Daily Report – 7/6/25
Yankees
Despite capping their losing streak at seven games on Friday night, the Yankees reverted on Saturday and Sunday, losing their first home series to the Minnesota Twins since 2014.
Minnesota crushed six home runs in the Boogie Down on Saturday, but yesterday, neither team cleared the fence. The Twins used 12 hits, including six off Ryan Weathers, to score six runs. Unable to bounce back from his five-run egg last Monday, Weathers permitted four runs in six innings while sprinting to and from the locker room to vomit.
This weekend, the stomach virus that has ailed the Yankees for at least a week continued to weave its way through the clubhouse. It is just the latest element of the disastrous 1-9 stretch the Yankees endured since arriving in Boston on June 25, part of a larger 4-13 spell since June 17.
The Yankees have achieved historically bad numbers through their miserable June Swoon, which has bled into July. For example, they have committed 20 errors in their last 15 games, resulting in 29 unearned runs, the most in a 15-game span by any Yankees team since 1935 (Sharp). A team constructed to be defensively sound has allowed 51 unearned runs this season, the third-most in baseball.
When Brian Cashman ran it back this offseason, he bragged about the defensive strength of his roster, but on all three sides of the ball, they crumbled in the wake of injuries. Forget about how their starting pitching, which was considered the best in the American League two weeks ago, collapsed as soon as the offense disappeared. The defense has evaporated, too.
Any injury-based excuses about the Yankees’ defense should be dismissed. On Saturday, Jazz Chisholm Jr., a natural second baseman, bobbled a routine ground ball in the eighth inning and turned a double play too slowly in the sixth. Also, Ryan McMahon, one of the league’s sharpest defensive third basemen, overthrew a routine grounder in the ninth.
Yesterday, in the sixth inning, Anthony Volpe, a former Gold Glove-winning shortstop, dropped a chopper. His error led to two unearned runs. Earlier in the game, Max Schuemann also dropped a ball, helping Minnesota take an early 1-0 lead, but his mistake wasn’t ruled an error.
In 2023, the last season when Aaron Judge missed significant time, the Yankees committed the fourth-most errors in the American League. This year, they also rank fourth in errors. Is this a coincidence? Maybe. But when asked why his team has struggled so much, recall that Judge cited a “lack of focus.”
If a talented defender is making errors at their natural position, it is probably because they aren’t focused. Nevertheless, injuries do not help. Last year, a torn labrum in his shoulder caused Volpe to lead the AL in errors. On Saturday, Chisholm’s sore big toe, which slowed him on the bases in Sunday’s second inning, likely afflicted his defense.
“Sometimes it comes back,” Chisholm said of the toe injury, which he reaggravated yesterday. “A little bit of throbbing and stuff in there. But when you kind of aggravate it, it kind of hurts, and you don’t move the same sometimes.” Chisholm initially suffered the injury in 2023 by crashing into a wall, around the same time as Judge.
Which immediately brings back awful memories of 2023, when the Yankees exhibited an extraordinary lack of focus during Judge’s absence. But that team was anchored by Gleyber Torres, Billy McKinney, and Jake Bauers. The cause of this season’s “lack of focus” feels impossible to pinpoint.
On a roster with several former MVPs other than Judge, and many top players at their position, the captain’s absence doesn’t excuse this petty lack of offense. The Yankees are 10-for-their-last-91 with runners in scoring position. Yesterday, they went 1-for-3 while the Twins hit 5-for-18.
Also, the Yankees have scored over four runs in just one of 15 games since June 20. On Thursday, they became the first team in MLB history to strike out at least 45 times and record 16 hits or fewer during a five-game losing streak. That was, of course, part of a larger seven-game losing streak, which began shortly after the Yankees ended a three-game losing streak that featured a 0-for-25 drought with runners in scoring position.
Paul Goldschmidt, on a 0-for-22 skid, hasn’t helped. Neither has Cody Bellinger, 4-for-his-last-44, or Ben Rice, 4-for-25 in his last seven games and 8-for-56 in his last 15. These are three of the most impactful bats in the Yankees’ lineup right now. They aren’t producing, and other stars aren’t around to support their lumber.
Plus, these sluggers certainly aren’t going to get help from their starting catcher, Austin Wells, whose .483 OPS and .153 batting average are the worst in the Majors by any player with at least 200 plate appearances. Yet, because the Yankees lack catching depth, there isn’t anybody available to replace him.
“It’s been frustrating,” Bellinger said of the Yankees’ epic slump. “We’re in a little bit of a storm right now, and you can’t run away from a storm. It’ll keep on chasing you. Gotta take it head-on, and seven more [games] until the [All-Star] break.
“We’re not really manufacturing a lot of runs. We’re not giving a lot of things for the fans to cheer about. I think if we accomplish the little things in the games, then we’ve got a lot of talent that can still win in a lot of different ways. I think doing the small things would be good.”
The “small things,” as Bellinger stated, include avoiding defensive miscues, but also overcoming them. One Yankee who hasn’t been able to overcome his surrounding troublesome defense is Camilo Doval, who surrendered six combined unearned runs on Saturday and Sunday.
On Saturday, Doval entered the eighth inning with his team down 7-4, but he couldn’t overcome Chisholm’s fielding error. Yesterday, he was on the mound when Volpe dropped that chopper. Both errors were made before Doval could secure any outs, yet he should have limited the damage.
Doval’s struggles in pinstripes aren’t new to Yankees fans. All season long, while his walk rate has reduced significantly, he has struggled to command an altered pitch mix. Defensive miscues haven’t helped, but it shouldn’t be so difficult for him to persevere.
Yet, Aaron Boone had the gall to say Doval still has the makings of an All-Star. “Physically, all the attributes are there, and the stuff is all there, that are in line with who he’s been at his very best,” the Yankees’ skipper said. “We’re not talking about an older player who’s trying to reinvent himself.”
Tonight, at 6:40 PM, the Yankees have to go to Tampa for the first of four games against the first-place Rays (YES, Gotham Sports). RHP Cam Schlittler (8-5, 2.08 ERA) will start this massive game for the Yankees, who rank four games behind the Rays for first place. RHP Griffin Jaz (4-5, 3.45 ERA) will toe the slab for Tampa.
Here is tonight’s starting lineup for the New York Yankees:
CF Trent Grisham (L)
DH Ben Rice (L)
1B Paul Goldschmidt (R)
LF Cody Bellinger (L)
RF Jasson Domínguez (S)
2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L)
SS José Caballero (R)
3B Ryan McMahon (L)
C Austin Wells (L)
SP: RHP Cam Schlittler (8-5, 2.08 ERA)
Schedule
6:40 PM: NYY at TB; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: RHP Cam Schlittler (8-5, 2.08 ERA)
8:00 PM: 2026 FIFA World Cup, Round of 16 – USA vs. Belgium; FOX, FOX One
