For the first time this season, the New York Yankees have been swept. A rough weekend for the Bronx bombers finally came to an end on Sunday afternoon with a 2-0 defeat at Fenway Park. They were only able to collect four runs across three games against the Red Sox. They’re now only 1-5 against the Red Sox after Sunday’s loss and 8-11 in the division. But still, the Yanks hold the top of the AL East.

This weekend was more of a reality check for the Yankees. Across 21⅓ innings this weekend, they could only muster one run against the Red Sox’s starting pitchers. That too came off from Judge’s ninth-inning home run. He went 0-for-4 and when he did not strike out, he made sure to hit into a double play, ending the eighth-inning rally. Yet, the Yankees collapsed.

In the aftermath of the game, manager Aaron Boone was asked about how concerning the sweep was but little did we expect, he had a completely different take.

“Concerning? I mean, I wouldn’t put it that way,” he said. “When you’re playing the Red Sox, you always want to put your best foot forward. They took us down this weekend, back-to-back weekends.”

“You hate that, but we have a really good club and just didn’t play our best here this weekend,” the skipper further added.

Well, Boone’s optimism is great but not enough to mask the deeper issue that reflected over the weekend. It’s the Yankees’ offense that couldn’t do much. The team could only hit .158 across three games. Their bats, which were otherwise reliable throughout the season, couldn’t make an impact against their fierce rivals.

Boone continued, “Obviously had a hard time putting runs on the board. I thought overall, I thought we pitched pretty well and did enough run prevention-wise to keep them in check to hopefully win some games.” If we’re talking beyond the bats, then it can’t be ignored that during the second game, Jason Dominguez lost count of strikes. That’s not it. Coming to the third game, Ben Rice—the Yankees’ young star—was picked off as he tried to steal a base too early.

But Boone didn’t find these three back-to-back losses alarming. If it’s a calculated calm, then we must watch the Yankees’ next four-game home series against the Los Angeles Angels closely. If not, then Boone should take a closer look at the Yankees’ growing concerns.

Yankees’ cracks beneath the surface

After Sunday, the Yankees are now 42-28. Against the Red Sox, their offense performed poorly. Boone acknowledged it after the game. However, with that, it’s important to note how heavily the team is relying on Aaron Judge.

Had it not been for Judge’s home runs and clutch performances across this season, things would be worse. Except for him, the lineup has been visibly inconsistent. Someone like Ben Rice has fallen on that radar as well.

The Yankees endured a three-game losing streak earlier this year, which was a bit of a shock in itself. But a sweep? It marked their first, making them look weak at this stretch of the season.

Injuries have hit hard too. Gerrit Cole’s absence for the entire season has led to the pitching staff stretching thin. And the one who has been out for 67 games is Giancarlo Stanton. The Yankees are expecting his return sometime around this week. It could be a good boost for them.

After all, the Yankees require that threat of power hitting. And Stanton used to offer just that before his elbow injury. For now, Stanton’s return has been highly anticipated, as it will help the Yankees to get their spark back.