Aug 23, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (27) reacts after striking out against the Boston Red Sox during the sixth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images John Jones-Imagn Images

Yankees Get Embarrassing Reminder They Aren't Contenders

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Noah Strackbein | Last updated Aug 23, 2025 5:19 PM ET

The New York Yankees looked like they were on the comeback only days ago. Now, they're down in the rough once again, with an embarrassing reminder that they aren't on the same level as other teams competing for a World Series shot. This time, the reminder comes in a 12-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox.

The Yankees sit 0-3 against the Red Sox, bringing their record on the year to 1-8 against their biggest rivals. It inches them closer to .500, now sitting at 69-60, six games behind the Toronto Blue Jays and 2.5 games behind the Red Sox. A se ries that, if they won, would've given them plenty of hope.

If the Yankees could've pulled off a much-needed series win against the Red Sox, they would've been 6-1 in their last eight games and either a half-game behind Boston for the second spot in the American League East, or 7-0 and a half-game in front of them. Now, at best, they can go 5-3 with a 1.5 game deficit for second place.

Instead, they started 0-3, and head into the final game in embarrassing fashion. The series currently sits with more errors (5) than runs (4). It gave the Red Sox their longest winning streak against the Yankees since 2009 with eight wins in a row.

Yankees have more errors (5) than runs (4) in the current series vs. the Red Sox pic.twitter.com/rVE6NsCcFN
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 23, 2025

Manager Aaron Boone said after the game that he fully acknowledges the performance of his team, but also that they're ready to move forward.

"It sucks. It feels real crappy. We've got to get past it," Boone said. "We can sit here and dwell on it. We gotta play better. We got to play better against these quality opponents in our division. But we can't go erease what's been a really crappy weekend so far for us, other than putting our best foot forward and going to salvage, and being in control of what we have in the pen and write the story the rest of the way."

The Yankees once sat first in the AL East, but the constant reminder seems to be a fading light in a dimly lit room. From here, they'll try to bounce back, but with one game left in the series, there's little belief this team has what it takes to compete against their biggest riv als, and that the ship is still sinking at a rapid rate.

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