Yankees face fan backlash: Boos for Cortes, LeMahieu heckled in stadium

During Saturday’s game, New York Yankees fans expressed their growing frustration with the team’s performance. The crowd of 43,173 at Yankee Stadium voiced their displeasure on multiple occasions throughout the game.

Nestor Cortes faced significant booing in the fourth inning when Alex Jackson, the Rays’ backup catcher batting .082, hit a three-run opposite-field homer to give Tampa Bay a 4-0 lead. The booing intensified in the fifth inning as Isaac Paredes and Randy Arozarena hit back-to-back home runs, extending the Rays’ lead. Cortes heard more jeers when manager Aaron Boone finally pulled him from the game with the Yankees trailing by six runs.

The fans’ discontent wasn’t limited to Cortes. Struggling batters like DJ LeMahieu, Trent Grisham, and Alex Verdugo also faced groans and boos during their unproductive at-bats. A particularly vocal Yankees fan near home plate was heard shouting “You suck!” at LeMahieu after he struck out looking on a pitch that caught the middle of the plate with two runners on base in the seventh inning.

Randy takes Cortes out (5 of 7 career hits off Cortes have been homers) — and the boo birds rain down in the Bronx. It’s 6-0 #Rays pic.twitter.com/QTA24WQhD5

— Ryan Bass (@Ry_Bass) July 20, 2024

These negative reactions from the crowd weren’t solely due to the Yankees being limited to one hit through seven innings in their 9-1 loss to the Rays. The outbursts reflected a deeper frustration with the team’s recent performance, having lost 19 of their last 30 games.

The Yankees’ needs are evident at several positions. Third base is a concern with LeMahieu in a 0-for-17 slump and batting just .177. Second base is another weak spot, with Gleyber Torres struggling in his contract year. Left field is also problematic, with Verdugo experiencing a significant downturn in performance.

This fan reaction and the team’s apparent weaknesses highlight the pressure on the Yankees’ front office to make impactful moves before the trade deadline to address these issues and maintain their competitiveness in the division race.

Cortes on red at Yankees’ home turf

Nestor Cortes entered Saturday’s game in The Bronx with favorable statistics, boasting the league’s lowest home ERA at 1.81 and facing a Tampa Bay Rays lineup that had been struggling offensively. However, his performance fell short of expectations as he allowed six runs on eight hits, including three home runs, over 4.1 innings.

Cortes acknowledged the difficulty of pitching in the major leagues without his best stuff. The Yankees pitcher noted that while he started strong, he eventually lost command of his fastball on the outside part of the plate and frequently fell behind in counts.

“It’s tough to pitch in the big leagues when you don’t have your best stuff,” Cortes admitted. “I felt like early on it was pretty good and then lost a little bit of the outside rail with the fastball and was behind the count a lot.”

Manager Boone observed that while Cortes’ pitch profile was present, he lacked his usual effectiveness. The Yankees skipper pointed out Cortes’ difficulty in finishing off batters, a contrast to his recent performances where he could generate swings and misses or get inside on hitters even when not at his best.

“Thought the profile of the stuff was there just,” he added, “probably not his best stuff. Just had a hard time finishing some guys. Usually, especially lately, even when he’s had a game when he hasn’t been perfect he still had that kinda swing and miss top of the zone or could get in guys. Just having a hard time putting guys away and they made him pay a little bit… overall, just little bit of a grind today.”

Despite throwing first-pitch strikes to 17 of the 22 Tampa hitters he faced, Cortes struggled with deep counts against the all-right-handed lineup, often missing the strike zone by a wide margin. A couple of walks proved costly, particularly one with two outs in the fourth inning.

The turning point came when Rays’ ninth hitter Alex Jackson hit a three-run homer on a 3-2 cutter, giving Tampa Bay a 4-0 lead. This home run, which barely cleared the right-center field wall, highlighted the Yankees’ ongoing issue of allowing home runs to opponents’ ninth hitters.

Cortes’ sweeper pitch was particularly ineffective, resulting in two home runs in the fifth inning and a two-out RBI double in the third. The Yankees starter attributed some of his struggles to the Rays’ familiarity with his pitching style, emphasizing the importance of command and location.

The Yankees left-hander needed 92 pitches to record 13 outs and generated only five swings and misses on 48 swings. Cortes stressed the importance of commanding pitches and introducing variations to maintain effectiveness, regardless of how often a team has faced him.

“No matter how many times you face a team, it’s all about when you command it well and able to throw the pitches where you want to throw them,” he said, “and throw some wrinkles in there that’s where you have the most success.”

With this loss, the Yankees fell for the 19th time in their last 30 games. Cortes expressed a need for the team to improve, starting with his own performance, which he admitted had been subpar in his last few outings.

Despite the recent struggles, Cortes remained optimistic about the team’s position in the league standings. He pointed out that despite their perceived poor play, the Yankees were still close to the top of the division, suggesting that the team was on the verge of greatness.

Despite being only one game behind the first-place Orioles in the AL East, the Yankees appear to have multiple areas needing improvement as the July 30 trade deadline approaches. Boone acknowledged the potential for significant changes in the coming days, noting that various scenarios could unfold.

“Within the next 10 days … there’s a world of things that can happen and you never know where we ended up solving,” the Yankees manager said.

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