Yankees offense reportedly weakened by injuries ahead of Saturday's game at Boston

The New York Yankees carry a banged-up offense into Saturday's series finale at Fenway Park, where, per Yahoo Sports, injuries have taken real punch out of their lineup — particularly against left-handed pitching.

What happened

Yahoo Sports reported that the Yankees' offense has been weakened by injuries heading into Saturday's game against the Boston Red Sox, with the damage most visible in their production against left-handed pitching in June. The club ranks 19th in wOBA and 20th in OPS for the month, per the report, while striking out at the sixth-highest rate in the league. Boston took the first two games of the series before Saturday's contest, leaving the Yankees in a position where a loss would mean dropping the series to their oldest rivals.

Why it matters

The timing is uncomfortable. Saturday's probable starter for Boston is Jake Bennett, a left-hander who, per Yahoo Sports, has posted an xERA in the 97th percentile across his early career starts. For a lineup that has reportedly been tailing off against left-handed pitching all month, that is a matchup the Yankees would rather not be having right now.

On the other side, Gerrit Cole — the Yankees' probable starter — has not been operating at his customary level of late. Per Yahoo Sports, Cole ranks in the 52nd percentile in Pitcher Run Value and has allowed 13 runs over his past four starts. That combination — a struggling offense against a statistically sharp left-hander, paired with a starter who has been giving up runs at an elevated clip — frames the operational challenge clearly enough without any embellishment.

The numbers

The Yankees carry a 93-68 record into Saturday, good for a .578 winning percentage and second place in the AL East, 4.5 games behind the division leader. The Wild Card picture is considerably more comfortable: New York sits at rank 1 in the Wild Card standings, +9.5 games relative to the cut line. The club has also been eliminated from the division race, meaning the Wild Card path is the one that matters for October purposes.

On the offensive side, the June numbers reported by Yahoo Sports tell a specific story. Nineteenth in wOBA. Twentieth in OPS. Sixth-highest strikeout rate. Those are not catastrophic figures in isolation, but against a pitcher whose xERA sits in the 97th percentile through his early career starts, they represent a real alignment of unfavorable conditions. Cole's 13 runs allowed over his past four starts, per the report, adds another layer of uncertainty to what New York needs from Saturday's game.

Where the club stands

At 93-68, the Yankees are in a stable but not dominant position. Second in the AL East with a 4.5-game deficit in the division, they are comfortably cushioned in the Wild Card race at +9.5 games above the cut line and riding a one-game winning streak into Saturday. The division title is off the table, per Yahoo Sports' framing of the standings, but the Wild Card berth looks well-insulated at this stage of the season.

The schedule after Saturday keeps the Boston series going: Sunday brings Carlos Rodón against Sonny Gray at Fenway Park, before the Yankees return home Monday to host the Detroit Tigers, with Ryan Weathers facing Casey Mize at Yankee Stadium. Two more games in a hostile environment before a home series — the kind of stretch where the injury-related offensive concerns Yahoo Sports flagged could continue to matter.

Is Gerrit Cole starting Saturday?

Per the upcoming schedule, Cole is the Yankees' probable starter for Saturday's game at Fenway Park. The report from Yahoo Sports does not indicate any change to that assignment, though probable starters can shift before first pitch. Cole's recent stretch — 13 runs over his last four starts and a 52nd-percentile Pitcher Run Value, per Yahoo Sports — makes his outing one of the more closely watched elements of Saturday's game.

What we don't know yet

The Yahoo Sports report does not specify which players are injured, how many are affected, or whether any are expected to return for this series or the games that follow. The nature, severity, and timetable of the injuries described are not detailed in the report. It is also not clear from the material whether the offensive decline in June is entirely attributable to the injuries or whether other factors are involved — the report notes the connection but the full picture remains unconfirmed.

Cole's recent run-prevention struggles are documented in the report, but whether Saturday represents a continuation of that trend or a departure from it is, by definition, unknown before the game is played.

What to watch

The Bennett-versus-Yankees matchup is the central operational question Saturday. Per Yahoo Sports, Bennett's xERA sits in the 97th percentile through his early career starts — a number that will be tested against a lineup the same report describes as diminished and struggling against left-handed pitching in June. Whether the Yankees can generate offense against a pitcher with those underlying metrics, given the reported injury context, is the thread worth pulling.

Cole's performance is the other variable. Thirteen runs over four starts is a stretch that invites scrutiny regardless of the opponent, and Boston — having already taken the first two games of the series — will be looking to close things out at home. The Yankees, sitting comfortably in the Wild Card picture at +9.5 games above the cut line, have margin for error in the standings. Whether they have margin for error in the lineup is the question the next few days will answer.