The New York Yankees are in a slump right now. Heading into Wednesday’s game versus the Detroit Tigers, they have lost six in a row.
New York is 48-37, two and a half games back of the first-place Tampa Bay Rays. After the Yankees’ most recent win last Wednesday, they were three games up.
The team got even more bad news before their 1:35 p.m. game against the Tigers. Many Yankees are out of the lineup versus right-hander Troy Melton. The reason for their removal is being chalked up to food poisoning.
The timing is a little bit comedic, seeing as the club has already had to deal with a variety of setbacks as of late. Lefty-swinging outfielder Spencer Jones is absent in particular, surprising given that he is usually in there against right-handed starters. Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reported the news.
Jones has split time between MLB and Triple-A since his original call-up May 8. In 29 games at the big league level, the rookie has slashed .225/.313/.366 (.679 OPS) with two home runs and seven RBIs.
Jones has certainly shown flashes, drawing a good amount of walks and hitting mammoth home runs. However, his 42.5% strikeout rate is the most pressing issue in his game and always has been as a prospect.
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The 25-year-old will take a seat Wednesday after playing in the last three games. Utility José Caballero will start in center field, the sixth different position he has played this season.
Other Yankees are dealing with food poisoning as well. Ryan McMahon is not playing tonight at his minor league rehab assignment and more unnamed players who are in Wednesday’s lineup are also dealing with it, per Bryan Hoch.
New York’s lineup already had trouble with Detroit’s starters from Monday and Tuesday’s game in Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal. They were only able to muster one earned run in 13 innings off them.
Wednesday brings a new challenge in the 25-year-old Melton. He is 4-1 with a 2.39 ERA in six starts this season, striking out 25 and walking nine. It will be interesting to see how the battered Yankee lineup will respond.
