BALTIMORE — The Yankees can’t say it because it would be an admission of surrender in the middle of August. But is there anybody on the outside believing the Yankees aren’t dead in the AL East race?
Anybody watching the limp lineup and thinking it’s going to get hot?
Monday night’s demoralizing 11-3 loss to the AL East-leading Orioles in front of 34,018 at Camden Yards was the latest example of the Yankees offense going quiet, which has happened on far too many nights this season.
“All season long we have been disappointed,’’ Mark Teixeira said of the feeble attack that too often looks like the Yankees are fighting a nuclear war with bayonets. “We all thought it would be better.’’
Now, with 44 games remaining, the Yankees, losers of three straight, trail the Orioles by a season-high seven games and are staring at a tragic number of 38 relative to the Orioles. And the cheap, back-door entrance to the postseason known as the second wild card is headed south, too, because the Yankees trail the Tigers by three lengths.
“We have to win with the guys we have,’’ said Derek Jeter, whose fifth-inning double was one of the Yankees’ five hits. Jeter also had the lone Yankees RBI, scoring Brett Gardner from third on a first-inning ground out. “You can’t get all negative. You have to be optimistic. You have to have faith in your teammates.’’
Right now it’s hard to have faith in any Yankee clutching a bat. Entering Monday night’s debacle, which got out of hand after starter Chris Capuano gave up four runs and six hits in six innings because the bullpen caved, the Yankees were hitless in their last 11 at-bats with runners in scoring position. Monday night, they went 0-for-8.
“It’s August, it’s not like we are going to find some magic formula,’’ Teixeira said.
That magic formula might be easier to discover than the Yankees scoring runs. They were blanked Saturday, scored once Sunday and three Monday night, when two runs scored in the second inning as the O’s botched a rundown play, committing two errors on the play.
That gave the Yankees a 3-1 lead, but Chris Davis, who replaced the injured Manny Machado (sprained right knee), hit a two-run homer off Capuano in the fifth for a 4-3 lead. Three runs in the seventh off a suddenly struggling Adam Warren were followed by four in the eighth.
“Tonight was ugly,’’ Teixeira said. “It’s a very important series and it didn’t get off to a good start.’’
In the three losses, the Yankees are hitting .156 (15-for-96).
“We have to continue to grind at-bats and find ways to score runs,’’ said Carlos Beltran, who went 1-for-3 and has one hit in the last 11 at-bats. “As a team we know we can hit. We have to stay positive. I still feel good about the team.’’
Capuano, who fell to 0-2 in four games as a Yankee, was appreciative of the slim lead he gave back.
“They staked me to a lead, that’s why it’s tough to swallow,’’ the lefty said. “Hopefully we can come out [Tuesday] and win and then win the series. We have to pitch well to do it.’’
These days pitching well won’t cut it for Yankees pitchers. Try perfect.