Wobbly Yankees Up Against Tough Schedule Before, After All-Star Break

The upcoming All-Star break will provide (most of) the Yankees three off days. They’re going to need them.

With a grueling schedule leading up to and then immediately following the Midsummer Classic, the rest of July could prove to be a pivotal month in what has been a disappointing Yankees season thus far.

The Yankees are 42-41, in fourth place and losers of seven of their last nine. They will close out the first half with a west coast road trip after starting the month by going 1-2 against the Mets. Following a Monday off day, the first stop will take the Yankees to Seattle, where they will play an upstart, 45-40 Mariners team that leads them in the wild card race.

New York is 5.5 games back of the wild card. The M’s are one of four teams ahead in the chase.

“That’s a young team that’s playing well,” Aaron Boone said of the Mariners after Sunday’s split double-header with the Yankees’ crosstown rivals. “We have an off day to gather ourselves a little bit. We gotta go play well in Seattle. That’s where our focus lies.”

Boone is not getting too far ahead of himself, but a quick look at New York’s impending slate shows that things won’t get much easier after the Emerald City. The last three games of the half will be played in Houston against the first-place Astros (52-33). From there, Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole and Aroldis Chapman will head to Denver for the All-Star Game.

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Once the break ends on July 15, the Yankees will resume the regular season with four home games against the AL East-leading Red Sox. Boston, 54-32, has already swept the Yankees twice in as many series this season. After that, it’s an off day and then two games against Philadelphia. The Phillies (40-42) are also in the midst of a pedestrian campaign and in fourth place, but they embarrassed the Yankees for two games at Citizens Bank Park last month.

The Yankees will then head to Boston for another four games from July 22-25. New York has another R&R day on July 26 before a three-game series in Tampa. The Rays currently own the top wild card spot. They are 8-5 against New York this season.

The Yankees will end the month and begin August with a three-game series against the last-place Marlins in Miami. Three home games against the basement-dwelling Orioles will follow. That stretch against bad teams will be welcomed after a challenging page on the calendar.

However, it is entirely possible that the Yankees will find themselves in a worse situation than the one they are in now by the time those games come around. With the start of the Miami series falling on July 30, the day of the trade deadline, New York’s fate as buyers, sellers or bystanders will have likely been sealed already.

To fall into the first category, the Yankees need to win some tough matchups.

“I think we understand what’s at stake,” Boone said. “I think we understand the hole we’ve dug for ourselves and we understand the importance of every game.

“We gotta go play well. We understand that. We’ve talked about it a lot. We’re going out west with a lot on the line.”

MORE:

• Struggling Aroldis Chapman Vows To ‘Shut Up’ Critics After Subway Series Crash
• Luis Severino Nearing Return to Tommy John Rehab Assignment After Groin Injury
• Chad Green's 'Immaculate' Performance Saved Yankees From Doubleheader Disaster

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