Oh, My Aching Head. Mets 7, Yankees 6 in 10 Innings

About Yesterday Afternoon: Oh, My Aching Head. Mets 7, Yankees 6 in 10 Innings

By Tim Kabel

May 18, 2026

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They did it. They really did it. The Yankees blew a 6-3 lead with two outs in the 9th inning against the last-place Mets.

The Yankees lost the series against the Mets.

The Yankees went 2-7 on this nine-game road trip.

The Yankees fell to three games behind the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Yankees have avoided the rush and started the Boone-Swoon early this year.

Where to begin? Let's start at the beginning. The Yankees juggled the starting rotation so that Elmer Rodriguez would face the Mets at Citi Field while Ryan Weathers was pushed back to start the series against the Blue Jays tonight. I suppose that was possibly a good idea in theory. However, in practice it didn't work out so well.

To be clear, that has absolutely nothing to do with Elmer Rodriguez. This was his best outing in the Major Leagues. Elmer did not become unglued. He pitched 4.1 innings, allowing five hits and one walk and struck out one batter. He gave up one earned run. Was it absolutely necessary to pull him in the fifth inning with one out and one runner on? No, it wasn't. After Carlos Rodon’s short outing the day before, Rodriguez certainly could have been allowed to pitch a little deeper into the game. That began the seemingly endless parade of relief pitchers. So, if the point was to use Rodriguez against the Mets, who may be considered a lesser opponent than the Blue Jays, why not leave him in instead of yanking him out early and depleting the bullpen?

The next issue also happened relatively early in the game. In the sixth inning, Aaron Boone emptied the Yankees bench which resulted in the team scoring four runs. However, it would have been nice to have players on the bench later in the game or perhaps even the original hitters who were in the lineup when the going got tough.

We are now at a point in the season where the flaws on this team can no longer be ignored.

Trent Grisham was 0-5 and only reached base on an error. He is now batting .166 for the season. Not only has he reverted to his pre-2025 form, but he is also even worse than that.

Ryan McMahon who supposedly improved greatly after receiving advice from Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt, not the Yankees hitting coaches, is now hitless in his last 23 at bats and his batting.183.

Austin Wells came into the game to replace JC Escarra, after he was pinch hit for. Unfortunately, there was no one left to pinch hit for Wells. Wells is now batting 173.

The Yankees need to make a decision because they can't continue to have all three of these players in the starting lineup day after day. They are automatic outs. 

Of the three, McMahon might be the easiest to replace. Although Amed Rosario is much worse than McMahon defensively, he can at least hit Major League pitching. Besides, we all know that despite the comments Boone has made, he is champing at the bit to make Anthony Volpe the starting shortstop even after Jose Caballero returns from the IL. Volpe had two hits yesterday and continued his newfound ability to get walks. That resulted in Michael Kay stating during the broadcast that Volpe was making a case to keep the starting shortstop job even after Caballero returns. That was an absurd statement based on one game. However, we need to face reality. If Boone schemes and connives his way into allowing Volpe to be the starting shortstop for the rest of the season, then instead of relegating Caballero to the bench, he could take over for McMahon at third base. That is a discussion for another day, but that day is coming soon. 

Despite the fact that the Yankees scored six runs yesterday, the offense was inconsistent and sporadic. The Yankees only managed six hits. Of all the various batters used in the game, only four of them had hits. Ben Rice and Cody Bellinger each had one hit. Rice’s was his 15th home run. Jazz Chisholm, Jr., and Anthony Volpe had two hits each. That was it. It is hard to win games with that type of offensive production. Judge, Rice, and Bellinger cannot be expected to hit every single day. They need help. That is why there are nine batters in the lineup.

The bullpen is overworked, inconsistent, and not very good. On a day when Camilo Doval was actually good, David Bednar was not. Ryan Yarbrough was not. Not only was the bullpen ineffective, as usual, it was misused.

Now, let's get to the 10th inning. After Bednar fell apart in the 9th inning, Tim Hill came out for the 10th inning. Aaron Boone decided to not only play the infield in but to overcrowd it. He brought Max Schuemann in from the outfield to be the extra infielder and on the ground ball that he was attempting to field and then throw home, Anthony Volpe ran into him.

The Mets won. The Yankees lost. From the beginning to the end, this is a loss you can lay squarely at the feet of the Yankees manager. I know he has his defenders. Who knows why, but he does. But I think it would be difficult to defend the indefensible. This was a game the Yankees should have won. They lost it. Aaron Boone lost it.

To steal a line from the Rogers and Hammerstein musical Carousel, “the Boone-Swoon is busting out all over.”

A Few Tidbits: 

·       The Yankees seemed well on their way to winning their first road series against the Mets since 2018. They were one out away from doing so. They didn't. That's baseball, Suzyn. At least, when it's managed by Aaron Boone.

·       The Mets had not won a game in which they were trailing after 8 innings since the 2024 postseason when they beat Devin Williams. Their record in such games since then was 0-91. They can thank Aaron Boone for this one.

·       The Yankees decided to start Tyrone Taylor, a .177 hitter, off with a looping curveball in the 9th inning with two on and two out. Taylor hit a home run immediately.

·       In the top of the 10th inning, Max Schuemann attempted to bunt at four consecutive pitches, two balls and two strikes before swinging over a Devin Williams change up that was three feet off the plate. The Yankees announcers were very critical of this maneuver, as the Yankees were playing for one run in extra innings on the road when the Mets would have the final at bat and would also have a ghost runner on second base.

·       The Yankees have gone from a record of 26-12 to a record of 28-19. They were swept by the Brewers, which is somewhat understandable. They then went 1-2 against both the Orioles and the Mets, which is inexcusable. I have often written about the need to make hay when the sun shines. The Yankees failed to do so. This is a classic example of a full-fledged Boone-Swoon.

The Yankees will open a four-game series against the Blue Jays tonight at 7:05 PM at Yankee Stadium. Ryan Weathers, (2-2, 3.00 ERA) will face Patrick Corbin, (1-1, 3.93 ERA).