Daily Report – 7/3/26
Yankees
This year’s rendition of the annual June Swoon has been so sickening that it has even made the Yankees’ stomachs churn. On a steamy Wednesday afternoon in the Bronx, the Yankees dropped their seventh straight game, handing the brooms to the Detroit Tigers in extra innings, 6-2.
For the first time since June 14, Will Warren gave his teammates a chance as he and the bullpen held the Tigers to two runs in 10 innings. But a stomach virus in the clubhouse added insult to injury as a shorthanded Yankees lineup failed to bring the winning run home in the 10th.
José Caballero bunted, moving Spencer Jones, the ghost runner, to third base. This meant third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera, hitless in eight at-bats all season, was due up. Undoubtedly, manager Aaron Boone should have pinch-hit somebody for Cabrera, and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt was his best option.
Goldschmidt was available off the bench, but utility player Max Schuemann, who could have slotted in for Goldschmidt defensively in the 11th, was not. He had woken up with a stomach virus that morning. Boone could also have moved Amed Rosario, the designated hitter, to third base, but his reeling lineup would have been without its designated hitter.
Schuemann wasn’t the only Yankee to wake up ill on Wednesday morning. Spencer Jones was scratched from the original lineup, and Ryan McMahon’s rehab start was delayed, prompting Boone to say, “We got IVs going and everything tonight. It’s been an interesting week on a lot of fronts.”
That it has. For the first time since 2014, the Yankees have been held to four runs or fewer in 12 straight games. In addition to losing seven straight, they have dropped 10 of their last 12. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Rays have seized control of the division, moving four games ahead of the Yankees, whom they will play four times at the Trop next week.
Some more stats from this historic losing streak: The Yankees have hit to a collective .137 average (31-for-226) and a .230 OPS. By committing 10 errors, they have allowed 17 unearned runs, which matches their total run production since last Thursday. Per Katie Sharp, the 1989 Tigers are the only other team in the last century to allow as many unearned runs while scoring 17.
“It’s been a terrible week for us. There’s no way of sugarcoating it,” Boone said. “We’re capable of way more. Look, you have stretches where it’s tough, and you’re missing some guys, but this was a really difficult week for us offensively. Coupled with not playing clean enough and taking care of the ball well enough, that’s what you get. You get an awful week.”
Typically, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Trent Grisham, Ben Rice, and Cody Bellinger are the biggest bats in the Yankees’ lineup. But as the only pillars available, Rice and Bellinger have struggled mightily. In their last seven games, Rice is 2-for-25 (.080) with one RBI, and Bellinger is 2-for-27 (.074) without any RBIs.
“It’s been pretty bad,” Bellinger said. “I can speak for myself. I haven’t been contributing at all. […] I look around this locker room, and we’ve still got a lot of really good baseball players in here. Tough stretch, but we’re going to continue to lean on each other and continue working.”
After muscling four hits through their first eight innings on Wednesday, the Yankees finally made some noise against Drew Anderson in the ninth. First, Amed Rosario hit his second home run in three games, cutting the two-run deficit in half. Then, Jazz Chisholm Jr. ran out an infield single and stole his way to third base. He scored on a wild pitch, tying the game.
Chisholm hoped his speedy baserunning would finally end the Yankees’ skid. “I felt like that was the time,” he said. “But at the end of the day, the game’s not over until it’s over. It sucks. Every loss sucks. Ain’t no loss better than the next. Every time we lose, it sucks.”
After Chisholm scored, Anthony Volpe worked the count full and notched his own infield single, but the Tigers weren’t going to let another baserunner advance. Volpe took off and tried to steal second base, but as he slid, Zach McKinstry’s arm pushed him off the bag, tagging him out.
Fernando Cruz secured a 1-2-3 10th inning, setting the table for the bottom half, where Cabrera and Ali Sánchez stranded Jones at third base. Then, with two strikes and two outs in the 11th, Camilo Doval, pitching because David Bednar was on the paternity list, walked Hao-Yu Lee, loading the bases. On another full count, he walked Spencer Torkelson to put Detroit ahead before disaster ensued.
