The New York Yankees (40-37) are looking less and less like a playoff team. The Bronx Bombers were swept by the Boston Red Sox (47-31) at Fenway Park, falling to fourth place in the AL East and further down the wild-card standings.

Nearly at the halfway point of the 2021 MLB season, the Yankees have been unable to compete with the top teams in the division. Boston has beaten New York in all six meetings this year. The defending AL East champion Tampa Bay Rays (47-32) are 8-5 against the Yankees.

New York ace Gerrit Cole was unable to salvage a game in Boston, giving up four runs in the first inning of Sunday’s 9-2 loss. In six games against the Red Sox, the Yankees are averaging 2.8 runs with a 5.54 ERA.

Boston has scored 6.0 runs per game and pitched to a 1.96 ERA. The Red Sox have three times as many extra-base hits as the Yankees in their head-to-head meetings.

Yankees’ starters gave up 11 earned runs in 15 innings against the Red Sox. New York’s rotation has pitched to a 4.61 ERA over the last 30 days, during which the Yankees have an 11-15 record.

The Yankees trail the Red Sox by 6.5 games and sit six games behind the second-place Rays. The Toronto Blue Jays (40-36) are a half-game ahead of New York in the division.

New York is 17-24 against the AL East. The lowly Baltimore Orioles (24-54) are the only division rival against whom the Yankees have a winning record.

The Oakland Athletics (47-33) are 5.5 games ahead of the Yankees for the final AL wild-card berth.

“The inconsistencies of the two steps forward — come up here in a big weekend series and take a giant step back, that inconsistency has kind of defined us so far,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after Sunday’s loss. “We’ve got to find a way to be more consistent. Ultimately, we expect way more out of ourselves. I know the fan base expects more. To come up here and have a disappointing weekend against a team we’re trying to chase down is frustrating.”

Prior to getting swept, it appeared New York might be turning its season around. The Yankees had won seven of their last nine games. In Boston, the lineup’s struggles returned, going 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position and failing to score more than three runs in a single game.

The Red Sox and Rays rank second and third, respectively, in runs scored among all AL teams. The Yankees rank 13th.

On Opening Day, New York was viewed as the clear favorite to represent the AL in the 2021 World Series. With an inconsistent rotation, underachieving hitters and constant mistakes on the basepaths and in the field, the Yankees have a better record than only six teams in the AL.

The Yankees start a four-game series at home against the Los Angeles Angels (37-40) on Monday night.

Gerrit Cole Yankees
Gerrit Cole #45 of the New York Yankees in action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on September 16, 2020 in New York City. The Yankees defeated the Blue Jays 13-2. Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
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