It’s Not A Question Of Fighting Spirit
So far, this season, here’s the Yankees won-loss record broken down by what the score of the game was at the start of the 5th inning:
When ahead, they went on to win 8 of 9 games.
When it was tied, they went on to win 3 of 4 games.
When they were behind, they went on to lose 10 of 11 games.
That last one is some stat, huh? In games, so far, this season, when the Yankees were losing after four innings, they’ve gone on to lose the game 91% of the time.
The problem here is interesting – and the issue is actually the 3rd and 5th innings of games. So far, this season, it’s been the 3rd and 5th innings where the Yankees have allowed their most runs. This is the reason for that 1-10 mark. The 3rd inning puts them behind and then the 5th inning finishes them off. So, it’s not really an issue of the Yankees bats not coming back late – more so, it’s a matter of the starting pitchers letting the game get out of hand early and then really sealing the defeat two innings later.
And once again, further proof that what the Yankees need is reliable, effective starters rather than “8th inning” guys…
The offense is a culprit as well. Scoring runs early would enable the starters, particularly the young ones, to pitch with a comfort level.
As much as the starting pitching has been awful, the offense has been more than putrid. Today’s game is another classic of not having the ability to drive runs in with men on base.
They had that ability last year – even with the slow start. The bullpen has been much better at keeping the game manageable, but you need to score runs to win the game.
To point out the obvious 3rd and 5th innings=2nd and 3rd times through the order usually. Maybe its on the catchers for not mixing it up?
[...] Just another one of those games where the Yankees were trailing at the start of the 5th inning and they went on to lose the contest. [...]