CHICAGO — The question that popped into one slightly jet-lagged mind (we sat on the tarmac for a while) as the Yankees slogged through a 5-4 loss to the White Sox on Thursday night at Guaranteed Rate Field (worst ballpark name ever):
At this point on the schedule, would the Yankees rather win as many games as possible by overcoming mediocre-at-best efforts from their starting pitchers? Or, for the sake of the bigger picture, would they settle for one loss in which their starter goes long and pitches well?
Because right now, the Yankees’ rotation looks less reliable than a sweater vest in a blizzard. And their entire roster is paying the price for it.
Don’t stop me if you’ve read this before: The Yankees are going to have to trade for another starting pitcher, and they’re going to look silly if late-signing free agent Dallas Keuchel, who went to the Braves for a little extra money, excels in Atlanta.
“Just a stretch,” a tranquil-looking Aaron Boone said afterward. “We’ll get it going. This is all part of it. It’s not going to be smooth sailing all of the time. I look forward to CC [Sabathia] going out there [Friday] and getting us going in the right direction.”
When J.A. Happ gave up four runs in a four-batter, fifth-inning sequence to cough up a 4-0 advantage rather efficiently — reliever Adam Ottavino then surrendered the game-winning solo homer to Leury Garcia in the seventh — he ensured the Yankees would go an entire turn through the rotation without recording a quality start (at least six innings and no more than three runs). The veteran lefty Happ last pulled off this admirable feat in his previous start, June 6 at Toronto, when he limited the Blue Jays to one run in seven innings.
In the six contests that have since transpired, including the usage of opener Chad Green on June 9 at Cleveland, the Yankees haven’t quite faced powerhouse offenses in the Indians, the Mets or these Chisox, all of whom ranked below the industry average heading into Thursday’s action. Yet even including the two shutout innings by Green, the Yankees’ starting pitchers permitted a total of 22 earned runs over 27 ⅓ innings in that six-game stretch, a ghastly 7.24 ERA.
Now, deep breath: The Rays’ 5-3 loss to the Angels meant the Yankees (41-26) retained their half-game advantage over perennial upstart Tampa Bay (41-27) atop the American League East. And of the currently healthy quartet of Happ, James Paxton, Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka, only Happ has performed in a truly subpar manner, his ERA rising to 4.66 after this one.
You just can’t love the trend lines, though, not given the injury histories of all the Yankees’ principals. To add concern to consternation, Ottavino served up a homer for his second straight outing, and the four gopher balls he has allowed in 30 appearances, totaling 30 ⅓ innings, falls just one short of the five he permitted last year in 75 appearances (77 ⅔ innings) with the Rockies.
Yes, the Yankees’ bullpen, which has been worked hard thanks to a light workload by the starters, is showing some cracks. The lineup, which has been a marvel in light of the myriad injuries, failed to put a man in scoring position against old pal Ivan Nova and a collection of relievers after the fourth inning. At some juncture, however, a 4-0 lead, solidified with Brett Gardner’s two-run blast in the fourth, against a light-hitting team should be enough, don’t you think?
These Yankees have countered conventional thought for much of this campaign, far more often in their favor than not. The regular season hasn’t even reached the halfway mark, though, and fatigue is showing like the lines on Paul Newman’s face in “Nobody’s Fool.”
“I just think it’s about playing a complete game,” a tranquil-looking Happ said. “We’ll get back to doing that and get back on a roll.”
For starters, from their starters, they would benefit from some quality. Without that, it’ll continue to be a long, bumpy ride for this group that already has weathered many storms.
