As America celebrated the country’s 249th birthday on Friday, the New York Yankees were not in a partying mood. They woke up to find themselves out of first place in the American League East for the first time since April 13, after suffering a four-game sweep at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays — who took over first place for the first they have been there in July or later since 2016.
But that wasn’t even the worst news the Yankees had to deal with on the Fourth of July. The New York pitching staff, plagued by injuries since Spring Training, faced another blow as No. 3 starter Clarke Schmidt was placed on the injured list.
In Thursday night’s game against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, as the Yankees fought to avoid a rare four-game sweep, Schmidt struggled through three innings allowing three runs on three hits and two walks. But he did not come out for the fourth inning.
No. 3 Starter Hits IL for Second Time This Year
As the 29-year-old former Yankees first round draft pick explained after the loss, he asked out of the game after experiencing a recurrence of the forearm tightness he has been battling since a start on June 4.
The four game sweep was the first the Yankees had endured since September 6-9 of 2021. The Blue Jays were the team that swept the Yankees in that one, too — but the 2021 sweep came at Yankee Stadium.
The 2021 debacle was also historic because the Yankees never held a lead at any point in those four games, the first time that happened in a home series since 1908 — so long ago that the Yankees were not yet called the “Yankees,” but were instead still known as the New York Highlanders.
But after the 8-5 loss in Toronto on Thursday, the Yankees were less concerned about history than about their current crisis that has seen them blow a seven-game lead in the AL East, which they held on May 28. Since then, the Yankees have won just 13 games against 19 losses.
The Yankees have now lost 14 of their last 20 games.
Still ‘Best Team in the League,’ Boone Tells Players
The crisis has become so deep the manager Aaron Boone called a closed-door meeting with his players after the loss. In that meeting, according to Yankee players quoted by The Athletic, Boone told his players that despite their losing streak, they are still “best team in the league.”
“We knew we were going to hit a speed bump,” second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., told the publication, recounting Boone’s message to the team. “Just block out the noise and go out there when we get back home in New York and do what we do.”
Boone’s assertion will be tested now that Schmidt is out of the rotation for an indefinite period of time. The righty was scheduled for an MRI examination on Friday to determine the full extent of his injury.
The Yankees are already missing 2023 Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole for the season with Tommy John surgery, and last year’s AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil with an oblique strain that will keep him out past the All-Star break with no set date for his return.
Schmidt started the season on the injured list, making his first start on April 16. Before returning to the IL on Friday, the former South Carolina Gamecock had posted an ERA of 3.32 in 78 2/3 innings over 14 starts, making him a solid mid-rotation starter behind Cy Young candidate Max Fried (2.13 ERA in 18 starts) and Carlos Rodon (2.95, 18).
Yankees Crisis Deepens With Troubling Pitching Announcement