David Cone calls into ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ after ESPN absence

David Cone calls into ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ after ESPN absence

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It was mostly a night off for David Cone.

Cone revealed Sunday he wouldn’t be on the air for the Yankees-Red Sox “Sunday Night Baseball Game” on ESPN, saying he was “under the weather” in a post on X.

“Unfortunately, I’m under the weather and won’t be able to join Karl (Ravech), Eduardo (Perez) and Buster (Olney) in the booth tonight. I will be watching and commenting on here during the game. I hope to be back soon,” the former Yankees pitcher wrote. 

David Cone called into the “Sunday Night Baseball” broadcast Sunday night. AP

Cone could not stay completely away as he called in for an inning of analysis, despite sketchy reception on his phone.

“David Cone has COVID, which is why he isn’t in the booth with Karl Ravech and Eduardo Perez tonight. He is on by phone this inning. The ESPN Sunday night trio is excellent,” MLB.com reporter Ian Browne wrote on X.

Cone did not miss much from the Yankees end in a 3-0 loss to the rival Red Sox as their disappointing play continued.

“Sunday Night Baseball” is off next week with the MLB All-Star Game on the horizon. 

Major League Baseball opts to keep the night open to allow for travel to the festivities, which are taking place this year in Arlington, Texas, from July 12-16. 

The weekly Sunday night national broadcast will return the following week when the Red Sox travel to Hollywood to face the Dodgers at Dodgers Stadium. 

Cone joined the Sunday Night Baseball booth in 2022 and serves as an analyst on Yankees broadcasts on YES Network and hosted a podcast called “Toeing the Slab with David Cone.” 

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Yankees should be fine with wild card in new MLB playoffs format

Yankees should be fine with wild card in new MLB playoffs format

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There is panic. There is over-the-top worrying. There is fear that an extremely poor month of baseball means the Yankees are a bad team.

After following Saturday’s rout of the Red Sox with a quick-work 3-0 loss in Sunday night’s rubber game, the Yankees have lost 15 of 20 games and are 10-18 dating back to June 6. They aren’t hitting (four hits on Sunday) or pitching (another two homers allowed to Rafael Devers) or fielding particularly well. A 50-22 record has become 55-37.

Suddenly, they are looking up at the Orioles, three games back in the AL East, which has Yankees fans collectively freaking out.

In the long run, though, this past month isn’t important, as long as it doesn’t continue.

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Ben Rice’s unexpected magic can’t fix all of the Yankees’ glaring issues

Ben Rice’s unexpected magic can’t fix all of the Yankees’ glaring issues

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Young Ben Rice is a nice story whether it’s a one-day story or he keeps his unexpected magic going. That the Yankees even discovered the Boston kid and Dartmouth alum was the first miracle. How many more are coming?

Yankees scouts worked overtime, staffing pickup games and practices in Northborough, Duxbury, Needham, Scituate and other Hub suburbs where Rice and aspiring Ivy League hopefuls played while the academic-first conference went on a two-year COVID break. The Yankees liked what they saw so they turned him into a 12th-round draft flyer that looks brilliant today.

Rice isn’t just a big plus because he may be that third, necessary threat in the two-superstar Yankees lineup or because he made himself the answer to a trivia question on Saturday by becoming the first Yankees rookie to have a three-homer game. He brings energy and youthful enthusiasm to a very veteran clubhouse that’s been missing that.

Ben Rice homered three times for the Yankees during their win Saturday. Charles Wenzelberg

Rice’s huge game against the team he grew up rooting against — really, he was a Yankees fan growing up in tony Cohasset, Mass. — represented a beautiful diversion from a dismal trend. But even manager Aaron Boone wasn’t necessarily buying a carryover effect.

“I think the focus switches to today,” Boone said, honestly, before the Yankees hoped to defy their recent downturn by beating their rival Red Sox on Sunday night on national TV and logging their first winning series in nearly a month.

Rice, mature beyond his 25 years, sees it the same.

“Yesterday was obviously a thrill. I’ll never forget it. But right back at it. Best thing about baseball is there’s a game the next day,” Rice told The Post.

Rice is a lovely tale, but the Yankees still have to prove they can get back to playing the way they did the first 70 glorious games. Three areas of concern remain.

1. The Rotation

Boone expressed faith, saying, “I feel like we have the people.” But the Yankees were checking on the starting market even when things were going superbly.

The rotation, the best in baseball the first 70 games, posted an MLB-worst 7.37 ERA (and overall MLB-worst full-staff 6.36 ERA) over their 5-14 slide. If anything, one would think the return of reigning Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole would make them better. But everyone else regressed.

