NEW YORK — If the Yankees are serious about getting another crack at the Dodgers in October, they got an uncomfortable preview this weekend.
The wake-up call should’ve been heard all the way to the top. Thanks to Jazz Chisholm’s eighth-inning home run in the nightcap of Sunday’s doubleheader, the Yankees managed a split on the final day of the series. But the Yankees came perilously close to being swept in the three-game series.
The problems that have plagued the lineup without Aaron Judge haven’t disappeared. They’re still making the Yankees look like a team destined to extend the championship drought to a mind-boggling 17th year.
In the three games, the Yankees scored just five runs, batting .188 with a .556 OPS. It was a reminder that 1-2 runs a game is no longer considered a slump — it’s the Yankees’ identity.
Manager Aaron Boone said, “We’ve got to be more consistent offensively,” which is the same line he’s been repeating for weeks. It’s sounding more like a prayer than a plan.
If I’m general manager Brian Cashman, I’m convinced the Yankees, as currently constructed, are not a championship team. The GM has to be ruthless in upgrading the roster.
That means stop daydreaming about Judge’s return date. Operate on the worst-possible assumption — that the Captain won’t be back until 2027.
Cashman can start by finding a catcher to replace Austin Wells. The Yankees’ backstops have a .519 OPS this season, tied with the White Sox for the majors’ worst. Acquiring Ryan Jeffers from the Twins or Hunter Goodman from the Rockies would make a lot of sense.
Ryan McMahon was once an All-Star, yet he’s spent most of the season hitting in the low .200s. If the Yankees can swing a deal for Isaac Paredes, whom they’ve long coveted, McMahon could quickly become expendable.
These are just two possible remedies to address the Yankees’ biggest flaw: They are nowhere near the Dodgers in terms of situational hitting, taking extra bases or making opposing pitchers earn every out.
Consider Sunday’s first game, when the Dodgers ground Cam Schlittler into fine powder in an 8-2 blowout. It’s not that Schlittler was overwhelmed: he struck out eight, topped out at 98 mph and generated 20 swings and misses.
But Schlittler lasted only 4 2/3 innings, thanks to the Dodgers’ tenacity. Twenty-two foul balls. That’s how the Dodgers dismantled him.
The young right-hander took the setback hard.
“As a starter, you can’t get through five, that’s not a good sign,” Schlittler said. “I think that’s the most frustrating part.
“I feel like the (swing and) miss was there. The strikeouts are good, but that doesn’t matter. Can’t put a competitive outing together.”
Schlittler had no reason to apologize. The Dodgers ran up the score on relievers Jake Bird and Camilo Doval in the eighth inning. Still, if Gerrit Cole and Schlittler couldn’t beat them, where’s the edge in a seven-game series?
The answer keeps circling back to Judge. The Yankees are still looking for that game-changing three-run home run that No. 99 always seemed to deliver. The Yankees were lucky to get Chisholm’s solo blast in the nightcap, but the scouts I talk to say it’s ultimately Cody Bellinger who has to pick up the slack.
“If Bellinger stays where he is (.172 over his last 25 games), the Yankees are in trouble,” said one scout. “He has to step up.”
I asked Bellinger about that responsibility and whether it’s an especially heavy weight to shoulder.
“I don’t consider it a burden,” he said. “Those guys (Judge and Giancarlo Stanton) are great players. Missing those two bats is obviously tough on us. I have to keep showing up, putting my best foot forward. It’s all I can do.”
That grind-it-out ethos is actually prevalent throughout the clubhouse. Give the Yankees credit for not panicking or pointing fingers. Incredibly, they’ve gained on the first-place Rays, who’ve lost five in a row after getting swept this weekend by the surging Red Sox.
Only 1.5 games out, the Yankees are in decent shape in the standings. They’ll get some relief from the Pirates this week, especially since they won’t face ace Paul Skenes, who pitched on Sunday against the Guardians.
And the truth is, Judge will be back, even if his return is delayed until September. Considering the overall state of the American League, it would take a catastrophic collapse for the Yankees not to make the playoffs.
But that’s not what this weekend was about. Three games with the Dodgers were supposed to be the summer’s most important litmus test. It’s not the Rays who Yankees measure themselves against. It’s not the Astros anymore. And the Red Sox rivalry hasn’t driven the Yankees in years.
It’s the Dodgers. Only the Dodgers. Now we see the wide gulf that separates them. Lucky for the Yankees, it’s July.
Because the Dodgers won with October habits. The Yankees lost with October questions.
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