Yankees had a chance to bury Red Sox's season but failed: 3 takeaways

New York Times

2 hours ago

NEW YORK — There's not much that Jazz Chisholm Jr. wouldn't say with a microphone in his face, but what Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Hunter Dobbins said was one of those moments that the New York Yankees' third baseman would have stayed quiet.
Dobbins told Red Sox writer Gabrielle Starr that if the Yankees were the last team to give him a contract, he'd retire. It was an audacious comment for a rookie to make before making his debut in the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry on the road at Yankee Stadium, in what is always a hostile environment when the two clubs play.
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'I don't think I would ever say that,' Chisholm said before Sunday's game. 'I feel like that closes doors, but I like it, though. I like the competitiveness. It adds a lot of spiciness. You enjoy it. You're more locked in as a fan because you know what's going on. It's fun.'
For a moment, it looked like Dobbins' outing on Sunday Night Baseball would go off the rails. Ben Rice led off the game with a single, and Aaron Judge followed by blasting a 436-foot opposite-field two-run home run. Judge said the only player he could remember saying something similarly to Dobbins' comment was Ken Griffey Jr., who repeatedly stated throughout his career that he would never play for the Yankees. Judge said Dobbins' remark was in his head when he stepped in the batter's box in the first inning.
'I was a little surprised,' Judge said.
The Judge sentenced this ball to exile. #AllRise pic.twitter.com/fLE1bpHEUo
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 8, 2025
But to Dobbins' credit, he settled in after Judge's blast. Dobbins held the Yankees to just four hits and three runs across five innings. Boston manager Alex Cora took Dobbins out after just 64 pitches because he did not want the rookie facing the top of the Yankees' order for a third time.
Chisholm posted 'free smoke' on his Instagram account before Sunday's game, referencing the free motivation the Yankees would have from Dobbins' comments, but the only smoke in the Bronx came from Boston's bats. They hit five home runs and won 11-7, taking two of three games from the Yankees this weekend. This was the first time Boston won back-to-back games since May 24.
The Yankees could have buried the Red Sox's season this weekend. Boston entered this series sputtering and dealt with constant cries from the fan base to call up No. 1 prospect Roman Anthony to provide a spark, but it leaves New York with a bit of momentum after falling behind in the division by 10.5 games after Friday night's loss. It's still a long shot for the Red Sox to win the AL East, but being down 8.5 games rather than potentially 12.5 games is quite the difference.
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'They beat us here this weekend,' Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. 'It's part of it. We'll regroup into the off day. We're off to Kansas City and, obviously, back to Boston to get ourselves right back on track.'
Here are two more takeaways from this series:
The Yankees miss Luke Weaver.
Losing their most important reliever for several weeks because of a pulled hamstring is shining a light on some of the cracks the bullpen currently has. We mentioned Ian Hamilton not being the same in Saturday's story, but add Jonathan Loáisiga to that group, too.
It's a small sample but Loáisiga has allowed four home runs in 10 innings pitched this season. It's already the second-most home runs he's allowed in a single season in any year of his career. His biggest issue is that he doesn't have the same level of command as he had in 2023, and he's not getting the same elite movement on his signature pitch. The hope is that Loáisiga will regain form with more innings coming off of elbow surgery, but it should give the front office some concern because it's not a given that a pitcher will return to form in his first season back from a major injury.
Story's turn!!! pic.twitter.com/jO6tLdjEO3
— Red Sox (@RedSox) June 9, 2025
'Stuff-wise, he's where he needs to be,' Boone said.
It's a small sample, but his sinker still grades out as elite, according to Stuff+, which measures the physical characteristics of a pitch. But, his sinker currently has the lowest Stuff+ of his career. For now, Loáisiga needs lower-leverage outings while he sorts through his issues.
The Yankees have the 15th-best bullpen ERA. A key factor for their inflated ERA? They are walking too many hitters. Their bullpen's walk percentage is the eighth-worst in MLB, and no current playoff team has a worse walk percentage than the Yankees. They need at least one new bullpen arm at the trade deadline.
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Don't look now, but DJ LeMahieu has a 103 wRC+ entering the Kansas City series. I did not see him being much of a positive contributor, considering his concerning downward trajectory over the past few seasons. Now it is a small sample (69 plate appearances), but the Yankees will take any positive contribution from him that they can get.
He's now 9 for his last 21, including a double and a home run over his last six games. What's interesting about LeMahieu's start to his 2025 season is he entered Sunday's game with the highest average exit velocity, barrel percentage and average launch angle of his career. Those are three major positives and would be interesting developments if they can stick over a larger sample.
It's too early to make any sweeping conclusions on LeMahieu as a player, but it's worth keeping an eye on because if they can get simply league-average production out of him, it would be an unexpected contribution and could impact their trade deadline decisions.
(Photo of Jazz Chisholm Jr. reacting after striking out in the eighth inning on Sunday: John Jones / Imagn Images)