ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — CC Sabathia has seen a lot of bad Yankees days. Sunday ranked among the more frustrating ones in recent memory.
The former ace and franchise icon watched from wherever he was as the Yankees dropped a 5-4 decision to the Tampa Bay Rays, completing a three-game sweep at Tropicana Field. His response on X said everything that needed saying.
“From 8-2 to 8-7 smh,” CC Sabathia posted, attaching the facepalm emoji for good measure.
He was not alone in his dismay. The Yankees flew home with a five-game losing streak, a team slash line of .202/.308/.345, and more questions than the start of a season this stacked with talent should produce.
A late rally that came too late
For most of the afternoon, the Yankees were dominated. Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen held them to one hit through six innings and left with a 3-0 lead after throwing just 76 pitches. Rasmussen, who missed time with an extensive injury history that includes two Tommy John surgeries, was pulled by Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash on a pitch-count limit. He now owns a 1.03 ERA and 0.78 WHIP in eight appearances against the Yankees across his career.
The Yankees finally got to the Tampa bullpen in the seventh inning. Cody Bellinger delivered an RBI single and Giancarlo Stanton added a run-scoring groundout to pull New York within 3-2. Then the Rays answered back, as they did all weekend. Ryan Yarbrough allowed a run in the seventh, and Brent Headrick gave up another in the eighth to push the lead back to 5-2.
Aaron Judge hit his fourth home run of the season in the ninth, a two-run blast that brought the Yankees within one. Amed Rosario followed with a two-out double that grazed the center field wall. The Rays intentionally walked Austin Wells to load the bases and set up a force at any bag, bringing up Ryan McMahon.
McMahon rolled over an Englert changeup on the first pitch and grounded out. The Yankees bench had Paul Goldschmidt available, but using him would have required moving Rosario from right field to third and losing the DH slot so Judge could shift to right. Boone stuck with McMahon. The game ended.
The numbers that tell the story
The Yankees went into the weekend 8-2 and left 8-7. They scored 13 runs across the five-game losing streak and collected 25 hits. They are now 4-for-35 with runners in scoring position in that span.
Six of their seven losses this season have come by one run. One came by two.
Yankees Offense this season
First 10 G Last 5 G 8-2 W-L 0-5 5.20 RS/G 2.60 .225 AVG .156 .386 SLG .263 .718 OPS .519 25.0 K% 28.4
— New York Yankees Stats (@nyyankeesstats) April 12, 2026
Individual slumps are stacking up. McMahon is 4-for-35 to start the year, a .114 average. Trent Grisham is 6-for-45. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is hitting .179. Austin Wells is at .154. The team OPS of .653 ranked 25th in baseball entering Sunday.
The Yankees led the majors in runs scored with 849 and home runs with 274 last season. The same roster is producing at a fraction of that pace through 15 games, though the sample is still small enough that Boone and Judge both pointed to that caveat Sunday.
Boone and Judge address the skid
Boone did not offer excuses after the game. He acknowledged the weekend plainly.
“Bad weekend for us, obviously,” Boone said. “Staying in some close games, we got to find a way to get over the hump and obviously do a better job finishing these games off. Good compete today as far as finishing and taking some tough at-bats there down the stretch and giving ourselves a chance, but obviously we can talk all about it — we got to go out and finish off some games.”
Judge echoed the familiar refrain that comes with early-season struggles, though he added a more specific prescription.
“I think we need to simplify some things at the plate, trying to hit every single pitch we see up there and kind of getting ourselves in some bad counts and bad situations,” Judge said. “So I think just as a group, we [need to] simplify some things, simplify our approach a little bit, hunt the pitch we’re looking for and kind of pass the baton.”
He also addressed the broader losing run.
“Every game matters, we know that,” Judge said. “We talk about it every season, we’ll talk about it every single month when we have tough losses like this. It’s nothing new for us. But it’s baseball. We just got to show up the next day and right the ship.”
Schlittler and the bullpen struggle
Starter Cam Schlittler did not have his best day. The Rays touched him for seven hits and three runs in five innings, the most hits he had surrendered in any start this season. Tampa Bay’s lineup had no trouble with his fastball, working counts and producing consistent contact.
The bullpen issues that hovered over the Yankees entering the season resurfaced across the series. Beyond closer David Bednar, the middle relief corps allowed critical runs in each of the last two games. The Rays scored in five of the six innings across the series in which the Yankees had scored first or tied the game.
Tampa Bay outexecuted New York in every facet this weekend, particularly with the small-ball tactics that have become a Rays signature. Chandler Simpson hurt the Yankees with both his speed and his bat across all three games.
The Yankees now head home for a seven-game homestand starting Monday against the Los Angeles Angels. The roster that spent the offseason being called a World Series favorite has 15 games of evidence suggesting the results have not matched the expectations. The players insist it will change.
“It’s been an up-and-down year so far but it’s still early,” Judge said. “Guys are having great at-bats, I see a lot of bright things going on in the season and we’re going to change it.”
Sabathia’s two-word post suggested the patience of former players may be wearing thinner.
A digital technocrat-turned-baseball buff, Sara is an ardent follower of the New York Yankees. Born and brought up in New York City, she is a regular to games since she was a kid. Despite working as media strategist, baseball is her first love. She has been covering baseball games in the city as well as MLB and MiLB games involving the Yankees, the Mets, and their minor affiliates as a freelancer for different web and media publications. She works as a lead author for the Yankees-centered PinstripesNation since its very inception.
