Yankee Implosion Continues. Losing Streak Grows to 5 - Skubal Next

Yankee Implosion Continues Losing Streak Grows to 5 - Skubal Next

By John Nielsen

June 30, 2026

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The Big Story

Monday night's game was never in doubt. The Detroit Tigers thoroughly outplayed the Yankees, cruising to a 7–3 victory before a subdued crowd of 40,506 at Yankee Stadium. Although the final margin was four runs, the contest was far more lopsided than the score suggested.

Everything that could go wrong for New York did. The starting pitching faltered, the defense unraveled, and the offense was once again virtually nonexistent.

Casey Mize (3–5) dominated the Yankees, tossing 7.0 scoreless innings while allowing just one hit—a flared double by Spencer Jones. He struck out 10 without issuing a walk, needing only 88 pitches (58 strikes). Mize recorded 21 outs while facing just 22 batters, one more than the minimum.

Ryan Weathers (3–6) endured a miserable outing for New York, lasting just 1⅔ innings while allowing seven hits and five runs. Only two of those runs were earned, however, as the Yankee defense failed him early and often. Jose Caballero committed a throwing error on what should have been a routine ground out, and Cody Bellinger compounded the damage by dropping a deep line drive at the base of the left-field wall—a play he almost always makes.

"Yeah, that was bad. No sugar coating that one," Bellinger said afterward. "I got to the wall and just squeezed too early."

Detroit's offense was paced by Kevin McGonigle and Hao-Yu Lee, who each collected two hits and drove in two runs.

The Yankees didn't score until the eighth inning, when pinch-hitter Amed Rosario blasted a three-run homer—his eighth of the season—off Drew Sommers. Rosario's big fly accounted for all three of New York's runs.

The only shaky performance that rivaled the Yankees' struggles came from home plate umpire Alfonso Márquez. Seven of his eight challenged ball-and-strike calls were overturned, making for an unusually rough night behind the plate. Márquez also missed a hit-by-pitch administered to McGonigle that was overturned by traditional replay.

The loss dropped New York to 48–36, leaving the Yankees 1½ games behind the idle AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays—three games back in the loss column.

The Yankees’ roller coaster of a season continues tonight with an outstanding pitching matchup as consecutive-year reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal (3–4, 3.32 ERA) faces Yankee ace Cam Schlittler (8–4, 1.62 ERA). Game time is 7:05 PM.

How Bad Has the Offense Been?

Fresh off their offensive futility in Fenway—where, from Thursday through Saturday, the Yankees failed to record a hit in the first four innings of three consecutive games for the first time in 63 years—New York added another dubious couple of entries into the record book Monday night.

For the first time in franchise history, the Yankees were held to three hits or fewer in four consecutive games. Over that lifeless stretch, they batted just .100 while striking out 35 times. No team in Major League Baseball history has ever posted a batting average that low while piling up that many strikeouts over a four-game span.

The Yankees' offensive decline has been stunning. In the 13 games immediately following Aaron Judge's injury on May 31, New York went 9–4 while averaging 5.77 runs per game. Since June 18, however, the lineup has fallen off a cliff, going just 3–9 while averaging a paltry 2.67 runs per contest.

Poor Defense Compounds Misery

As bad as the offense has been, the defense may be in even worse shape.

Monday's two errors directly contributed to five more unearned runs. Over the past five games, dating back to Thursday's series opener in Boston, Yankees pitchers have surrendered a respectable 14 earned runs. Unfortunately, the defense has also gifted opponents another 14 UNEARNED runs—an astonishing 2.8 per game.

The mistakes have come in every imaginable form: multiple catcher's interference calls, errant throws, routine ground balls rolling between the legs of infielders, misplayed pop fouls near the protective screen/tarp, outfield throws to the wrong base, missed routine double-play opportunities, and now dropped fly balls. The mounting injuries appear to have caught up with the Yankees, affecting not only their production at the plate but their execution in the field as well.

An Unnecessary Collision, Another Injury—Perhaps Two

Jasson Domínguez's growing pains in right field surfaced again Monday night.

On a looping fly ball to shallow right-center, Domínguez charged in and made the catch but failed to communicate with second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., resulting in a violent collision roughly 40 feet behind the infield dirt. Had it occurred on an NFL gridiron, the hit might well have drawn a targeting penalty for Dominguez driving his elbow directly into Jazz’s chin and neck, knocking him to the ground. As Bellinger put it afterward, "Jazz kind of got smoked, there." 

At least a targeting call would have disqualified Dominguez from further misadventures.

Instead, just one batter later, Domínguez sprinted to the right-field warning track to make a fine running catch before crashing face-first into the wall. After a few anxious moments with the Martian wincing in pain and grabbing his ribs, he appeared to escape without serious injury, but Chisholm's status is far less certain. The Yankees reported that he entered the concussion protocol following the game, leaving his availability for the remainder of the series in jeopardy. Another disabled player of Chisholm’s stature would be a disaster for New York, right now.

For a club already struggling to score, defend, and stay healthy, Monday night offered yet another reminder that things can always get worse.

Good News On the Horizon?

Prior to the game Aaron Boone announced the expected return of Trent Grisham either Wednesday, or latest, Friday. His return to center field and the leadoff spot would be most welcome as New York looks to snap what is now a five-game losing streak with another tough matchup scheduled for Tuesday night.  It will be interesting to see how Boone adjusts his lineup and defense with Grisham’s return.

I strongly believe Dominguez should be limited to DHing at this point as his defense is costing the Yankees far too much in the field.  To keep Paul Goldschmidt in the lineup, that might mean the Yankees will have to give at least some thought to giving Ben Rice periodic catching assignments, as Austin Wells continues to struggle at the plate. That might mean the best option left for the Yankees is a straight defensive-oriented platoon in right field of Oswaldo Cabrera and Max Schuemann. You heard it here first!

It also appears that third baseman Ryan McMahon is on the mend from a throat infection and is likely to return before the All Star Break, now just two weeks away.

Finally, the other Max – Fried – threw a 30-pitch bullpen with his fastball clocked at 95. The Yankees seem to think he will be ready to pitch right after the All Star Game and may appear in the first series immediately following the break as the Yankees host the Dodgers in a three-game set.