Panic sets in as Yankees Get Clobbered by Red Sox

You knew at some point this season it was coming. A crossroads was going to come to bear for first year manager Aaron Boone in the stretch drive of the regular season that would go a long way in determining the fate of the 2018 New York Yankees.

In 48 hours the Yankees went from perennial pennant contender to barley hanging onto the playoffs -- at least in the eyes of their fans. And this is a Yankee team that is 29 games over .500 and leads the Oakland A's and Seattle Mariners by five games in the AL Wild Card race.

Yes, the past 48 hours have been bad.

First it was Sonny Gray's disgraceful performance on Wednesday where he gave up seven earned runs over two-and-two-thirds innings to the Baltimore Orioles, the worst team in all of Major League Baseball. It was a nightmarish start, only punctuated by Gray's bizarre smile during it all with his team down 6-1 and 47,000 Yankee fans raining down on him with boos.

Gray's struggles aren't new. The Yankees have waited and waited and waited for Gray to deliver the goods they thought they were getting when he came over from the A's last season. It hasn't happened.
A 5.56 ERA, and Aaron Boone, GM Brian Cashman and company had more than enough. Gray has been regulated to the bullpen.

But thanks to Gray's awful effort the other day, it has thrown the entire Yankee rotation into flux. Lance Lynn whom the Yankees would have liked to have saved to pitch in this weekend series in Boston, wound up throwing four innings against Baltimore, making him unavailable. J.A. Happ was placed on the DL with Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease, and then, there was Thursday night.

Thursday the Yankees were blitzed 15-7 by the Red Sox as the Yankee pen imploded in the fourth inning.

Boone felt he had no choice but to remove starter CC Sabathia from the game because he labored through three innings on a 90-degree night. It seemed like a smart move, with a 4-2 lead to go to the bullpen and Jonathan Holder who has been so good, so often this year. Instead it blew up in Boone's face.

Holder was lit up for seven runs in the fourth including a three-run bomb by Steven Pearce. If Boone was guilty of anything, he left Holder in a batter or two too long. Once he gave up the homer, Boone should have pulled him, and not waited for the Yankees to be down 8-4 with barn already asunder.

Holder's implosion forced Boone's hand once again, as he had to use Luis Cessa two days before he wanted to. Cessa was promptly torched by the Red Sox, who tagged him for five runs in three-and-two-thirds innings.

Now the Yankees are stuck. With no Lance Lynn, and no JA Happ, and no Luis Cessa, they have no choice but to bring in Chance Adams from Triple-A to pitch on Saturday.

The Yankees are in a delicate position. They need Luis Severino to dominate Friday night against Boston's Rick Porcello. Both Porcello and Severino have posted solid numbers this year, but Severino is supposed to be the Yankee ace. The problem is he has been very un-ace-like for the past month.

In his last four starts, Severino has given up 19 earned runs in 19.1 innings. That is an ERA just under 9.00. Not only is Severino getting hit hard, he's giving up home runs, having allowed seven in his last four starts.

Now would be a good time for Severino to find himself again and deliver a gem. The Yankees need it. Otherwise these 48 bad hours are going to turn even uglier, and fans will become even more restless.

So Aaron Boone wanted to manage the Yankees? Now, for the first time this year, he gets to manage a team in crisis.