Inconsistent Yankees Drop Back to .500 with Loss to Jays

BLUE JAYS 8 - YANKEES 5

Win one night, lose the next. Win one night, lose the next. It's has to be frustrating for the Yankees right now. After 18-games the team can't get things moving in the right direction as they find themselves at 9-9 after a 8-5 loss to the Blue Jays on Friday at the Stadium.

Complicating matters is the fact that the Boston Red Sox are starting to run and hide in the AL East. Including Boston's 7-3 win over Oakland on Friday, the Red Sox are 17-2, seven games ahead of the Yankees for first place. The Red Sox have been so dominant thus far that the Rays and Orioles are already double-digits behind the lead.

What has to really be frustrating for Aaron Boone tonight is the fact his ball club had leads of 2-0 and 4-2 thanks to home runs by Tyler Austin and Giancarlo Stanton. For Stanton it was his fourth homer of the year, breaking a 50 at-bat homerless streak.

The fretful began in the top of the fourth when Kendrys Morales connected on a ground rule double to score Russell Martin to make it 4-3. A few batters later, rookie Lourdes Gurriel delivered a back-breaking 2-run single to hand Toronto a 5-4 lead. The 24-year old Cuban native was making his first MLB start on Friday. To think the Blue Jays have Gurriel and Vlad Gurrerro Jr. coming up through the ranks. That is scary.

Gurriel wasn't done hurting the Yankees. His RBI single in the fifth gave the Blue Jays the lead back at 6-5, spearheading a three-run inning to take an 8-5 lead.

Yankees pitcher Sonny Gray was not good. He surrendered five runs in 3.1 innings; his ERA jumped up to 8.27. Domingo German and Adam Warren didn't help the cause in relief. The Yankees have to be concerned about Gray at this point. He has been just awful in his last three starts. He isn't giving the Yankees length, he's failing to get outs in big spots, and isn't overpowering anybody. He looks lost.

The Yankees need Gray to turn it around, especially with such a shaky rotation. Perhaps a demotion to the minors or bullpen should be in the offing for Gray. He needs it and needs it badly.

With each passing day, the Yankees are leaving people to wonder if this team is ever going to get going in 2018.