NEW YORK — The hard part has arrived for the Yankees. After three anxious days of waiting, Aaron Judge was finally diagnosed with a fractured rib, and the lineup is already feeling the void. On Friday night in the Bronx, the last-place Boston Red Sox exposed it, beating New York 5-3 behind a starter the Yankees once gave up on.
The loss was the third in four games for a Yankees club still learning how to function without its captain. A young slugger’s spark and an early lead were not enough to cover for a starter who keeps getting beaten by the home run.
Weathers buried by the long ball again
The night turned on Ryan Weathers, and not for the first time this stretch. The left-hander was charged with five earned runs, marking the third time in his last four starts he has been tagged for that many. His recurring weakness was on full display.
After Ben Rice handed him an early lead, Weathers gave it right back in the second. He loaded the bases with one out, then watched Boston tie the game on a Wilyer Abreu grounder to short. Willson Contreras followed with a chopper in front of the plate that rolled for an infield single, scoring Jarren Duran and pushing the Red Sox ahead 2-1.
The home runs did the rest of the damage. Andruw Monasterio led off the fourth-inning scoring with a solo shot to make it 3-1. Contreras struck the biggest blow in the fifth, launching a two-run drive into the second deck in left for a 5-2 cushion. Weathers has now surrendered seven home runs over his last four outings, and he knew exactly where the trouble lives.
“He’s been unhappy with his four-seam fastball,” Weathers said of the pitch that keeps ending up in the seats, acknowledging the Monasterio homer came on one of them.
A Judge-sized hole in the lineup
Here is the reality the Yankees can no longer avoid. Without Judge, the margin for error has shrunk dramatically, and Friday made it plain. The reigning MVP’s diagnosis confirmed he will be out for a significant stretch, and his absence loomed over every missed chance.
Facing former Yankee Sonny Gray, who entered with a career 6.06 ERA at Yankee Stadium, New York could not capitalize. The heart of the order went silent, with the hitters batting third through fifth combining to go hitless in 11 at-bats. Rice, now hitting behind a lineup missing its biggest bat, spoke about the challenge of moving on without Judge.
“It’s a big presence not to have in our lineup,” Rice said. “It’s definitely gonna hurt us, but all we can do is keep moving forward.”
Rice was also asked whether pitchers might attack him differently without Judge hitting behind him. He kept his focus narrow rather than speculate about the ripple effects.
“It’s not for me to say. We’ll see what happens,” Rice said. “All I can control is the pitches I swing at and don’t swing at.”
Rice and Jones provide the spark
The Yankees were not without bright spots, and the youngsters supplied most of them. Rice opened the scoring in the first inning with a solo homer to right, his 18th of the season, giving New York an early 1-0 edge before Weathers unraveled.
Spencer Jones, back with the Yankees for his second chance with Judge sidelined, added a jolt of his own. In the fourth inning, the towering slugger laced a double down the right-field line that drove in Jazz Chisholm Jr. to cut the deficit. It was exactly the kind of contribution the Yankees hoped for when they recalled him.
Trent Grisham kept the comeback alive in the fifth. His two-out blast to right pulled the Yankees back to within two runs at 5-3. For a few innings, it looked like New York might claw all the way back against its rival.
Chances slip away late
This is where the night unraveled for good. The Yankees pushed but could never deliver the swing that mattered, and the failures piled up in the late innings.
In the seventh, New York had a real opening. Ryan McMahon stood on first with Rice at the plate against lefty Danny Coulombe, and the lefty-mashing Paul Goldschmidt waited on deck. Rice worked the count full, then struck out to end the threat before Goldschmidt could hit.
The ninth brought one last flurry against another former Yankee, Aroldis Chapman. Max Schuemann, pinch hitting for Jones, drew a leadoff walk. But Anthony Volpe struck out looking on three pitches. Amed Rosario, pinch hitting for McMahon, walked on four pitches to put runners on first and second with one out. The rally died there. Jose Caballero, the third pinch hitter of the inning in place of Austin Wells, popped out to right, and Grisham grounded out to end it.
A rivalry result that stings
The defeat carried extra weight given the opponent. The Yankees had swept the Red Sox in three games at Fenway Park back in April, and this was their first loss to Boston all season. Dropping one to a last-place rival, at home, without Judge, underscored how quickly things can tilt.
Manager Aaron Boone did not lay the loss entirely on the bats. He felt his team competed at the plate even as the big hit never came.
“I thought for the most part we had quality at-bats,” Boone said. “We had a couple of opportunities to get a big hit.”
That is the thin line the Yankees now walk. The quality at-bats were there, the early lead was there, and contributions from Rice, Jones and Grisham were there. What was missing, beyond Judge, was a starter who could hold a lead and a clutch hit when it counted. With the Red Sox series rolling on and Judge nowhere close to returning, the Yankees will need to find both quickly.
The Yankees are scheduled to start right-hander Will Warren Saturday night, while Boston plans to counter with left-hander Ranger Suarez. First pitch is set for 7:15 p.m.
What do you think? Will the Yankees get better off the Red Sox?
