From Bryan Hoch:
The Yankees stood one strike away from a much-needed victory, and Clay Holmes reared back for his bread and butter, a high-velocity sinker. The pitch never reached its intended target, prolonging the club’s frustrating freefall for yet another day.
Masataka Yoshida deposited Holmes’ offering into the right-field seats for a game-tying two-run homer, and one inning later Tommy Kahnle surrendered a go-ahead blast as the Yankees absorbed their sixth loss in seven extra-inning games this season, dropping a 5-3 decision to the Red Sox on Friday evening at Yankee Stadium.
“It’s been tough, the last few weeks. We’re not playing the way that we know we’re capable,” Holmes said. “There’s definitely been some challenges. There’s no denying that. Nobody is playing to the level that they think they can, and I think we all want to be the guy that our teammates can depend on.”
When they woke in their Boston hotel on the morning of June 15, the Yankees had baseball’s best record at 50-22 and the league’s best ERA at 2.88. Their performance has cratered since, losing 14 of 18 games while the pitching staff has posted the Majors’ worst ERA at 6.49.
I mean, come on, it’s not even sad at this point, it’s just comical. They’re firmly into the Murphy’s Law stages of sucking, where your pitchers who pitch well when it doesn’t matter suck when it DOES matter.
Oh well. Gleyber Torres apparently isn’t THAT hurt, but if I were them, I’d still cut Jahmai Jones and call up Vivas, and give Vivas second base, let Gleyber DH while his groin is aggravating him.