All was well in the best of all worlds for the New York Yankees. I’m not talking about their start to the season, of course, but yesterday afternoon’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Bronx Bombers were sailing briskly for a second consecutive victory when everything came crashing down from the fifth inning.
With a six-point lead and Gerrit Cole on the mound, he who still has no loss on his record this season, you would have thought it was in the pocket.
But a home run and an error gave momentum to the Rays who scored two runs in the fifth inning. So far, not too much damage. However, in sixth, the chain landed.
Cole no longer had the control that had served him thus far, allowing four runs before there was a single out on the board. We knew immediately that the game was over and that the Yankees would not recover from this descent into hell.
And that’s what happened, with the Rays winning the duel late in the tenth inning.
The only positive points among New Yorkers are the awakening of the attack and the performance of the relievers. Moreover, the bullpen is the best in the league, with a good lead. Luckily they are there.
Nothing is going well in New York and this defeat hurts a lot, especially against a section rival. It’s not that kind of performance that will boost the morale of the troops, even if the poor A’s of Oakland will be the visitors at Yankee Stadium tonight.
Aaron Judge’s return will certainly do a lot of good, but it won’t be enough considering all the absentees and how the club has been run for some time.
