The Yankees can’t keep missing this much and expect October to end any other way.
That’s the ugly backdrop to a brutal two-game stretch in St. Petersburg, Fla., where New York struck out 34 times against the Tampa Bay Rays - the most in any two-game span in franchise history.
The old mark was 30. The Yankees also became the first team in American League history to fan at least 17 times in back-to-back nine-inning games.
And if history is the guide, that kind of swing-and-miss profile is a real problem for a team with World Series hopes. Of the last 25 champions, none finished in the bottom five in strikeout rate. The Yankees currently sit with the fourth-worst strikeout rate in the majors, ahead of only the Los Angeles Angels, Cincinnati Reds and Baltimore Orioles, all of whom are out of the postseason picture.
The worst strikeout rate among the last 25 title winners belonged to the 2004 Boston Red Sox, who finished sixth-worst in the regular season before, as the source put it, “I don’t need to tell you how they reached the finish line.” They remain the last team to win it all while finishing in the bottom 10 in strikeout rate.
The contrast with recent Yankees champs is stark. The 2009 team that won the franchise’s last title had the second-best strikeout rate. The 2000 club ranked ninth.
Against Tampa Bay, the whiffs piled up fast and never really stopped. Griffin Jax and Ian Seymour each punched out the Yankees in double digits, something Tampa Bay starters hadn’t done since 2021. Both pitchers have moved from bullpen roles last year into strikeout arms this season, but New York made them look untouchable.
“You’re gonna have nights where you’re up against a dominant pitcher, especially in today’s game where you’re going to have those double digits here and there,” Aaron Boone said after another night of watching the bats come up empty.
One of the strangest at-bats of the night belonged to José Caballero in the second inning. With a 3-2 count, he struck out looking - but he had already dropped his bat off his shoulder before Seymour released the pitch, so there was no swing to be had even if he wanted one.
Caballero, who had been one of the Yankees’ bright spots in Monday’s game, went 0 for 4 with four strikeouts on Tuesday. Paul Goldschmidt matched that with a four-strikeout night of his own, and his hitless streak reached 30 at-bats. The two became the first Yankees teammates to each post four-strikeout games since Joey Gallo and Kyle Higashioka in 2021.
“I wish I had an answer for you,” Goldschmidt said. “The performance (on Tuesday), especially, was terrible. I’d like to try to be more positive than that, but you strike out four times, and there were guys on base - just, really, a bad performance.”
The larger trend has been even worse. Since the start of June, no team has struck out more often than the Yankees, and that stretch has lined up with an offense that has slipped into one of the league’s worst. Their 86 wRC+ over that span ranks 26th in MLB.
There isn’t much help on the way right now, either. Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are not expected back soon, and the trade deadline remains about a month away, on Aug.
- For the moment, Boone said the Yankees have to live with what they have.
“I don’t want to be down at the bottom, but we’re going to keep trying,” Boone said. “We’re going to come in here and grind away and try and get this thing turned around and get some guys going.
This is where we are. That’s the bed we’ve made, and we’ve also been a very good offense much of the year.
Right now, we’re going through it. We’ve got to be better, clearly.”
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