Daily Report – 7/8/26
Yankees
It feels like rock bottom is sinking every day. Whenever the Yankees lose, each statistic that emerges is more disturbing than the last. The Yankees have set countless ugly records in the last two weeks, including record-low numbers with runners in scoring position, a seven-game losing streak, and 19 straight games in which they have scored five runs or fewer.
Yesterday, the Yankees set a new franchise record by striking out 34 times in two games. For the second straight night, they struck out 17 times. As a result, their 11 hits only yielded four runs, and they lost the second game of their four-game series 6-4 to Tampa Bay.
Will Warren didn’t help the situation. Following a decent start against Detroit last Wednesday, he permitted all six of Tampa Bay’s runs last night, matching the most he’s allowed all year. He also gave up a season-high three home runs, the most he’s ever allowed in a regular-season game.
“We all know what’s going on here, right before the [All-Star] break,” Warren said. “Cam [Schlittler] pitched a hell of a game [Monday] night, and I didn’t today. The bullpen held it down, we fought like hell there the last few outings, and didn’t get it done. But we’ll come back [Wednesday] and strap it up again.”
The Yankees must win tonight to avoid leaving Tampa more games behind the Rays than when they arrived, but unless the offense starts putting the ball in play, that won’t happen. On Monday, the Yankees scored five runs on three hits because each hit left the ballpark. Last night, they only homered once and couldn’t find other ways to score.
No Yankee has struggled more than 38-year-old Paul Goldschmidt, who is 0-for-30 since the Yankees’ second game in Boston on June 26. That morning, he woke up with a .301 batting average. According to Jomboy, Goldschmidt is the eighth player in Yankees history to endure a 0-for-30 skid and the first since Aaron Hicks in 2022… And we all know what happened to him.
Goldschmidt was one of two Yankees to strike out in each of their four at-bats. The other was José Caballero, who homered twice the night before.
“The performance tonight was terrible,” Goldschmidt said. “I’d like to try to be more positive than that, but you strike out four times, and there are guys on base… It’s really just a bad performance.”
A few weeks ago, Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger were menaces with runners in scoring position. They are still hitting above .300 in such situations, but while Goldschmidt has struggled, Bellinger is 3-for-29 (.103) in his last seven games and 6-for-his-last-55 (.109).
In yesterday’s sixth inning, with the Yankees down by three, Bellinger belted his third hit in eight games. It would have put runners at the corners with one out for Caballero, but Bellinger misread the throw as it came in from right field, and by the time he recognized his mistake, it was too late.
That added pressure on Caballero, who now had to get a hit to score Ryan McMahon from third base. But it took Kevin Kelly, relieving Ian Seymour, three pitches to send Caballero down swinging on a sky-high fastball. Of the Yankees’ 17 strikeouts, seven came on pitches in or above the top third of the strike zone.
“That’s a lot of strikeouts,” Bellinger said. “I knew we had 17 [on Monday]. I didn’t feel like we had that many today. But the Rys, they’ve notoriously got really good arms. We’ve just got to continue to put the ball in play and do the little things right. Making that mistake in the sixth inning there myself was not the way to win a game.”
The Yankees turned Seymour into Jacob Misiorowski. 12 of his 16 outs were strikeouts, while Will Warren only generated three swings and misses. Yet, manager Aaron Boone continues to express belief in his team.
“I’m confident in our approach, but we’ve got to get some guys on track right now,” Boone said. “We’ve got some really good players that are going through a tough time right now. Part of our job is being a tough out and being situational. We’ve got to do a better job of that right now.”
Thankfully, Ben Rice is breaking out of his slump. Last night, he clocked three hits for the first time since May 29. It was also his first multi-hit game since June 24. In the third inning, he crushed a three-run home run – his fourth blast in seven games – putting the Yankees ahead 3-2.
Tonight, Rice will try to lead the Yankees to a crucial victory at the Trop in St. Pete. Hopefully, other players will start to break out of their slumps, too. Despite his 0-for-30 stretch, Goldschmidt will lead off for the Yankees tonight. Jazz Chisholm Jr., in a 10-for-51 rut, will sit out because the Yankees need righties against the tough Shane McClanahan.
Additionally, news broke earlier today that, while in the Minors, Anthony Volpe refused to play any position other than shortstop. Michael Kay cited several sources when announcing this news. However, Volpe quickly debunked the idea, and Kay plans to apologize.
Tonight, at 6:40 PM, RHP Gerrit Cole (3-3, 4.01 ERA) will mind the rubber against the lefty Shane McClanahan (7-5, 3.05 ERA) (Prime Video).
Here is tonight’s starting lineup for the New York Yankees:
1B Paul Goldschmidt (R)
DH Ben Rice (L)
3B Amed Rosario (R)
LF Cody Bellinger (L)
RF Jasson Domínguez (R)
SS Anthony Volpe (R)
CF Max Schuemann (R)
C Austin Wells (L)
2B José Caballero
SP: RHP Gerrit Cole (3-3, 4.01 ERA)
Schedule
6:40 PM: NYY at TB; Prime Video; SP: RHP Gerrit Cole (3-3, 4.01 ERA) vs. LHP Shane McClanahan (7-5, 3.05 ERA)
