The Yankees offense seemed to get the message of the team’s players-only meeting early last week.
The pitching — not so much.
After Gerrit Cole struggled against the Boston Red Sox last week — allowing five runs in the first inning — he came back on Sunday allowing four earned in just 3.1 innings, despite striking out six Mets. He owns a 5.24 ERA in his last six starts, and has allowed at four earned runs in three of those outings.
Just four days after failing to record an out and allowing a game-tying grand slam on Wednesday in their 11-8 loss to the Angels, Aroldis Chapman allowed the game-tying home run to Pete Alonso, hit Michael Conforto, and walked Jeff McNeil on Sunday. He has allowed seven earned runs and recorded just one out since Wednesday. After not allowing a run in his first 18 appearances, he has allowed 15 in his last 14 games, amassing just 10.2 innings.
Despite their struggles, they were both named AL All-Stars on Sunday, but if they keep these performances up, that’s going to be their biggest accolade this year.
“We can’t get to where we want to go without those two guys, obviously,” manager Aaron Boone said after the game one loss. “Those guys are critical to what we do. There’s inevitably going to be adversity as a team, as individuals, as players throughout the season, and you’ve gotta be able to make corrections and the adjustments an get your way through it, but we’re not gonna be the team we want to be unless those guys are obviously huge parts of it.”
Cole said his stuff still feels sharp, and gave the Mets and Sox credit for simply hitting.
“I’ve certainly looked at [the numbers], but our metrics are telling us it’s the same stuff,” Cole said. “Now granted, obviously, they’re able to stay true to some of those changeups and fight some pitches off. I can’t say for sure it’s that. I felt that I had pretty good stuff today, and the ball was moving the way I wanted. Hits fell in, and those walks in the fourth are backbreaking, to say the least.”
Their dips in performance have come along with foreign substance crackdown throughout the league, but Boone does not think that’s the case.
“I look at Gerrit today, had the swing and miss there,” Boone said. “I think they just did a really good job of laying off some pitches just on the margins on the zone, so they just made him work so hard, and I think that’s what kinda got to him there in the fourth. I thought stuff wise, he was fairly electric, he was getting swing and miss. As far as Chappy, I do think in a lot of ways, he cleaned up a little bit of his delivery. … But we obviously gotta continue to work to get him right.”
Boone also admitted that the team brass is no longer committed to Chapman as the closer.
But they need to start committing to winning, as they are 41-41, and would be under .500 if they lose the nightcap of Sunday’s doubleheader.
“It’s really freakin’ hard right now,” Boone said, “and we gotta go find a way and go compete our asses off right now.”