About Yesterday: The Yankees Were Beaten by the Orioles 5-3

About Yesterday: The Yankees Were Beaten by the Orioles 5-3

By Tim Kabel

June 21, 2025

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The Yankees snapped their six-game losing streak by winning the last game against the Angels on Thursday. However, they promptly began a new losing streak last night. How long it will last, nobody knows. The Yankees are now 1-7 in their last 8 games. The Boone-Swoon is chugging along at full speed.

Quick Stats – 

·       Max Fried has a 2.06 Era through 16 starts, which is the fourth best in franchise history.

·       The Yankees are 8-12 against American League East teams this season.

·       The Yankees have scored three or fewer runs in eight of their last nine games.

·       The Yankees are 8-21 in games in which they score three or fewer runs.

·       Anthony Volpe is hitless in his last 24 at bats.  According to the manager, “He’s close."

·       Aaron Judge had his eleventh game this season with three or more hits, which is tied for the most in the Major Leagues.

·       On June 20, 1950, Joe DiMaggio recorded his 2,000th career hit.

·       On June 20, 1983, Bobby Murcer retired as a player.

·       On June 20th, 1989, the Yankees traded Ricky Henderson back to the Oakland days for Greg Cadaret, Eric Plunk, and Luis Polonia. That was an awful trade.

·       On June 20, 1997. Aaron Boone made his Major League debut with the Cincinnati Reds. Naturally, he was ejected from the game. Who knew that would become his best skill throughout his playing and managerial careers. 

Big Story – 

The Yankees are not taking advantage of the schedule that is before them. This was the portion of the schedule in which they theoretically could accumulate wins and pad their lead in the division. They are not doing that. The Yankees are 8-12 in their last 20 games. That is not a recipe for success. The thing to note is that they are not playing tough opponents. However, the way the Yankees are playing right now, they are the weaker opponent. The Orioles are 13-7 in their last 20 games.

At this point, the Yankees are only 11 games over .500 and their lead in the American League East is down to 1 1/2 games over the Tampa Bay Rays. It is conceivable that the Yankees could fall out of first place by the end of the weekend. For anyone who did not believe the Boone-Swoon was about to happen, unfortunately it is here, and it might stay for a while. 

Player of the Game – 

Aaron Judge was 3-4 and hit his 27th home run. 

Notable Performances – 

Jazz Chisholm, Jr. was 2-5 with an RBI.

Jasson Dominguez was 1-2 with a hit, a walk, a sacrifice fly, and an RBI.

Better To Forget-

Anthony Volpe was 0-4 and has not had a hit in 24 at bats. The manager thinks Volpe is close and is not worried about it. Gee, that's good enough for me.

My Take – 

The Orioles were struggling mightily earlier in the season. They were so bad that they fired their manager. Now, they appear to be turning things around. They are still in last place, and they are below .500. However, they are improving. They have also beaten the Yankees three out of four games this season.

The Yankees are in the midst of another Boone-Swoon. To say anything else is simply denial. Do you know who does not think the Yankees are in the middle of a Boone-Swoon?  Aaron Boone, that's who. He continues to trot out the same tired gibberish when he is questioned by the media. He claims that “It's right there in front of us.” Or “we are close.” Or my personal favorite, “We had some good swings there”. He is not concerned about Anthony Volpe’s slump. He wouldn't even concede that bringing Luke Weaver into a tie game in the eighth inning after not having pitched in eighteen days or having a minor league rehab might have been a bad idea. The most honest thing that Boone said (and the most amusing) was when he was asked about Aaron Judge bouncing back from his slump and having three hits, including the home run. He said that Judge made adjustments. He then immediately added, “Oh, it wasn't anything I told him to do.” When Judge was told that Boone stated that he made adjustments in his swing, Judge stated that he makes adjustments every day and has been doing it since March. He said it was nothing new.

We have seen this same movie for eight years. It's never going to change. No matter how many times you watch Jaws, the shark will always die at the end. Aaron Boone is not going to grow or develop or change. He is not going to suddenly have an epiphany and become a good manager. He is a mediocre manager who thinks he is a great manager. Because he thinks he is great, he has no motivation to change. In eight years, he has won one pennant. That was last year, and the Yankees were then beaten handily by the Dodgers in the World Series. Two of those World Series losses can be laid at the feet of Aaron Boone.

Do we really need to see a whole season of this again? The only question is at what point will the Yankees be eliminated. Will they make it to the playoffs? Will they lose in the first round? Will they somehow get lucky and make it to the World Series and lose again? We know, whether or not we are willing to admit it, that the Yankees will not win the World Series with Aaron Boone at the helm. Perhaps the Yankees should follow the lead of the Orioles or the Phillies from a few years ago and replace Boone soon. They don't need to wait until they lose so many games that it will be hard for them to make up the ground that they have lost.

Unfortunately, I know they will not make a move. They will ride things out and then at some point in October we will hear Boone make excuses and justifications and tell us how with just a few breaks, the Yankees could have won everything. In other words, they will lose. I know Boone has a winning record. That's because the Yankees have a talented team. They don't give trophies for winning records. They give trophies for winning the World Series. It's time for the Yankees to make a change.

Next Up-

The Yankees will play the second game of the three-game series against the Orioles today at 1:05 PM at Yankee Stadium. Zach Efflin, (6-3, 4.81 ERA) will pitch for Baltimore. The Yankees will send Clarke Schmidt, (3-3, 3.16 ERA) to the mound.