Marcus Stroman’s ERA has jumped from 2.60 to 3.58. Charles Wenzelberg

Marcus Stroman has seen his ERA rise from 2.60 to 3.58. Carlos Rodon has seen his ERA go from 2.93 to 4.45. And Luis Gil, Sunday night’s starter, has seen the biggest jump of all. He had gone from 1.82 to 3.41 entering play.

Boone praised the talent, which is terrific, but conceded Gil is “a work in progress.”

The way it’s been going, it’s more like regress.

2. The Bullpen

The Yankees’ bullpen that’s been a revolving door at times has been taking their hits for not having enough “swing and miss” guys, and the numbers suggest there may be something to that. While their overall ERA of 3.63 places them eighth of 30 teams, they rank 18th with 8.62 strikeouts per nine innings.

Setup man Luke Weaver has generally been a revelation. But the Friday defeat to the Red Sox, where closer (and surprise All-Star selection) Clay Holmes gave up a game-tying homer a strike short of a win and Tommy Kahnle surrendered the game-winning homer an inning later illustrated why the Yankees have been working hardest to bolster their bullpen.

Clay Holmes blew a save Friday during the Yankees’ loss to the Red Sox. Robert Sabo for the NY Post

Fortunately, even in a deep sellers market overall, there should be some decent relievers out there. Even if they can’t get All-Star closers Tanner Scott or Mason Miller, several other bullpen pieces should hit the market.

3. The lineup

Boone may have solved the leadoff issue by inserting the meteor of the moment Rice into that spot, but the order still looks very top-heavy with him followed by two MVP candidates — Juan Soto and the great Aaron Judge — the six guys with an OPS plus below 100.

Based on early returns, Rice may actually be more suited to cleanup than leadoff but Boone said he likes Alex Verdugo’s “presence” there, and expressed faith in the ex-Red Sox player, suggesting he simply went through a “two to three week” stretch where he “struggled a little bit.”

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They are missing Giancarlo Stanton at least as much as predicted. Boone praised some recent at-bats by Anthony Volpe, but he’s looked like 2023 Volpe lately.

Gleyber Torres, who was out of the starting lineup a second straight game with a tight groin, generally has appeared tight in this his platform year. And two-time batting champion DJ LeMahieu isn’t a threat lately (.497 OPS). He continues to play, but one wonders how much longer.

Boone couldn’t dispute the struggles of the bottom two-thirds of the batting order. “Hopefully,” Boone said, “we get other guys going.”

The Yankees have acted like they didn’t need to consider infielders on the trade market, but from here, they have little choice. The new kid provided surprising and quick satisfaction — minute Rice, if you will — but we will need to see more from many others to know they are out of their funk.

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Yankees’ Clay Holmes joins Aaron Judge, Juan Soto at All-Star Game

Yankees’ Clay Holmes joins Aaron Judge, Juan Soto at All-Star Game

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Clay Holmes hasn’t pitched much like an All-Star the past few weeks, but he’s slated to join fellow Yankees Aaron Judge and Juan Soto at the Midsummer Classic next week in Texas.

The closer was named to the team Sunday despite a rough patch since June 13.

Clay Holmes has collected 19 saves for the Yankees entering Sunday’s game. Charles Wenzelberg

Clay Holmes also made the All-Star Game in 2022. Charles Wenzelberg

Over his last seven appearances, the right-hander has allowed 11 hits, eight earned runs and a pair of homers in 6 ²/₃ innings.

He’s also blown a pair of saves in that stretch.

Prior to the recent downturn, though, Holmes was excellent.

In his first 30 appearances this season, Holmes was largely dominant, giving up just four earned runs and 28 hits in 29 ¹/₃ innings.

Holmes’ struggles may be tied to a lack of save chances thanks to the Yankees’ brutal slump.

Since June 13, the Yankees entered Sunday having lost 15 of their previous 21 games — and Holmes has played a role in their troubles — especially when he blew a save against Boston on Friday, when they were one out away from a much-needed victory.

Holmes, 31, was also an All-Star in 2022.

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Ben Rice has all the tools to be more than Yankees flash in the pan

Ben Rice has all the tools to be more than Yankees flash in the pan

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At the least, Ben Rice is going to step into a lineage with Kevin Maas, Shane Spencer and Shelley Duncan — Yankees prospects who arrived like meteors and never came close again to matching initial power-laden outbursts. 

