The New York Yankees struggles continued as they lost their third game in a row, and their second in a row to the Texas Rangers, on Tuesday night by the score of 7-1. The loss dropped the Yankees to 37-39 on the season and set them nine games back of the AL East-leading Baltimore Orioles. To make matters worse for the Yankees, Carlos Beltran is listed as day-to-day after tweaking his right hamstring in the first inning of Tuesday night’s loss.
New York Yankees Struggles Continue
In last night’s loss to the Rangers, pitcher Cole Hamels easily shutdown the Yankees offense en route to seven shutout innings fourth straight victory. He improved to 9-1 on the year, while lowering his ERA to 2.60. The win improved the Rangers record to 51-27, which leads the Major Leagues.
Beltran Suffers Hamstring Injury
Beltran, 39, underwent an MRI on his right hamstring after the game, which came back negative, and is officially listed as day-to-day. Beltran said that he felt a pull and a knot in his hamstring as he ran to first base after lining a single to left field. Given Beltran’s age and history with leg injuries, it would be in the Yankees best interest if manager Joe Girardi gave him a few days off to rest.
The eight-time All-Star is the Yankees most productive hitter this season, batting .297 with nineteen home runs and fifty-three RBI. Those are numbers that the Yankees likely could not replace should Beltran end up on the disabled list. With Alex Rodriguez relegated to hitting against left-handed pitching until he can break out of his slump and Mark Teixeira struggling to stay healthy yet again, Beltran’s bat is something the Yankees can ill afford to lose.
Sabathia Pitches Well
As far as CC Sabathia‘s night was concerned, the southpaw pitched very well through the first seven innings, allowing only two runs until things fell apart for him and the Yankees in the eighth inning. He was charged with four runs in Texas five-run inning, and finished with a stat line (7 IP, 6 ER, 8 H, BB, 2 K) that did not truly reflect his performance. For the season, Sabathia owns a respectable 5-5 record with a 3.17 ERA.
Trade Deadline Approaches
With the trade deadline just over a month away, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has to decide whether or not the club has a legitimate shot of contending in the AL East. If Cashman doesn’t believe they can, then it might be in his best interest, as well as that of the Yankees, if he could acquire some young talent for some of their more valuable assets like Beltran, Andrew Miller, and Aroldis Chapman, who the Chicago Cubs continue to scout.
Given the fact that three-fifths of the Yankees starting rotation has an ERA over 5.00 (Nathan Eovaldi 5.19, Ivan Nova 5.32 and Michael Pineda 5.51), and the fact that the middle of their lineup struggles to produce runs, it is hard to imagine the Yankees contending for a Wild Card spot, let alone the division title.
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