Against Doval this season, left-handed hitters own a whopping .355 batting average and a .951 OPS. Following Torkelson’s walk, Zach McKinstry, a lefty, drilled a hanging cutter to right field, plating two runs. But as he rounded first, Sánchez overthrew the ball to Volpe at second base, bringing another Tigers run home. Before this, the Yankees had avoided allowing any unearned runs for the first time since Saturday.
Before Wednesday’s game, Judge met the media. He didn’t have an update on his injury, but he offered his views on his team’s seven-game losing streak. “Just a little lack of focus,” the Yankees captain cited. “Just got to dial it in. Our ultimate goal is to win a World Series.
“I think guys just have to remember that every single day they show up here, we’re here to win a World Series. That’s your motivation every single day you step on that field, no matter what happens. No matter what happened the day before, I’ve got a job to do.”
But without a healthy captain, one thing is clear: The Yankees will not win a championship in 2026. The fans know this, and so, it seems, do the players. It feels ignorant to start discussing October dreams while the team plummets in the standings.
The last time the Yankees lost seven straight games was in 2023. That season, Judge missed 56 games, and the Yankees finished two games above .500. But the 2023 Yankees’ roster depth paled in comparison to this year’s team.
The Yankees spent the summer months of 2023 with Gleyber Torres anchoring their lineup alongside Willie Calhoun, Billy McKinney, and Jake Bauers. Now, the Yankees have Bellinger, Rice, and Goldschmidt. But without Grisham, Judge, or Stanton, Bellinger and Rice’s combined .077 average through their last seven games isn’t cutting it.
In other Yankees news, McMahon and Grisham are coming back tonight, but Carlos Rodón landed on the 15-day injured list today with left elbow inflammation. The lefty started the season on the IL after undergoing surgery to remove a bone spur.
Will it ever end?
Tonight, at 7:05 PM, the Yankees will try to give fans something to cheer about as they host the Minnesota Twins, followed by a spectacular fireworks show (YES, Gotham Sports). RHP Gerrit Cole (2-3, 4.06 ERA) will start for the Yankees against RHP Mike Paredes (0-1, 4.26 ERA).
Here is tonight’s starting lineup for the New York Yankees:
CF Trent Grisham (L)
DH Ben Rice (L)
RF Jasson Domínguez (R)
LF Cody Bellinger (L)
1B Paul Goldschmidt (R)
2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L)
3B Ryan McMahon (L)
SS José Caballero (R)
C Austin Wells (L)
SP: RHP Gerrit Cole (2-3, 4.06 ERA)
Tomorrow, on America’s 250th birthday, the Yankees have yet to announce who will place Carlos Rodón against RHP Zebby Matthews (4-5, 4.15 ERA) (1:35 PM – YES, Gotham Sports).
Then, on Sunday at 1:35 PM, LHP Ryan Weathers (3-6, 4.08 ERA) will mind the bump versus the crafty righty Joe Ryan (5-5, 3.61 ERA) (NBCSN, Peacock).
Schedule
Tonight 7/3:
7:05 PM: Fireworks Night at Yankee Stadium, Presented by Baby Ruth – NYY vs. MIN; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: RHP Gerrit Cole (2-3, 4.06 ERA) vs. RHP Mike Paredes (0-1, 4.26 ERA)
Saturday 7/4:
1:35 PM: 4th of July Cap Day at Yankee Stadium, Presented by Baby Ruth – NYY vs. MIN; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: TBA vs. RHP Zebby Matthews (4-5, 4.15 ERA)
Sunday 7/5:
1:35 PM: NYY vs. MIN; NBCSN, Peacock; SP: LHP Ryan Weathers (3-6, 4.08 ERA) vs. RHP Joe Ryan (5-5, 3.61 ERA)
