Yankees find new rock bottom after blown lead to Red Sox in 5-3 loss

Kevin Hickey

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Yankees find new rock bottom after blown lead to Red Sox in 5-3 loss image

The New York Yankees somehow continue to find new ways to hit rock bottom.

The whole night at Yankee Stadium on Friday felt like the Yankees were going to steal a win. They were playing particularly well against the Boston Red Sox, but they held a 3-1 lead going into the ninth inning.

After Clay Holmes got two quick groundouts, he gave up a single to Dominic Smith. Then, one strike away from a win, Holmes gave up a game-tying two-run home run to Masataka Yoshida — his first home run since April 20.

The Yankees scored all three of their runs in the fourth inning on a fielder's choice, a bases-loaded walk and a groundout. They wasted a strong effort from Nestor Cortes, who gave the Yankees 6.0 innings of one-run ball, allowing three hits, one walk and striking out eight.

This is who the Yankees are right now. They have the worst record in baseball since June 15 at 5-15 while the Red Sox have MLB's best record at 15-5. That's since the now-infamous Alex Verdugo game at Fenway Park.

The Yankees have completely spiraled into a team that looks far from the team that held the best record in baseball at 50-23 on June 15. They were 2.5 games up in the division at that point. Now, they are three games back from first place.

Not only have the Yankees played poorly on the field, there have been major mental lapses — the type of mental mistakes fans expect to see from the 26-64 White Sox. Not a team vying for a playoff spot.

Take Thursday for example. With the Yankees down 8-4 in the top of the ninth inning, centerfielder Trent Grisham couldn't be bothered to get into the proper position to field a single. Instead, he opted to bend at the waist as if he was playing slowpitch softball.

The ball took a hop and allowed Reds' Jeimer Candelario to take second base. Grisham's play style often features what appear to be lackadaisical movements that result in the play being made. But this one comes off as pure laziness.

This is a .165 hitter playing centerfield in Yankee Stadium as if he couldn't be bothered to bend at the knees. He was in the starting lineup the following day against the Red Sox, putting together this hitting masterclass.

Speaking of the following day, another blunder took place. This time, it involved two Yankees players on one play!

With runners on first and third and no outs, Ben Rice hit a ground ball to the first baseman, who promptly stepped on the bag. Anthony Volpe, the third-base runner, was confused about whether the ball was fair or foul despite the umpires clearly signaling fair and then making an out call.

As Volpe mindlessly jogged his way to home, DJ LeMahieu allowed himself to be tagged out to end the inning. Rather than Volpe sprinting home and LeMahieu getting in a rundown to get a run on the board, the Yankees came up with nothing.

These are the Yankees right now. The worst team in baseball.

Unless something changes, this is going to be the third season in a row the Yankees begin as one of the best teams in baseball only flame out midway through the season.

Kevin Hickey

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Hickey was previously the managing editor of USA Today's Colts Wire. His work is also featured as a fantasy football analyst for The Huddle. A career .232 hitter, he is an avid reader of Spider-Man comics, an admirer of the James Webb Space Telescope, and a keen enthusiast of Ma’s sauce. You can find him on Twitter/X @KevinHickey11