Home cooking has not sat well in the Yankees’ stomachs this season.
Following their 14-7 loss to the Cardinals on Sunday, the Yankees dropped another home series and fell to an average 37-31 mark at Yankee Stadium this season. If you subtract a couple of three game series sweeps against the Twins and White Sox, the Yankees are a .500 team at home.
The Yankees are still in first place by a half game over the Orioles but their inability to stack up wins at the Stadium this season could prove to be very costly to their initial goal of winning the AL East.
Over the years, the Yankees have always prided themselves on their ability to be a nightmare for opponents that come to the Bronx, but this season, that has not come to fruition.
A closer look at the numbers at home will provide some insight as to really how poorly they’ve played in the Bronx.
The Yankees actually started off pretty good at home as they won 21 of their first 29 games at the Stadium. Since that time, they’ve lost of 23 of the next 39 in the Bronx.
The Yankees have played 22 series at home so far.
They are 11-8 in three game series but they started 7-0 in that category, so they’ve lost 8 of their last 12 three game series at home. Included among those losses was a series against the lowly Angels where they were outscored 17-6 in the final two games.
In the three times they’ve played a four game series in the Bronx, they faced Oakland, Seattle and Tampa Bay. They did not win any of those four games series and have split all three.
Against divisional opponents this season, the Yankees are 10-9 (4-2 vs Toronto, 4-3 vs Tampa Bay, 1-2 vs Boston and Baltimore) with seven home games remaining against AL East teams.
In 20 games against National League opponents at home, the Yankees are 7-13. That includes being swept in a three game series by the Reds and a two game series against the Mets. They also lost a series to the Dodgers, Braves and Cardinals while they won a series each against the Marlins and Rockies. They have one three games series left against an NL opponent when they end the regular season against the Pirates.
Perhaps the most head scratching number is a 1-5 mark in extra inning games at home.
With the “ghost runner” at second base to start extra innings, the home team should have a huge advantage in those games, yet, the Yankees have struggled and it’s led to some frustrating losses. Their only home win in that category came on August 4th against the Blue Jays while they’ve lost to the Rays, Dodgers, Orioles, Red Sox and Guardians in extra inning games at home.
The remainder of the Yankees home schedule posts three against the Royals, four against the Red Sox, three vs the Orioles and the final three games of the regular season vs the Pirates.
Dorothy may have clicked her heels and said, “There’s no place like home” but the Yankees have been on their heels at home with a pedestrian .544 winning percentage. That will have to improve upon that mark in their final 13 home games (9-4 or 10-3), including, at the very least, winning the series against Baltimore if they hope to capture their 21st AL East division title.
The post Bronx Cheer: Yanks Average Home Record Could Cost Division Title appeared first on NY Sports Day.
