— Brian (@byysports) August 19, 2022
We are not back. pic.twitter.com/QKonQKkGro
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 19, 2022
“The Yankees are actually a serious contender this year”
The contender: pic.twitter.com/oiNSmDvWbZ
— Adam Weinrib (@AdamWeinrib) August 19, 2022
Luis Castillo has allowed 5 ER in 20.2 innings since being traded.
Frankie Montas allowed 5 ER in one inning tonight.
Moral of the story kids, is pay the price to get the better player.
— Christian (@Christian_NYYST) August 19, 2022
Yankees win tomorrow or we can not table any more conversations.
— Talkin’ Jake (@TalkinJake) August 19, 2022
This is the 2nd time this season Frankie Montas has allowed 6+ runs in a game.
Both of those games have come as a Yankee.
— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) August 19, 2022
Yankees fans convincing themselves that their team is good pic.twitter.com/UKlpavcRzV
— Fanatics Sportsbook (@FanaticsBook) August 19, 2022
There is good news for the Yankees — they’re still 73-46. That is nine games ahead of both the Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East. And while the Houston Astros have overtaken New York for the best record in the American League, the Yankees are 9.5 games clear of the Cleveland Guardians for the second-best record among division leaders in the American League. So, the numbers are still in their favor to win the division and bypass the Wild Card round.
The bad news for the Yankees is that they’re now 9-18 since the All-Star Break. And while they have a big cushion in their playoff races, there is a lot of time for the opponents to chase them down. If New York can get the ship righted soon, winning the division and being one of the top two seeds in the American League shouldn’t be much of a problem. If the Yankees can’t do that, though, September could prove to be a lot more interesting than anyone thought it would be.
