From New York Yankees On SI · · 3m
Yankees clinch playoffs but can't afford slow starts
New York's offense struggles early in games, putting too much pressure on their pitching staff when it matters most.
In brief
New York's offense struggles early in games, putting too much pressure on their pitching staff when it matters most. The Yankees must score earlier in games to leverage their strong pitching and compete in October. Originally reported by New York Yankees On SI.
Yankees clinch playoff spot
New York secured their postseason berth Monday night with a comeback win over Minnesota. A Blue Jays loss brought the magic number to zero.
Victory wasn't pretty
The Yankees struggled early against mediocre pitching and made sloppy defensive mistakes. They can't afford these errors when the stakes are highest.
Offense remains the biggest concern
The lineup struggled badly while Aaron Judge was injured. Though he's back and hit a three-run homer Monday, the offense still has issues.
Seven runs came late
The Yankees scored seven of their eight runs in the final two innings. Before the six-run eighth, they had just three baserunners and two hits.
Struggling pitcher shut them down
Dean Kremer entered with a 5.65 ERA but held New York to two hits over 5.2 innings. Doing nothing against weak pitching puts too much pressure on Yankees pitchers.
Slow starts all season long
The Yankees have scored only 74 first-inning runs, tied for ninth-fewest in MLB. They're consistently failing to get early offense.
Dismal without Judge
From June 1 to September 7 while Judge was out, New York scored just 25 first-inning runs. That was by far the fewest of any team.
23 games without a first-inning run
From July 21 to August 25, the Yankees went nearly a month without scoring in the opening frame. The drought was historically bad.
“Yankees have gone 22 straight games without scoring a run in the first inning”
Early runs ease pitching pressure
Scoring in the first inning would let the Yankees leverage their strong pitching staff. Judge's return offers hope for fixing this weakness.
Judge dominates first innings
Since 2024, Judge has hit 45 first-inning homers, including 20 in 2025 alone. This season he's slashing .273/.365/.691 in opening frames.
Still finding his timing
Judge's numbers have dipped recently as he shakes off rust from missing three months. But Monday's big homer suggests he's locking in.
Judge can't do it alone
Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger, and Luis Garcia Jr. need to contribute too. The Yankees need the whole top of the order producing.
Supporting cast heating up
Rice has settled in as leadoff hitter, Bellinger is hitting .306 since August 23, and Garcia has raked since the trade deadline. The pieces are there.
Turning weakness into strength
Early offense combined with dominant pitching would let the Yankees control games from the start. Judge's return makes that transformation possible.
The key point
The Yankees must score earlier in games to leverage their strong pitching and compete in October.
