LO’ RIDERS
Yankees cruise behind rook’s gem to needed win
Jonathan Loaisiga delivers during his 5 1/3 innings of one-hit, shutout ball as the Yankees rolled to a 4-2 win in Philadelphia. Aaron Judge homered and Giancarlo Stanton added a two-run single as the Bombers snapped their first three-game losing streak of the season.
PHILADELPHIA — The Yankees ended their season-worst, three-game losing streak Monday night, defeating the Phillies, 4-2, to the delight of the many fans of the visitors here at Citizens Bank Park. “Good bounce-back win for us,” Aaron Boone said. However, in the Yankees’ title-orbust universe, the lack of some individual bounce-backs remains a concern. Specifically, Greg Bird started at first base and walked, struck out and hit into a double play. And after Boone double-switched Bird out of the game in the sixth inning, his replacement Neil Walker fanned twice more himself. On the bright side for anxious Yankees enthusiasts, Chasen Shreve got the night off. Although many such enthusiasts would have preferred to see the lefty get jettisoned altogether to make room for call-up Giovanny Gallegos.
If any downside exists in the Yankees’ massive roster depth, it’s that the multitude of options can make both the club and its supporters constantly, seriously ponder whether to overturn underperforming players … because interesting alternatives await their turns. For instance: How about Tommy Kahnle, Brandon Drury and Ronald Torreyes for Shreve, Bird and Walker? And how about Clint Frazier, who returned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre as the counter for Gallegos, getting more of a chance?
Nevertheless, as The Post’s Joel Sherman detailed in a column Sunday, the Yankees pride themselves on their discipline. On not making emotional calls.
Here’s a breakdown of the three Yankees who reside on the public hot seat, if not necessarily the actual one, with a bottom-line recommendation on their viability.
1. Bird: Back on the roster for a month, the injury-prone prodigy now owns a lousy .186/.293/.384 slash line in 26 games totaling 99 plate appearances.
“I think obviously not quite the results anyone would want,” Bird said Monday, “but that’s how it goes sometimes. That’s just something you’ve got to deal with. I’ve done it before and I’ve handled it before.”
The strong plate discipline, with 11 walks, serves as a positive indicator. We’ve seen in past seasons what he can do when healthy.
Speaking of both Bird and Walker, Boone said, “I’ve seen enough to believe that it is in there. There’s no question that they’ve been up and down a little bit, obviously, but hopefully that track record, com- bined with the fact that at some point they’ll start to lock it in, becomes a reality.”
Bottom line: Bird deserves considerably more time — let’s say until the All-Star break — to snap out of this. A demotion to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre would be pretty severe. Gary Sanchez’s trip to the disabled list should open up at-bats for Drury, whose role can include complementing Bird at first base.
2. Walker: The former Met had an OPS of .402 in March and April, soared to .890 in May and now stands at a ghastly .232 for June. Barring an injury, giving up on Walker would mean releasing him altogether, which works in his favor. Nevertheless, wow, has he looked terrible for much of this season.
Bottom line: His impressive May, plus the reality that he hit well just last year, has earned him a July to see if he can continue the down-then-up pattern. If he’s down again, though, it’ll be time to wish him well elsewhere.
3. Shreve: The lefty has tallied a 10.39 ERA in his last five outings, totaling 4 ¹/3 innings, and that includes three homers. While acknowledging that he’d love to utilize Shreve next in a lower-leverage situation, Boone also explained why the team hasn’t given up on the 27-year-old.
“[We’re] confident that he can turn it around because he’s been through these ups and downs before and pulled himself out of it, before and hopefully this is a little bump in the road for him,” Boone said.
The biggest difference this year, compared to his 3.77 ERA from last year? His splitter is far less effective, as per FanGraphs’ pitch values.
Boone said that he doesn’t necessarily feel his bullpen requires a situational lefty, given the excellence of his righty arms. Agreed.
Bottom line: If Shreve can’t right himself over his next few appearances, the Yankees should either designate him for assignment or find a reason to put him on the disabled list.