15 games into the season, the Bronx Bombers’s bats have bottomed out.
The Yankees, after getting swept by the Rays in Sunday’s series finale at Tropicana Field, have now lost each of their last five games in a stretch that has seen the club score just 13 runs while batting south of the Mendoza Line.
So, what gives?
Yankees captain Aaron Judge thinks he knows. Judge, holding court with reporters after New York’s loss, pinpointed what he believes is the club’s biggest problem offensively at the moment.
“We need to simplify some things at the plate,” Judge said. “We’re trying to hit every single pitch we see up there and getting ourselves in some bad counts and bad situations. As a group, if we simplify our approach a little bit, hunt the pitch that we’re looking for and pass the baton, I think we’ll be in a better spot.”
Yankees struggles’ by the numbers
Five
Number of Yankees in the starting lineup who are batting below .200 (Jazz Chisholm Jr., Jose Caballero, Trent Grisham, Austin Wells, Ryan McMahon).
59.8%
The percentage of pitches in the zone that the Yankees have swung at over the last five games, the third-lowest mark in the majors.
34.1%
The percentage of pitches outside the strike zone that the Yankees have swung at over the last five games, the eighth-highest mark in the majors.
0
The number of wins the Yankees have this season in one-run games.
.203
The Yankees’ batting average this season with runners in scoring position.
Three
The number of home runs the Yankees have hit in their last five games played.
What does it all mean? One of the best slugging lineups from a year ago has also largely failed to find its power stroke thus far. Despite that, the Yankees, as they have done in recent seasons, have still worked pitchers to the tune of slightly over four pitches per plate appearance and are taking their fair share of walks. The numbers suggest that the Yankees are swinging at bad pitches and not connecting enough—or not swinging at all—on pitches in the zone.
Judge is suggesting that too many Yankees are simply trying to do too much at the plate and need to simplify their approach, particularly when it comes to hunting for their pitches.
It would seem that the numbers and the eye test are mostly aligned when it comes to the Yankees’ struggles.
“I think there’s been a couple games where we’ve been shut down,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “Other games we haven’t broken through with runners in scoring position. And when you’re not hitting the ball over the fence, you’ve gotta make hay when you have some opportunities.
“So, there’s been a lot of games where I feel like we’re having some good at-bats, we’re creating traffic. We’re giving ourselves opportunities. But you gotta cash in. You gotta cash in when you’re not scoring a lot of runs or the long ball’s not coming real easy …”
Fortunately for the Yankees, they’ve had stellar pitching from their staff thus far, essentially the deodorant masking the stench of the bad offense.
The Yankees will look to come out smelling like roses during a seven-game homestand, beginning with Monday’s game against the Angels.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Aaron Judge Knows What’s Wrong With Yankees’ Struggling Offense.
