ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – If the Yankees still held out any hope of clawing their way back into playoff contention after three straight losses, those dreams ended when they woke up Sunday morning to the news that All-Star reliever Andrew Miller had been dealt to Cleveland for four future prospects.
There was an unmistakeable pall over the clubhouse as the Yankees arrived for their series finale at Tropicana Field against the last-place Rays. Coming on the heels of Monday’s trade of closer Aroldis Chapman, it was a clear sign from management that this season likely is a lost cause.
“We didn’t play good enough,” catcher Brian McCann said in a quiet voice. “We needed to win, and we didn’t do it.”
Not surprisingly given the emotional gut punch they absorbed, the Yankees couldn’t avoid being swept by the lowly Rays, who punched them in the mouth again, 5-3. If there was a bright spot for the Yankees, it was Carlos Beltran’s two-run homer in the fourth, but that was only because it raised the value of their biggest remaining asset before Monday’s 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline.
If they’re going to tear it down, might as well take it down to the foundation. Selling off at the trade deadline has been unthinkable for decades, but under the circumstances with this aging team, management recognized the inevitable need to act for the future.
Third baseman Chase Headley had endured similar circumstances when he was with the San Diego Padres, but it was a far cry from his expectations when he joined the Yankees. “I came here to try to win a championship,” Headley said. “That was my expectations coming here. Obviously, the way the team has performed up to this date — I don’t want to say has made this happen — but it’s obviously a large part of why this has happened. We just haven’t played well enough.
“The biggest strength we had was the back end of the bullpen. We’re probably not as good a team as we were 10 days ago, seven days ago. But again, that’s out of our control.”
Echoing the theme of their recent losing streak, the Yankees struggled at the plate and gave up too many extra base hits. With two on against Rays starter Blake Snell (3-4) in the third, Jacoby Ellsbury grounded into an inning-ending double play. The Yankees had the bases loaded with one out in the fourth when Didi Gregorius hit into an inning-ending double play.
Yankees starter Michael Pineda (5-10) recorded six straight outs by strikeout in the second and third, but in the fourth, he yielded a leadoff single to Corey Dickerson followed by a double by Stephen Souza Jr. Both scored on ground outs. In the fifth, Pineda gave up a towering home run to Brad Miller that landed in an acquarium in right-center among the manta rays to give the human Rays a 3-0 lead.
After Ellsbury drew a leadoff walk from Snell in the fifth, Beltran unloaded his 22nd home run into the seats in left-center to cut the deficit to 3-2. But in the bottom of the inning, Pineda gave up a one-out double to Souza and a walk to Kevin Keiermaier. Both advanced on a ground out before Pineda intentionally walked Nick Franklin to get to No. 9 hitter Luke Maile. Typical of the way things have gone for the Yankees, Maile delivered a two-run single for a 5-2 lead.
The Yankees added a run in the eighth when Starlin Castro beat out an infield single, went to second on a throwing error and then scored on a single by McCann. But Headley hit into a double play and Gregorius flew out to nip the rally in the bud.
..... - Newsday