Yankees, Gerrit Cole get blown out of Fenway Park by Red Sox

BOSTON — Gerrit Cole squatted behind the mound. The Yankees ace had just given up a three-run bomb to Rafael Devers. It was the second home run he had given up Sunday and there was still just one out in the first inning. Cole crouched and tried to regroup after taking the punches to the gut.

But, Cole and the Yankees could not figure out a way off of this nightmare rollercoaster ride of a season. Cole gave up a home run on the first pitch he threw Sunday and the Bombers tried to catch up all day.  The Red Sox blew out the Yankees 9-2 to complete the series sweep in front of a packed house at Fenway Sunday.

“I think everybody was well aware of the importance of the game. It’s a pretty brutal feeling, to let the team down like that,” said Cole, who gave up six runs, five earned in five innings pitched.

The Yankees (40-37) were swept by the Red Sox (47-31) for the second time in two series they faced them this season. It was the fifth time they were swept this season and the second time on the road. The Yankees lost four of their last six games and find themselves fighting just to stay above .500 while the Red Sox and Rays battle for the division.

“That’s a serious punch in the mouth,” Aaron Boone said. “We’ve had a number of times this year where you can say it even though it’s only June you got your backs up against the wall. We’re in the toughest division in baseball with some really good teams that are ahead of us in the standings and we’ve got to dig ourselves out and we’ve got to be more consistent and we’ve got to keep our foot on the gas.”

The Yankees came in here with momentum and feeling confident having won nine of their previous 14 games and their last three series. The issues that plagued them during their season-high four-game losing streak that preceded that, resurfaced this weekend. They couldn’t convert baserunners into runs.

After Aaron Judge cut the Red Sox lead to 6-2 with his 17th home run of the season, which flew over the Green Monster and onto Lansdowne Street in the sixth, the Yankees had the bases loaded and one out in the seventh. DJ LeMahieu was called out on strikes and Judge popped out to first. The Bombers went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and stranded seven runners and they grounded into a double play.

They made sloppy defensive mistakes.

Miguel Andujar threw to third instead of second to hold the runners in the first. Clint Frazier’s throw to home sailed up to third base in the third. There was also Gleyber Torres’ wild, wide throw to first in the third ... and again in the fourth.

Cole’s struggles, however, were a new twist.

He got dinged from the get-go. The first pitch he threw Sunday, to Enrique Hernandez, was crushed for a lead-off home run. It was the first time in his career that he gave up a home run on his first pitch. It was the first time he gave up two home runs in the first inning and he tied a career-high allowing three home runs on the day. It was the first time he allowed three homers since Aug. 26, 2020 against the Braves. The five earned runs tied the most he has allowed as a Yankee, having done it twice already this season.

It had to be what the Yankees can only hope was rock bottom for Cole. Over his last five starts, which happen to coincide with when the league made it clear they were going to crack down on illegal substances on the ball, Cole has pitched to a 4.65 ERA. He’s allowed 16 earned runs and allowed nine home runs. He has walked eight and struck out 32 in 31 innings pitched.

It’s a sharp contrast to his first 11 starts of the season, when he posted 97 strikeouts to nine walks and five home runs allowed over 70.2 innings pitched. He threw to a 1.78 ERA in that span and was in the early conversation for Cy Young honors.

Cole had been skeptical of the “Yankees have turned it around,” narrative before this weekend. By Sunday afternoon, he had been through enough of the ups-and-downs. Cole knows he contributed to this giant step back and that it’s time for the Bombers to make some real progress, before it’s too late.

“We’ve been taking some some blows and I think we have to start dishing some back,” Cole said. “Not in one game, not in one series, but a deliberate approach to — I am not they’re not saying the intent is not there — but the reality is we have to find a way to deliver that consistent approach that keeps the heat on the other team and responds when things don’t go our way.”