Apr 28, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Devin Williams (38) pitches in the eighth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

Yankees Have Severely Underwhelmed During Crunch Time this Season

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Kenneth Teape | Last updated May 7, 2025 8:00 AM ET

The New York Yankees are the only team in the American League East with a winning record heading into play on May 6.

They are 19-16, with the Boston Red Sox right behind them with a record of 18-18. It has been a struggle for the Yankees in some regards in the early going, especially when they get late into the game.

The struggles of Devin Williams, who was removed from the closer role recently, have played a huge part in New York’s struggles in crunch time. Even after being removed from the ninth-inning role, Williams has played a part in the team blowing a lead.

On Monday, against the San Diego Padres in a 4-3 loss, he entered the game in the eighth inning and was charged with three earned runs in 0.2 innings pitched.

The final blow came against Luke Weaver, who served up a two-run single to Xander Bogaerts and was charged with his first earned run of the season.

A Stat the Yankees Want no Part of

As shared by Katie Sharp of Stathead and Sports Reference, that is the fifth time this season that the Yankees have suffered a loss when leading in the eighth inning or later of a game.

That is currently the most in baseball.

Yankees now have 5 losses when leading in the 8th inning or later this season.

That's the most in MLB.
— Katie Sharp (@SharpStats17) May 6, 2025

Late-game meltdowns on the mound are difficult to handle, but they are even worse when the offense hasn’t proven capable of responding and picking up the pitching staff.

Overall, New York has had one of the best offenses in baseball through this point, ranking second in the MLB with 5.43 runs per game.

However, when it comes to showing up in the clutch, the lineup is falling short of expectations.

They are averaging only 1.4 of those runs per game in the seventh inning or later, per Team Rankings, which is ranked 14th.

This points to a need to upgrade the bench, where manager Aaron Boone doesn’t have many options to turn to when opponents bring in tough pitchers out of the bullpen with light-hitting options as backups.

It is something that has to be addressed at some point, or the Yankees won’t be able to contend with the truly elite teams in the MLB.

This article first appeared on New York Yankees on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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