New York Yankees: MLB insider reveals $280,000,000 team's chemistry could be going south, players dejected after loss vs Braves
The writing seems to be on the wall for the New York Yankees who suffered a loss to the Atlanta Braves in their series opener on Monday.
The Yankees look set to miss their first postseason since 2016 as they fell 5.5 games behind the last AL Wild Card spot with 43 games to go. In the game against Atlanta, they were humbled 11-3, with the MLB's best team dominating right from the start.
As per news analysts, the morale in the Bombers clubhouse was down after their 59th loss of the season. The Yankees were seen all over the place as Kyle Higashioka had an outburst and captain Aaron Judge was spotted sitting alone staring at the game.
Max Goodman summed it up for the Yankees, whose payroll tops $280 million, in his Tweet:
"The scene in the #Yankees dugout looks miserable from up here. Kyle Higashioka threw his helmet down the steps after grounding into an inning-ending double play. Aaron Judge stood alone staring at the field between innings, leaning on the railing. There's barely any movement."
Clarke Schmidt suffered his seventh loss as he lasted just 2.1 innings giving away a career-high 8 runs on nine hits. On the other side, Max Fried was solid yet again as he allowed just two runs on the mound.
Offensively Nicky Lopez who had slotted in for Ozzie Albies had another field day as he notched up 3-4 with 3 RBIs with Eddie Rosario's 4 hits and a homer topping his performance.
For New York, Harrison Bader's fielder's choice out drove in IKF before he himself got an RBI single. Anthony Volpe salvaged some pride with an RBI triple in the final frame.
Yankees hanging by a thread in playoff contention
New York is teetering just above the .500 PCT and is last in the AL East. They were hoping to bounce back from a tough series-deciding loss against the Miami Marlins, where they conceded five runs in the ninth as the home team walked it off.
If they are to gain ground in the hunt for the last Wild Card spot, New York has two get two victories against the high-flying Atlanta Braves. If they can't, they could be looking at too deep a hole to dig themselves out of.
We will see if they can change the narrative surrounding the team in the coming weeks.