It got bad enough that Barstool's Eric Hubbs was openly relieved the Yankees had an off day. The losing streak hit 7 games, Aaron Judge is nowhere close to returning, and the lineup looked lost. Trent Grisham coming back off the injured list was treated like a lifeline.
Not sure I’ve ever seen a Yankees team play this poorly over 7 games. Didn’t expect to be saying this, but Thank God 1) the Yankees don’t play today 2) Trent Grisham is back tomorrow. Judge isn’t close to returning. Big fucking problem for the lineup. Need guys to wake up
So when the Yankees finally got back on the field, they needed saviors, and they got one in Ben Rice. His 2-run shot against the Twins broke a 1-1 tie and put the Yankees in front, and Hubbs' reaction said it all after Rice had gone quiet for a stretch.
Ben Rice's go-ahead homer against the Twins, the kind of swing the Yankees badly needed.
The win didn't come easy, though. Gerrit Cole battled through traffic and a defense that couldn't bail him out, and by the middle innings his frustration on the mound was obvious for anyone watching.
Cole's visible frustration on the mound mid-outing.
That relief lasted about a day. The Twins came right back and started teeing off, with Kody Clemens turning around a fastball for a 2-run homer that had even Barstool Baseball's account tipping the cap.
Kody Clemens' 2-run blast off the Yankees, 393 feet.
Then Josh Bell joined the party with a 399-foot no-doubter to push the Twins further ahead, and the Yankees bullpen kept handing out extra chances. Camilo Doval's rough stretch has Hubbs saying he can't watch him pitch anymore, Jazz Chisholm got roasted for a bunt that barely moved, and Austin Wells is buried in a slump nobody saw coming from a big league regular.
The one bright spot through all of it is Rice, who's up to 24 homers on the season and just picked up a well-earned All-Star nod. Hubbs was thrilled for him, even while noting he's arguably behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the pecking order. For a Yankees team lurching between a snapped skid and a fresh one, that's the kind of individual story worth holding onto.