Yankees suffer historic sweep in Toronto, continue rough stretch

New York's struggles extend further back than just the Toronto series. The Yankees are 3-7 in their last 10 games. But things were even worse for Aaron Boone's team prior to this latest stretch. 

Going back to mid June, the Yankees endured a sweep at the hands of their rival Red Sox, who have been experiencing a roller coaster season of their own, and then lost three of their next four games, just barely avoiding a four-game sweep, to the Angels. 

So while New York is still in a playoff position at 48-39 and Aaron Judge is still in the midst of a historic season, there's legitimate reason for Yankees fans to be concerned. 

Judge has an eye-popping .364 batting average, but he has fallen off some from where he was this same time last month when he was approaching .400. However, Judge is far from the problem. He did record six hits, including a home run, in the four games against the Blue Jays.  

When at their best, the "Bronx Bombers" can put runs on the board as well as any team in baseball. Beyond Judge, Cody Bellinger, Anthony Volpe, Paul Goldschmidt and Austin Wells have helped score 445 runs so far this season, which is good enough for the second most in the American League and the fifth most in all of baseball. 

Will New York's pitching hold the team back from a return trip to the World Series? That's now a question that will haunt Yankee pitchers until they turn their fortunes around. 

On Thursday, Clarke Schmidt gave up three runs off four hits in three innings before leaving the game with an injury to his right forearm. The day prior to Schmidt's outing, the Blue Jays shelled Will Warren to the tune of charging him with eight earned runs off 10 hits in four innings. He left the game with an ERA at 5.02. 

Even Max Fried, one of New York's most consistent pitchers, has struggled as of late, surrendering four runs in six innings on Tuesday. 

Despite being 10-2 with a 2.13 ERA overall, Fried has actually lost three of his last four starts. 

Will the Subway Series be what the Yankees need to ignite positive momentum?

Judge and company will look to turn things around when they battle their crosstown rivals in a holiday weekend series starting Friday with the backdrop of celebrating America's independence. 

Fortunately for the Yankees, the Mets have their own problems. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games and aren't far removed from their own embarrassing sweep, as they recently fell victim to the Pirates in Pittsburgh.