About Yesterday: Sox 2, Yanks 0

By Tim Kabel

June 16, 2025

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About Yesterday: The Yankees Were Shut Down by the Red Sox 2-0

The Yankees lost another close game to the Red Sox yesterday. They lost the weekend series, and they were swept. They have lost five of six games and five in a row to the Red Sox. There are not a lot of positive things to say about yesterday's game, this series, or the season series against the Red Sox. Well, at least no one was hurt, and the weather was nice.

Quick Stats – 

·       Aaron Judge went 1-12 in the weekend series. He struck out three or more times for three straight games for the third time in his career.

·       Rafael Devers has 31 home runs against the Yankees since 2017, the most of any batter in that time span. That pace will be slowed drastically.

·       The Yankees were swept in a series for the first time this season. They were shut out for the third time this season. 

·       The Yankees scored four runs in the three-game series which is the fewest the Yankees have scored in a three-game series in Fenway Park since 1922.

·       The Yankees had only 5 hits and were 0-5 with runners in scoring position.

·       On June 15th, 1923, Lou Gehrig made his Major League debut as a defensive replacement for Wally Pipp. He did not bat in the game.

·       On June 15th, 1976, the trade for Vida Blue from the Oakland A's to the Yankees was voided by MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn.

Big Story – 

The Yankees have lost the last three weekend series. First, they lost to the Dodgers, and now they have lost back-to-back weekend series against the Red Sox. They are a combined 2-7 in those nine games. That is a concern. The Red Sox were a struggling team before they first played the Yankees last weekend. Now, they are one game over .500. The Red Sox may be starting to believe they can compete in the American League East. The Yankees did everything they possibly could to send them that message over the past two weeks. Perhaps now that the Red Sox have rid themselves of the negative attitude of Rafael Devers, they will play even better. Perhaps not. Even if he was a toxic presence in the clubhouse, he could still hit. 

The Yankees have played six games against the Red Sox this season. They have seven games remaining against Boston later in the season. For the Yankees to win the season series against the Red Sox, they will need to win six of those seven games. Based on what we saw in the last two weeks, that is a very tall order. Conversely, the Red Sox only need to win two of those seven games to win the season series.

Player of the Game – 

Max Fried pitched well enough to win on most days. Unfortunately, yesterday wasn't one of those days. 

Notable Performance – 

Trent Grisham had two of the Yankees’ five hits.

Better To Forget-

The offense was ineffective yesterday and the whole weekend. Let's put it this way, they reached a level of ineptitude that has not been achieved since 1922, and before that only one other time, in 1916. There probably isn't anyone alive who saw those games, other than my friend Roger, of course, having been a season ticket holder since Fenway Park opened.

My Take – 

Since the Yankees began their series against the Dodgers on May 30th, they are 7-8. They played five series during that time. They won two of them and lost the other three. They were able to beat the Royals and the Guardians but lost once to the Dodgers and twice to the Red Sox. The Yankees are still in first place by 3 1/2 games over the Tampa Bay Rays. They are 42-28. However, they are below .500 in those last 15 games.

Is this the beginning of this year's Boone-Swoon? It very well may be. Even if it isn't, it is still a concern. The Yankees have trouble winning against tougher opponents, or opponents who play them tough. They will play the Angels for four games beginning tonight. The Angels are not a very good team and hopefully the Yankees can beat them but, it is highly unlikely that the Yankees will meet the Angels in the playoffs this season. After that, they will play the Orioles. The Orioles are in last place, ten games below 500. However, the Orioles just swept the Angels. The first time the Yankees played the Orioles this season, they lost two of three games.

Before the first game between the Yankees and the Red Sox this season, the Red Sox were a team in turmoil. They were below .500 and their fans were concerned. Rafael Devers was seen as a negative influence in the clubhouse, particularly with all the young players the Red Sox were trying to develop. The Yankees won the first game they played but have not won since. The Yankees lost five in a row to the Red Sox. They were dominated by the Red Sox. If the Red Sox do catch the Yankees this season, these past two weekends could have laid the foundation for that. The Red Sox are starting to believe in themselves as a team. Rafael Devers has been jettisoned and the Red Sox are embracing their young players. Meanwhile, the Yankees are banking on Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu.

I'm not going to say that the Yankees have definitely entered the Boone-Swoon of 2025. However, that could very well be the case. Over the past two weeks, they have not played well. The biggest question is how long this will last. Thankfully, the Angels, Orioles, and A's are not very good, but when the Yankees are in a Boone-Swoon, that often doesn't matter. As I noted above, they lost two of three to the Orioles earlier in the year. One of the key components to the Boone Swoon is that the manager never has any explanation of why it is happening, how it started, or how to end it. Similarly, when the team is on a hot streak, he has no explanation for that either. It is as if he were the captain of a ship that was rudderless and just floating along, led by the winds and the tides. When Boone is asked about the losing sreaks, he only offers drivel or inane platitudes. After yesterday's game, he stated, “We had a little trouble scoring runs.” Think about that. They scored four runs in three days in Boston. New York Yankees’ teams have done that on only two other occasions in their history, in 1916 and 1922. The manager of the team that was so ineffective they scored fewer runs in three days in Boston than any other Yankees” team in 103 years actually said: “We had a little trouble scoring runs." That should be grounds for dismissal. 

The Yankees have not played well for the last two weeks. Perhaps they can right the ship quickly and move on. Perhaps it will not be a Boone Swoon. However, all the signs are there. Most importantly, the man who has led the team into Boone Swoons repeatedly is still at the helm. Experience matters.

Next Up-

The Yankees will open a four-game series against the Angels tonight at 7:05 PM at Yankee Stadium. Jose Soriano, (4-5, 3.86 ERA) will pitch for Los Angeles. The Yankees will send Clarke Schmidt, (3-3, 3.60 ERA) to the mound. 

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Editor's Note: Today's graphic was created by Microsoft Copilot.

The prompt was, "Please make a graphic of a giant Red Sox player standing over a tiny NY Yankee. A cartoon is fine or something fun."