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Rodon entered Saturday with an excellent 2.95 earned run average (ERA), but that masked his recent struggles. In his last six starts (including Saturday), Rodon has a 5.34 earned run average, allowing 28 hits (seven home runs), 13 walks, four hit batters with 29 strikeouts in 32 innings. The Yankees are 1-5 in those games.
His downward skid has coincided with a team-wide slump. On June 7, the Yankees were 39-24 and 4.5 games ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays for first in the AL East.
Since June 8, the Yankees (48-41) have been among the worst teams in the majors, going 9-17, and have fallen three games behind the Blue Jays (51-38) for the division lead.
The offense has underwhelmed, averaging 4.4 runs per game. Entering Saturday, Yankees batters were hitting .243 during the extended slump.
On the pitching front, the bullpen has been the main culprit, collecting 10 losses while posting a 4.74 earned run average. Before Rodon’s most recent awful start, Yankees starters had mostly fared well, posting the fifth-best combined ERA (3.51) from June 8 through July 4.
However, they’ve collectively been awful in New York’s current six-game losing streak, with Rodon, Max Fried, Marcus Stroman, Will Warren and Clarke Schmidt allowing 26 earned runs in 28 innings (8.36 ERA). (h/t FanGraphs)
Before Saturday’s loss, Yankees manager Aaron Boone announced Schmidt, who has a 3.32 ERA in 14 starts this season, will likely undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery after recently experiencing tightness in his right forearm.
Nothing has gone right for the Yankees of late, and Saturday revealed just how dire things have become. For a team that’s supposed to be a World Series contender, New York has serious flaws that might not be corrected anytime soon.