If that is all there is, then Rice will have played an important role for the 2024 Yankees, providing perhaps the best feel-good moment of this season and certainly the one that removed the most stress from a team that was teetering. 

But his on-balance approach and a smooth easy swing with surprising heft creates a chance to envision a lot more than just instant Rice. He has taken basically one good at-bat after another since his June 18 debut. And on Saturday, with the Yankees coming off their most disheartening loss of this season, playing their worst sustained ball in many years and all kinds of ugly questions about focus and hustle percolating, Rice for at least one day replaced anxiety with exultation. From his first at-bat to his last, Rice flipped the subject (at least for a day) from an MLB-worst 4-14 run to a 14-4 rout of the Red Sox. 

Ben Rice made history with his three home runs on Saturday. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Rice became the first Yankees rookie with a three-homer game. He became the first Yankees rookie since July 23, 1925, to drive in seven runs. That was an Ivy League (Columbia) product named Lou Gehrig, who in April of that season stepped into first base after the veteran lefty-swinger Wally Pipp came down with a headache and never got the job back. Rice is an Ivy League (Dartmouth) product who stepped in at first base after the veteran lefty-swinger Anthony Rizzo was lost after suffering a fracture near his right wrist June 16. 

Now perspective check. When Maas was setting records for fewest at-bats to reach various homer totals in his 1990 rookie campaign while filling in for the injured Don Mattingly, the Yankees began to do the gymnastics of how both might coexist in the future. So there is a long way from here to there. Rizzo holds an important leadership position within the Yankee ecosystem. 

But Rizzo had not been hitting well and the earliest he can return from the 60-day IL is Aug. 16. So Rice is going to get plenty of opportunities to show he is a true 2024 answer — and beyond. Because an inexpensive high-end lefty bat that provides on-base skills and power would allow the Yankees to more aggressively spend elsewhere (fill in here whatever you imagine the price for Hal Steinbrenner to retain Juan Soto). 

Ben Rice helped lead the Yankees in a laugher over the Red Sox. Robert Sabo for NY Post

That is all down the road. In the present, the Yankees entered struggling in every phase and coming off a 5-3, 10-inning loss Friday to Boston in which they were one strike from winning and lost amid a lack of attention to detail and absent energy. 

The hope was that their ace, Gerrit Cole, could begin reversing this tide. But the Red Sox did for four-plus innings against Cole what they had done in the ninth inning Friday in forcing a blown save on Clay Holmes — extending at-bats, soaring the pitch count and capitalizing on mistakes. Thus, the Yankees were going to need a hero from the opposite side of seniority and pay scale. 

Kevin Maas takes a swing for the Yankees in 1992. Diamond Images/Getty Images

Rice, in his 17th game and third as the leadoff hitter, homered to open the first and then hit 406-foot three-run homers off Chase Anderson in the fifth and seventh innings — the first to break the game open and then to culminate what Aaron Boone labeled “a legendary day.” At that point from the on-deck circle, Aaron Judge urged both the fans to grow louder and Rice to come out of the dugout as Soto stepped out of the batters box. And Rice, still on a high, was confused at first before he found the dugout opening to bring a huge standing ovation and the happiest moment the Yanks have had in weeks. 

“Obviously, we’re going through it and so we’re looking for any kind of success, really,” Cole said, “I think it’s a little bit greater than that. It’s a historical day, a magical day.” 

Rice grew up a Yankee fan in suburban Boston and says his expectation was the Yankees or Red Sox were going to draft him in 2021 — the Yanks did a superb job in knowing a player who did not play college ball in 2020-21 as those Ivy seasons were scratched due to COVID. 

Ben Rice rounds the bases on his first homer of the day on Saturday. Robert Sabo for NY Post

His bat has been his calling card up the minor league ranks, and just watching the first 60 plate appearances of his MLB career, Rice is hardly ever off-balance and fooled. He has acumen for what is a strike or not. Boone uses the term “slow heartbeat.” The game does not seem too fast for him. The magnitude of the Yankees and large crowds and major league pitching does not seem to faze him. Nor has the losing that has so far enveloped his Yankee term. 

And when the Yankees needed a hero Saturday to try to fight back against the mounting negativity, Rice delivered three huge blows. At the least, he joins Maas, Spencer and Duncan. But that swing, that approach and that serenity in the storm, it does make you wonder if this can be way more than where flash meets pan.

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Michael Kay calls Yankees July 4th national anthem standoff ‘childish’

Michael Kay calls Yankees July 4th national anthem standoff ‘childish’

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Michael Kay is over the antics.

