'We stink right now': Frustration mounting for the Yankees after sweep by the Angels

ANAHEIM, Calif. — On their quest to remain afloat in the absence of Aaron Judge, it looked as if the New York Yankees had received a gift from the baseball gods in the form of their schedule coming out of the All-Star break.

With an inviting, six-game road trip featuring matchups with the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Angels to open the second half, the Yankees appeared primed to not just keep treading water but also make up some ground in the AL playoff race.

Instead, the Angels capped the Yankees' road trip with a commanding 7-3 victory Wednesday to complete the three-game sweep and send New York home with a 1-5 second-half record and a four-game losing streak.

“We stink right now,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after the game. “We acknowledge that.”

For the Yankees, Wednesday was more of the same. They desperately needed a signature outing from Carlos Rodón, their key offseason addition making his third start of the season after returning from the 60-day injured list, but Los Angeles got to him early and often, jumping out to a 4-0 lead after two innings thanks to two-run home runs from Taylor Ward and Luis Rengifo before adding two more runs in the third.

While Rodón did the lineup no favors, the Yankees' inability to generate offense continues to be the larger concern. This time, it was L.A.'s Chase Silseth — just recalled from Triple-A — who joined Griffin Canning, Patrick Sandoval, Austin Gomber and Chase Anderson on the list of struggling, unsung starting pitchers who have held New York to two runs or fewer since the All-Star break.

Chase Silseth

IL60

SP - LAA - #63

2023 - false season

52.1

IP

3.96

ERA

1.28

WHIP

56

K

26

BB

In 5 2/3 innings, Silseth surrendered just four hits and one run with a career-high 10 strikeouts. The Angels’ 42 combined strikeouts across the three-game set marks a franchise record.

“It doesn’t feel good when you’re getting your teeth kicked in and you have a bad road trip and you’re going through a tough stretch,” Boone said after the game. “But we gotta deal with it.”

After squandering what appeared to be a timely get-right opportunity against a team that had lost 11 of 13 games, frustration has certainly set in for the Yankees. Whether it be the noticeable tone shift from Boone or the sarcastic kiss directed at irritated fans from Rodón, the feeling around the Yankees is growing increasingly tense as they begin to acknowledge the magnitude of their struggles.

Perhaps there is no better indication of just how much New York is pressing and yearning for a spark than the bewildering base-running blunder committed by Franchy Cordero on Wednesday.

As frustration begins to boil over, the only answer in sight for the Yankees appears to be the looming return of Judge, whom they are again relying on to be a savior of sorts.

For now, New York will focus on what is another prime opportunity, at least on paper, to get back on track, as it heads home for a series against the lowly Kansas City Royals.

But if there is one thing that has become clear through the early portion of the second half, it’s that the Yankees are in no position to overlook any of their opponents.