About Yesterday: Yankees Defeat Angels 7-3

About Yesterday: The Yankees Woke Up and Beat the Angels 7-3

By Tim Kabel

June 20, 2025

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The Yankees snapped their six-game losing streak yesterday and avoided a sweep by the Angels. The six-game losing streak was the Yankees’ longest since a nine-game skid in August of 2023. Had the Yankees lost yesterday, it would have been only their second four-game sweep at the current Yankee Stadium and the first one since September of 2021 against Toronto. It's a good thing the Yanks won.

Quick Stats – 

·       Carlos Rodon allowed a season-high three home runs but held the Angels to four hits in six innings.

·       Cody Bellinger had three of the Yankees’ twelve hits.

·       The Yankees had lost six games while scoring a total of seven or fewer runs for the first time since 1908.

·       Trent Grisham and Paul Goldschmidt hit back-to-back home runs in the second inning. Grisham has fourteen home runs this season. Ten of those home runs have either tied the game or given the Yankees the lead.

·       On June 19, 1942, Joe DiMaggio struck out three times in a game. It was the only time he did that in his entire career. The game has certainly changed. That, and there was only one Joe DiMaggio.

·       Lou Gehrig was born on June 19, 1903. My friend Roger used to babysit him and remembers him fondly.

The Big Story – 

The Yankees salvaged the final game against the Angels. They lost this series but managed to win the season series against the Angels four games to three. Prior to yesterday, the Yankees lost six games in a row. Since opening the series against the Dodgers on May 30th, the Yankees are 8-11. It is fair to say the Boone-Swoon is underway. The only question is how long will it last?

After the series against the Dodgers, I wrote an article in which I stated that the Yankees needed to make hay against weaker opponents. I included the Red Sox in that group because they were below .500 and were struggling. They certainly didn't struggle against the Yankees. Neither did the Angels. Regardless of whether the Yankees snap out of the Boone-Swoon now or it continues, the Yankees lost an opportunity to accumulate wins. They will now play the Orioles and then the Oakland A’s. They are both last place teams. In theory, the Yankees should be able to manhandle both teams. Right now, it's anybody's guess as to what will happen. Yes, the Yankees won yesterday, but they still lost three of four games to the lowly Angels.

Would it be a stretch to see them lose either or both series against the Orioles or the A’s? No, it wouldn't. The next six games will be a good indicator of how long the current Boone-Swoon is likely to last.

Players of the Game – 

Paul Goldschmidt and Trent Grisham had two hints each, including back-to-back home runs in the second inning. 

Notable Performance – 

Cody Bellinger was 3-4 and drove in a run.

Better To Forget-

The Yankees continue to make base running blunders. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Austin Wells attempted a double steal as the trail runner. This forced Anthony Volpe to run, and he was thrown out at third base.

My Take – 

The Yankees scored seven runs yesterday and snapped their losing streak. That is a good thing but, it does not necessarily mean the Boone-Swoon is over. When the Yankees go into these funks, it doesn't mean they lose every single game. It just means they play badly and lose more than they win. We won't know if the Boone-Swoon is over for a while.

The one thing that is consistent with every single Boone-Swoon is that the manager never has an explanation for why the team has gone on a losing streak. He has no explanation, nor does he have a solution. He also can’t explain why they go on winning streaks. It's as if he is a helpless and hapless bystander to what is going on. The other night, he was asked about the losing streak and his one-word answer was “baseball.” That's it. He couldn't even compose a full sentence. Remember, when he was hired to be the manager, he was touted as being a great communicator, as he was a broadcaster before he became the manager. The adorable child who broadcast a portion of the game on the YES network yesterday as part of HOPE week is a better communicator.

Eventually, the Yankees should resume their winning ways because they are a very talented group. However, when they do, it will have nothing to do with the manager. Not only does he have no explanation for the Boone-Swoons, but he also denies their existence. The other night, he was asked about Aaron Judge being in a slump and he responded with snide and snarky remarks denying that Judge was in a slump. Clearly, Aaron Judge was and perhaps still is in a slump. There is no shame to that. Every Major League Baseball player goes through it at some point every season. Sometimes it happens more than once in a season. When the manager denies that it's happening, he comes across as condescending, disingenuous, and clueless. That is not what you want.

Reportedly, Aaron Judge and some of the other players had a players-only meeting the other night to address the losing streak. There is nothing wrong with that. Players have been doing that forever. However, after the fact, Aaron Boone denied that it happened. Again, this is not what you want from the manager. It is defensive, dishonest, and bordering on paranoid.

This is Aaron Boone’s eighth season as the manager of the Yankees. He wasn't a good manager when he started and he's no better now. In fact, you could argue that he's a worse manager now because after eight years, he has not improved at all. He has learned nothing from his endless supply of mistakes and blunders. Yet, when he talks to the media he does so in an arrogant and condescending way. He is dismissive and superior. It's one thing to be a poor manager. It's quite another to be a poor manager who thinks he is great. When that happens, there is no likelihood for improvement or growth.

The current Boone-Swoon will ultimately end. They always do. However, I stand by the statement that I have made repeatedly. The Yankees will never win a World Series with Aaron Boone as the manager.

Next Up-

The Yankees will open a three-game series against the Orioles tonight at 7:05 PM at Yankee Stadium. Tomoyuki Sugano, (5-4, 3.38 ERA) will pitch for Baltimore. The Yankees will send Max Fried, (9-2, 1.90 ERA) to the mound. Let’s hope Max doesn’t “miss it by that much”.

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Today's image comes from ChatGPT and from the prompt, "Please create a fun image of a cartoon Yankees player, in uniform, waking up in bed."