The long-time Yankees play-by-play announcer on YES Network expressed his disdain with the team partaking in a July 4 staredown with the Reds during his eponymous radio show on Friday.

Yankees pitchers Cody Poteet and Ian Hamilton engaged in a pre-game national anthem standoff with Reds pitchers Graham Ashcraft and Carson Spiers before the Independence Day showdown, delaying the game and turning into a viral sensation.

An umpire speaks with a pair of Yankees pitchers Cody Poteet and Ian Hamiltonas they and a pair of Reds pitchers Graham Ashcraft and Carson Spiers, were locked in a national anthem standoff. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Kay said the pitchers’ standoff with Cincinnati “cheapened the organization.”

“What are we, infants? This is the New York Yankees,” Kay said on his ESPN radio program, as covered by Awful Announcing. “The New York Yankees don’t play games like that. That’s silly, that’s stupid, it’s childish, it’s infantile. Let other ridiculous teams do that. Why would the Yankees do that? It’s dumb.”

An umpire speaks with a pair of Reds pitchers Graham Ashcraft and Carson Spiers. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

While Yankees starter Marcus Stroman warmed up, all four players remained on the field as home plate umpire Alan Porter gestured for both sides to exit the field. 

Third-base umpire Jim Wolf also asked both parties to move with no success.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone eventually asked his players to “get off” the field.

With the Yankees struggling since June, Kay was not happy with how things played out.

Michael Kay called out the standoff. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

“It makes the Yankees look small. They’re doing a stare-off like they’re in Williamsport? Like it’s the Little League World Series?” Kay continued. “The New York Yankees, you’re wearing pinstripes, baby. You don’t do stuff like that. And you’ve been losing and playing poorly, and this is what you resort to? Come on, guys, you’re better than that.”

The Reds then beat the Yankees in an 8-4 victory to complete a three-game sweep over the Bronx Bombers.

After losing five of six games going into Saturday, the Yankees finally got back into the win column with a 14-4 victory over the Red Sox.

 

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Yankees suffer latest gut-punch loss in extra defeat to Red Sox

Yankees suffer latest gut-punch loss in extra defeat to Red Sox

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It can always get worse. 

One strike away from securing a much-needed win, the Yankees instead sank further into a losing streak in crushing fashion. 

After Clay Holmes blew a two-run lead with two outs in the top of the ninth inning, Tommy Kahnle gave up a two-run homer in the top of the 10th that dealt the Yankees their fourth straight loss, 5-3 to the Red Sox on Friday night in The Bronx. 

On a muggy night at the Stadium that was interrupted by rain, the Yankees (54-36) were on the verge of winning ugly.

Tommy Kahnle reacts on the mound as Boston Red Sox shortstop Ceddanne Rafaela rounds the bases on his two-run homer. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

They had committed two errors in the field, one costly blunder on the base paths and only had five hits, all of them singles, entering the ninth inning.

And it was still nearly enough before the Red Sox (48-39) came alive late to send the Yankees to a 14th loss in their last 18 games. 

“We gotta play better than that, no question,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We certainly understand that and invest a lot in that. We got to play clean baseball, especially when it’s hard and things are hard to come by. We gotta be better, period.” 

Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham can’t field Boston Red Sox shortstop Ceddanne Rafaela #43 two-run homer. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Holmes got two outs in the ninth before ex-Met Dominic Smith prolonged the game with a pinch-hit single.

That brought up Masataka Yoshida, who battled for an eight-pitch at-bat that ended in a game-tying, two-run homer to right that silenced the sellout crowd of 47,158. 

Ceddanne Rafaela then crushed a two-run homer off Kahnle to lead off the top of the 10th inning. 

The Yankees had the heart of their order come up in the bottom of the 10th against Kenley Jansen.

Juan Soto led off with a single to put runners on the corners before Jansen got Aaron Judge and Alex Verdugo to pop out on two pitches and Oswaldo Cabrera grounded out to end it. 

Yankees relief pitcher Clay Holmes reacts after Boston Red Sox DH Masataka Yoshida hits a two-run homer to tie the game during the 9th inning. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Boston Red Sox DH Masataka Yoshida is greeted by Boston Red Sox first baseman Dominic Smith. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

“Brutal,” Anthony Volpe, who was part of the baserunning blunder in the third inning, said of the last three weeks. “We play to win and we expect to win. Regardless of when we’re on winning streaks or when it’s like this, I think we have a really good clubhouse [that’s] staying even-keeled, showing up every day. We trust each other, we trust ourselves and we know we got everything ahead of us. 

