4. 7/31 at Tampa Bay Rays, 5-3 loss
Entering Tampa after the All-Star Break, the Yankees were making a climb back from their dreadful 9-17 start, sitting at 52-48. That run disappeared quickly as they got swept by their division rivals, including a devastating 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays that brought out the brooms.
While the series as a whole was ugly, this game exemplified exactly what the Yankees had struggled with all season long. Their offense was virtually non-existent, except for two RBIs from the first-half MVP Carlos Beltran.
The starting pitching was also lackluster. Michael Pineda labored through six innings, tossing 93 pitches and giving up five runs in the process. If the early part of the season was to be summed up in one game, this would be it. The Yankees found themselves behind early and their offense could not dig themselves out of that hole.
These were games they should win but just couldn’t, and that set them back on the season.
