NEW YORK – General manager Brian Cashman is not pushing the panic button because the Yankees are on a five-game losing streak entering Wednesday’s action against the Angels.
During the streak, the Yankees haven’t scored a run since the ninth inning of Saturday’s game against the Red Sox. That’s a streak of 29 innings, their fourth-longest scoreless streak since the pitcher’s mound was lowered to its current height in 1969.
It hasn’t helped that New York’s best hitter, Aaron Judge, finds himself in a hitting slump. In his last six games, Judge is 2-for-20 with 13 strikeouts. His batting average has dropped from .394 to .372 in that span. But keep in mind that the Yankees still lead the American League in runs scored (370).
“We’ve hit a rough patch right now, but these guys care and we’re grinding through it,” said Cashman after attending a charity event involving HOPE Week. “We’ll fight our way through it. It’s a tough sport that these guys are doing. We’re playing against pros. No one is going to give us anything. We have to take it. Our guys will keep fighting, working, focusing and, hopefully, we’ll come through this as early as tonight. There is no guarantee with that stuff. We just have to grind through it.”
Cashman said he doesn’t have a feel of how the MLB Trade Deadline will shake out before July 31.
“Obviously, those days are coming sooner than later,” he said. “The calendar moves fast, even though I say it’s a long season. Before you know it, we have that amateur Draft in mid-July and then – boom – the Deadline is right upon us.”
While he didn’t want to talk about the trade that sent infielder Rafael Devers from the Red Sox to the Giants, Cashman was willing to talk about right-handers Will Warren and Clarke Schmidt, who have been dealing on the mound recently. Schmidt held the Angels scoreless for 7 2/3 innings on Monday, while Warren struck out a career-high 11 batters the next day.
“Their development has been fantastic,” Cashman said. “They have earned it every step of the way with our coaches and teammates. I’m really proud of what they have done and how they have helped stabilize [our pitching staff]. We had so many injuries this spring, so we needed our pitching to be as good as it can be. Certainly, what they are doing is allowing that to happen.”