Which five games of 2019 were the worst for the New York Yankees? We rank them below.
Last week we ranked the top 10 games of the New York Yankees 2019 season. This week we take a look at the bad with the five worst losses of the season.
No. 5 Tigers Strike Out The Yankees 18 Times
April 3rd, 2019:
The New York Yankees opened the season with home series against the teams who ended up finishing with the worst two records in baseball in the Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers.
After losing two out of three to the Orioles, the Yankees looked to take two out of three from the Tigers after splitting the first two games of the series.
Things would not go as planned, however, as the Yankees struck out an embarrassing 18 times, including 13 times against Tiger starter Matthew Boyd.
Despite Boyd striking out 13, the Yankees still had a chance to win with the game tied at one with both teams in their bullpen, but Chad Green allowed a solo home run to Gordon Beckham in the 8th inning as the Tigers went onto win the series. This put the Yankees record at 2-4 to open the new campaign.
Final Score: Tigers 2, Yankees 1
No. 4 16 Run Loss To Red Sox
July 25th, 2019: Fresh off an intense series victory over the Minnesota Twins, the Yankees made their first trip to Fenway Park in 2019.
The Yankees received a rude welcome to Boston as the Red Sox scored 12 runs in 3.1 innings off of Masahiro Tanaka to mount a 12-0 lead.
New York’s bullpen would allow seven more runs as backup catcher Austin Romine was forced to pitch in an embarrassing loss.
The Yankees would go onto lose the series marking their only series loss to the Red Sox in 2019.
Final Score Red Sox 19, Yankees 3
No. 3 Swept in Oakland
August 22nd, 2019
One place that hasn’t been kind to the Yankees is Oakland, California. The Yankees came to town 7-17 at the Coliseum since 2012.
This trip would see things go from bad to worse as they suffered a sweep at the hands of the Athletics pushing their record to 7-20.
In the final game of the series, Masahiro Tanaka struggled allowing five earned runs while Tanner Roark held the Yankees to two.
Gleyber Torres gave the Yankees life in the ninth with a solo home run, but it would not be enough as the Yankees suffered a sweep.
Final Score A’s 5, Yankees 3
No. 2 ALCS Momentum Swings
October 15th, 2019
After a win in game one and an extra-inning loss in game two, the Yankees headed back to the Bronx feeling great about their chances to reach the World Series.
All momentum would be sucked away quickly; however, as in game three, the Yankees could not get out of their own way.
The Bombers left 13 men on base on a day that saw Astros ace Gerrit Cole look human. Despite this, New York could not take advantage.
On the flip side, Luis Severino struggled as he served up early solo home runs to Jose Altuve and Josh Reddick.
Houston would later push the lead to four creating a hole to large for the Yankees to dig out of.
Astros 4, Yankees 1
No.1 Season Over
October 19th, 2019: There are several reasons why Game Six of the ALCS was the worst loss of the 2019 season.
The first and most obvious reason is that it ended the Yankees season. However, there’s much more than that made it a gut-wrenching defeat.
In this game, the Yankees did not have to face Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander, or Zack Greinke as the Astros went with their bullpen. Despite this, the Yankees again continued to leave runners on base as they watched their season fade away.
Then in the top of the ninth, the team was given new life when DJ Lemahieu hit a two-run game-tying home run off Astros closer Roberto Osuna.
In the bottom half of the inning, Aroldis Chapman got the first two batters he faced out but then walked George Springer, allowing Jose Altuve a chance to win it. Altuve would do just that crushing a two-run walk-off homer that ended the Yankees season.
Final Score: Astros 6, Yankees 4