“Not Where We Want to Be,” Gerrit Cole Doesn’t Mince Words After Yankees Suffer 3-0 Loss Against Rays

The New York Yankees lost 3-0 on Wednesday despite a strong performance from Gerrit Cole from the mound.

“Not Where We Want to Be,” Gerrit Cole Doesn’t Mince Words After Yankees Suffer 3-0 Loss Against Rays

Gerrit Cole (Image via X/@MLB)

The New York Yankees suffered another painful defeat against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday. Despite a quality start from Gerrit Cole, the team was unable to score runs and ended up losing 3-0. Following the game, the pitcher dropped a brutally honest take and expressed that the team was not where they wanted to be.

The Bronx Bombers have been in a slump recently. Last week, the team found themselves on a 7-game losing skid after being swept by the Detroit Tigers. Meanwhile, the Rays had a completely different form and were on a 7-game winning run.

This had widened the gap between the two teams at the top of the AL East division. The Yankees, who once had a strong hold on the division, had fallen behind the Rays by 4 games before the start of this 4-game series.

They had a strong start to the series. Starting pitcher Cam Schlittler bounced back to form and dominated the Rays at Tropicana Field on Monday by throwing 8 innings and giving up just 1 run on 4 hits.

The New York-based side were unable to keep the winning momentum going and lost 6-4 on Tuesday to fall 4 games behind again.

One major struggle for the team has been the offense. While they did well in the first few games after Aaron Judge‘s injury, their offensive production has come down once again.

On Wednesday, Gerrit Cole gave them 6.1 innings while throwing 97 pitches and gave up 3 runs. He, though, did not get any run support from his offense and suffered the loss.

With this shutout loss, the Yankees are now 5 games behind the Rays. This is their largest deficit since May 23.

While speaking with the reporters after the game, the 35-year-old did not mince his words regarding the current form of the team.

I’m not in anyone’s heads, but just looking at the outcomes, it’s not where we want to be, and it’s not good enough to compete for first place right now.

Gerrit Cole said as per YES Network

The Yanks have lost 15 out of their 20 games, leaving them with a 50-42 record. The 5-15 stretch since June 18 is the worst of any team in the MLB at the moment.

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Yankees’ offensive slump puts them 5 games behind in division title race

There is no sugarcoating that the New York Yankees‘ offense has been poor in recent weeks. Their slump with the bat has seen them go 5 games behind the Rays in the division title race.

Yankees' manager Aaron Boone
Aaron Boone (Image via Imago)

In the first two games of the series, the Yankees struck out 34 times, establishing an unwanted franchise record. On Wednesday, they struck out 11 times.

One of them who has struggled the most recently is Paul Goldschmidt. After going 2-for-4 in the series opener against the Boston Red Sox on June 25, he has been hitless.

In the game on Wednesday, he had 3 strikeouts. He is now 0-for-34 and has failed to register a hit in his last 10 games. As a result of this run, his batting average has fallen from .301 to .257.

As a whole team, the Yankees have a batting average of .186 in the last 20 games. They have struck out 212 times.

Due to this slump, the runs have dried up. They have gone 20 straight games without scoring more than five runs in a game. This is just the 7th time this has happened to them in rich franchise history.

If they fail to win on Thursday, they will fall 6 games behind the Rays before the final series of the 1st half of the season. With each loss, the pressure also increases on the shoulders of Aaron Boone, with many fans urging for his sacking once again.

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