Sometimes, silence can be deafening. In the Bronx on Monday night, that silence came in the form of bats — motionless, ineffective, and painfully quiet.
As Yankee Stadium filled with uneasy tension, it wasn’t the roar of a walk-off or a rallying cry echoing through the concrete. It was frustration.
A blank scoreboard. A 1-0 extra-innings loss to the Los Angeles Angels that felt heavier than most.
When the music stops in New York, it’s rarely subtle. This time, it slammed to a halt like a scratched record.
Schmidt dazzles, but Yankees forget to hit again
On most nights, Clarke Schmidt’s performance would’ve had New York Yankees fans rising to their feet in thunderous appreciation.
Instead, his near-brilliant 7.2 scoreless innings felt like art hanging in a pitch-black gallery — exquisite, but unseen and uncelebrated.
Schmidt yielded just four hits, walked no one, and struck out three. He executed his game plan with precision, changing speeds and locations to keep Angels hitters guessing.
His ERA now sits at a sparkling 3.16, quietly placing him among the league’s top arms.
Yet he walked off the mound to no decision, another victim of New York’s now deeply-rooted offensive drought.
An offense in free fall finds a new low
There are cold streaks, and then there’s what the Yankees offense is experiencing right now — a polar vortex of futility.
The team has been shut out in back-to-back games and hasn’t scored in 20 consecutive innings. That’s not just bad; it’s historic.
The lineup scratched together eight hits across eleven innings Monday but managed just one hit in 18 at-bats with runners in scoring position. One-for-eighteen. It’s the kind of stat that keeps hitting coaches up at night.
They’ve scored only five runs over their last five games — their worst five-game stretch since August 2015. In baseball terms, that’s an eternity ago.
Extra innings continue to haunt this Yankee squad
As if nine innings of frustration weren’t enough, the Yankees now seem cursed in extras. Monday’s tenth and eleventh innings played out like familiar nightmares: missed opportunities, unlucky bounces, and a bullpen holding as long as it could before breaking.
Jonathan Loaisiga was tagged for the game’s lone run in his second inning of relief — the ghost runner crossing the plate after a Nolan Schanuel double.
Offensively, New York had real chances to tie or win. Cody Bellinger nearly gave the crowd a reason to erupt, launching a deep fly toward the short porch in right. It looked destined for glory. But like the Yankees’ recent luck, it fell just short.
According to Sportsnet Stats, the Yankees are now 2-for-26 in extra-inning at-bats this season, good for a .077 average. They’re 1-5 in such games overall. It’s become their Achilles’ heel.
Stanton logs two hits in return
After a two-and-a-half-month absence, Yankees top slugger Giancarlo Stanton made his long-awaited 2025 debut. And suffice it to say, it was a success.
The DH had two hits in four at-bats, including a double. He was given just three rehab games to round into form, so he will likely do it on the fly and with the Yankees.
Still, you could see some of that thump that made him famous worldwide in his first game back.
A club suddenly searching for answers
Just over a week ago, the Yankees were the talk of the league — dangerous, deep, and rolling through opponents. Now, they look like a team caught in a tailspin, their confidence eroding with every fruitless inning.
It’s not just a blip on the radar anymore. This is the team’s longest losing streak of the year and arguably their worst stretch offensively in nearly a decade.
One wonders how long Aaron Boone can stick with the current approach without shaking things up.
They’ve wasted good pitching — again. They’ve hit a statistical and emotional low point. And worse, it doesn’t feel like rock bottom has a floor yet.
