The New York Yankees‘ offense has suddenly disappeared. But Cody Bellinger thinks it is just a blip over a long, 162-game season.
The Yankees outfielder urged his team’s struggling offense to get going while also stating his belief in the team to pull out of it after they were shut out for the third straight night — and second straight against the lowly Los Angeles Angels.
New York has not scored in 29 innings, dating back to Saturday night’s 4-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox, and it has dropped five straight overall. The Yankees are just 3-7 in their past 10 games and have scored just five runs in their past six games.
New York still sits atop the AL East, two-and-a-half games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays, and it still is second in the majors in home runs (109) behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers.
What Did Cody Bellinger Say About The Yankees Offense?
Look away, Yankees fans. The numbers are ghastly.
New York is 1 for 26 with runners in scoring position over the past three games — its lone hit came amid its dreadful 1-for-18 effort with RISP in its 1-0 loss to the Angels on Monday.
Bellinger had New York’s only extra-base hit in its 4-0 loss to the Angels on Tuesday night, a first-inning double off starter Kyle Hendricks, which is one of just four extra-base hits the Yankees have over their past three games.
“It’s been a fight,” Bellinger said. “Obviously we’re not getting the job done with runners in scoring position; not getting a lot of baserunners; not causing traffic. We gotta keep going and wake up tomorrow and we gotta get going.”
Ironically, the recent offensive struggles have come after superstar DH Giancarlo Stanton’s return to the lineup — he missed New York’s first 70 games with tendinitis in both elbows. Stanton is batting .500 with a 1.125 OPS in eight at-bats, yet that hasn’t been enough to even drag a run across the plate.
“It’s been a wild three games,” Bellinger said. “It’s been very frustrating.
“Obviously we’re not getting the job done, and we’re going to fight like hell to get the job done tomorrow and get a ‘W.’
Is The Yankees Offense Bad?
The Yankees’ recent slump is a stark contrast to their first 66 games, where they had the most majors’ most prolific offense. Captain Aaron Judge still leads the majors in home runs and was flirting with a .400 batting average, and the Yankees were averaging 5.5 runs per game over the first 40 percent of the season.
But Judge is in the midst of his first slump of the season, since he is 3 for 24 (.125) over New York’s past seven games, which has dipped his average to .372 — the lowest it has been in two months.
It’s no wonder a slump involving the reigning AL MVP, and clear-cut favorite to win the award again, would lead to a tough stretch for New York’s offense.
Interestingly, the Yankees pitching staff has been keeping them in games by allowing only eight runs in those three games — and have given up 13 runs in the past six games. Bellinger credited them while also citing the team’s belief in itself as necessary to righting the ship.
“Our pitchers have been pitching really well,” Bellinger said. “As an offense we’ve got to pick them up and score some runs.
“It’s a little rut we’re in, and we’ve gotta get out of it.”
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