The New York Yankees have spent the last couple of weeks searching for answers at the plate. They entered the All-Star break on a 4-game winning streak, hoping to carry the momentum to the second half. But they have lost two consecutive games against the Los Angeles Dodgers. And the 8-2 defeat on Sunday did little to ease the frustration in the clubhouse. 

“I don’t know if weight’s the right word,” Ryan McMahon said when reporters asked him about the weight of the offense. “I think it’s just a little p—– off. We know we’ve got the guys to get this thing going, so it’s just about doing it.”

The Yankees have been going through a rough stretch since June. They were batting at .222 last month, and they are hardly better with a .231 AVG in July. New York went through a 5-15 stretch before they won 4 straight games at the end of the first half. Even a 2-1 loss in the series opener didn’t seem too concerning. But they wanted the double-headers to change the momentum. Instead, the team managed just 4 hits and 2 runs to suffer a huge defeat and lost the series. 

That’s why manager Aaron Boone didn’t even try to mince his words in the postgame interview. He praised Yoshinobu Yamamoto for wrapping up the entire game for the Dodgers with 102 pitches and 69 strikes. But the manager put it on the Yankees’ offensive struggles and sent the entire lineup a wake-up call. 

“We’ve got to do a better job of just having those heavy at-bats as a group,” he said. “That’s where we’ve struggled here these last few weeks.”

Notably, the Pinstripes have suffered in the absence of their captain. They had a .258 AVG in May and were in the top five in the league. But their batting average in the last six to seven weeks hasn’t helped them get out of the bottom of the table.

The manager announced a day ago that Aaron Judge is recovering but has yet to start any baseball exercise. Although many expect him to return by August, it might take more than that. And the Yankees needed other players to step up. 

Unfortunately, McMahon has a .212 AVG and .651 OPS. Boone and many fans have looked for more offensive production from Jazz Chisholm Jr., but he is batting at .222, helping the team with just 37 RBI so far. Jasson Dominguez has managed just 11 RBIs in 38 games this season. 

Despite the poor showings, the players and their manager aren’t losing faith. Ryan McMahon believes that the team has “the guys.” And the manager echoed the same optimism earlier. 

“I feel like we have good players, in some cases young players that have to keep getting better,” he added.

Such confidence makes everyone feel better on the team, but the recent defeats have overshadowed them quite a bit. That’s why the clubhouse is spilling frustration.