Aaron Boone's 'fizzle out' admission will catch Yankees fans attention

The New York Yankees had plenty of momentum as they started their four-game series against the Boston Red Sox. However, that edge has disappeared as the Yankees have lost the first three games of the series at Yankee Stadium and they have been badly outplayed and outpitched.

The Yankees dropped a 1-0 decision Friday night and then got blasted out of their home park by a 12-1 margin Saturday. Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet shut down the Yankees in his seven innings of work on the mound. He allowed a fourth-inning home run to Giancarlo Stanton, but he gave up just four other singles to the home team. Three other relievers closed out the game for the Red Sox.

While the Yankees were struggling to make solid contact, the Red Sox battered the New York pitching staff. Trevor Story belted his 20th home run of the season and had three hits and three RBI. Ceddanne Rafaela, David Hamilton and Carlos Narvaez filled the final three spots in the Red Sox lineup and they combined for 8 hits, 6 runs and 3 RBI.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone was clearly frustrated by his team’s performance. He believes the Yankees have enough time to turn things around, but the all-around play and the effort has to be better.

“No, we’re not running out of time,” Boone said at his postgame press conference. “But if we don’t do better, then it’s going to fizzle out and we’re not going to get to where we want to be.”

Yankees and Red Sox could be on postseason collision course

Aaron Boone's 'fizzle out' admission will catch Yankees fans attention — Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images

The Red Sox have a 1.5-game lead over the Yankees in the Wild Card standings. The loss dropped the Yankees into a tie with the Seattle Mariners for the final two playoff spots.

If the Yankees hold off the Mariners and the Red Sox hold on to their position, the two teams will meet in a three-game Wild Card series. The series would be at Fenway Park if the Red Sox have a better record or are tied with the Yankees. Boston has an 8-1 lead in the season series and the Yankees cannot catch them since just four games are left between the two teams.

The Red Sox have been getting excellent starting pitching since the start of June. Crochet, Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito are their three best starters.

The Yankees are depending on Max Fried and Carlos Rodon to head their rotation, but both have had issues in the second half of the season.

If the Yankees are not outslugging their opponents, their all-around play has been questionable for nearly three months. Fielding and baserunning issues have compounded their recent pitching struggles.

Steve Silverman has been covering the NFL for more than 35 years, and his writing has appeared in ESPN Magazine, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, Pro Football Weekly, and Forbes.com. He has written 10 books, including “Who’s Better, Who’s Best in the NFL.”