New York Yankees
(Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

The New York Yankees season ends at the hands of the Boston Red Sox as the bats go quiet at the worst possible time.

The New York Yankees simply didn’t show up when it mattered most. In an elimination game at home, the bats went silent and they failed to dig themselves out of an early hole.

CC Sabathia has guts, but he didn’t have “it” on Tuesday night. He only managed to go three innings, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks. It very well could be his final start as a Yankee. Aaron Boone should have pulled him a few batters earlier than he did, but it was not near as bad as his atrocious job of managing Luis Severino in Game 3.

That being said, the Yankees didn’t lose this series because of Aaron Boone or CC Sabathia or even Severino for that matter. They all played their part in the losing effort, but no team is winning a series when they can’t string together runs with a rally at home.

The offense failed to show up at home. They couldn’t hit with runners in scoring position and the Red Sox just did anything and everything they could to push runs across. Whether it was a sac fly after consecutive runners manage to get on base or a Christian Vazquez porch shot, the Red Sox took advantage of every opportunity.

The Yankees did not. Much like Game 3, the Yankees let Boston jump out to an early lead. Ian Kinsler followed up a J.D. Martinez sac fly with an RBI of his own. For the second straight night, the Yankees were coming from behind.

Nunez drove in Kinsler with a single and CC’s night was over. The Yanks were chasing three early and they never showed much sign of making a comeback. The lead grew by one when Christian Vazquez took advantage of the ballpark. That ball is only a home run in Yankee Stadium, but that’s the way it goes.

The only point in which the Yankees threatened at all came in the bottom of the fifth when the bottom third of the order was up. Gleyber Torres followed up a Gary Sanchez double with a swinging bunt. Brett Gardner did a job, but that was all the Yankees would get. An epic at-bat between Rick Porcello and Aaron Hicks ended in a pop out. The Gardner sac fly was all the vaunted Yankee offense could muster.

In the final frame, the Yankees worked a few walks, got a seeing-eye single, and a sac fly that was nearly a walk-off, but they fell 4-3 at the hands of Craig Kimbrel. Giancarlo Stanton struck out with the opportunity to tie the game with one swing. Then to end the game, Torres weakly grounded out with the tying run at second base.

The Yankees laid an egg. There’s more than enough blame to go around. Aaron Boone was making some questionable decisions. Outside of Masahiro Tanaka, the starters didn’t show up and do their job, and the bats went completely silent when it mattered most.

It’s time to do some soul searching — and while they’re at it they can grab a starting pitcher too.


NY/NJ hoops reporter (NBA/NCAA) & sports betting writer for XL Media. Never had the makings of a varsity athlete.