“That said, we play to win. We expect to win, we’re the Yankees. But no one is too discouraged.” 

It was only three weeks ago that the Yankees played the Red Sox in Boston and won the series opener to extend their record to an MLB-best 50-22.

Red Sox shortstop Ceddanne Rafaela reacts as he scores on his two-run homer giving the Red Sox the lead during the 10th inning. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Since then, they have melted into a 4-14 skid, with their play generating more concerns by the day. 

On Friday, that included a mistake on the base paths by Volpe and DJ LeMahieu in the third inning.

Yankees starting pitcher Nestor Cortes #65 reacts after striking out the side ending the 6th inning. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

With runners on the corners and one out, Ben Rice hit a sharp ground ball to first base, with Romy Gonzalez fielding it, stepping on first and throwing to second for the double play.

But LeMahieu did not get into a rundown between first and second, and Volpe was not running home with much urgency — he thought the ball was foul, he said — allowing Rafaela to tag LeMahieu just before Volpe touched home to end the inning. 

Still, the Yankees were able to take a 3-0 lead off Tanner Houck in the fourth inning.

Yankees center fielder Trent Grisham #12 reacts after he strikes out looking during the 9th inning. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Red Sox center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela (43) attempts to tag New York Yankees third baseman DJ LeMahieu (26) at second base during the third inning at Yankee Stadium. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con

The Red Sox right-hander lost his command after a 38-minute rain delay in the middle of the third inning, allowing the Yankees to load the bases and score on an error, walk and groundout. 

It looked like it might be enough to get by because Nestor Cortes was strong across six innings of one-run ball and Luke Weaver followed with two scoreless frames, including escaping a jam caused by two errors in the eighth. 

And then with two outs and two strikes in the ninth, a rough three weeks became even more miserable, opening the door for a devastating loss. 

“There’s no denying it — it’s not like people are ignoring it,” Holmes said. “You know where we’re at. I think people do feel it and you want to be the guy that helps the team win that night. It’s just a matter of refocusing, knowing where we’re at and making sure we’re doing our jobs.”

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Aaron Judge ‘not going to comment’ on coach’s Yankees critique

Aaron Judge ‘not going to comment’ on coach’s Yankees critique

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Aaron Judge and Aaron Boone fouled off a fastball directed at the Yankees — a fastball thrown by Judge’s own hitting coach. 

Richard Schenck, an independent coach who has worked with Judge for years, took aim at the organization during its recent downturn, saying on social media Thursday that the “offensive player development is terrible.” 

The Yankees’ offense (and pitching) had struggled in dropping 13 of 17 games entering Friday’s series opener with the Red Sox in The Bronx, though the Yankees still began play 19 games over .500. 

Aaron Judge reacts after he strikes out swinging during the first inning on Thursday. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Critics will pounce upon a historic franchise with a sky-high payroll that is not performing, but rarely will those critics include a confidant of the team’s best player.

Judge claimed ignorance at what his personal coach had tweeted and then essentially shrugged. 

“I honestly really don’t care what’s said on Twitter,” Judge said. “It doesn’t involve me, to be honest. It’s somebody else making a comment. I’m not going to comment for somebody else.” 

Judge still works with Schenck, a Missouri-based coach, every two weeks, he said.

Schenck, known as “Teacherman,” began helping Judge with his swing during the 2016-17 offseason and has taken credit for the breakout of one of the game’s best hitters. 

Aaron Judge has worked with Richard Schenck the past few years. Photo Courtesy of Richard Schenck

The Yankees have surrounded Judge with Juan Soto and many hitters who have slumped recently. 

“They’ve lost 13 out of [17] while he’s hitting like an MVP,” Schenck wrote Thursday. “The Yankees offensive player development is terrible.” 

If he wanted to respond, Boone could have pointed at leadoff hitter Ben Rice, who has hit well since debuting, or defending the development of hitters such as Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells and Gleyber Torres. 

Instead, the Yankees manager chalked up the shot to one more in a barrage of them. 

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge rounds the bases on his solo home run in the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST

“That’s stuff that’s out of your control,” Boone said. “People are going to say things, and certainly everyone’s entitled to their opinion. Especially when you go through a tough stretch and you wear this uniform, I know people are going to take shots and things like that. 

“You can’t get all consumed with all that stuff. We got enough to worry about in making sure we’re buttoned up and putting our best foot forward every day.” 

— Additional reporting by Greg Joyce 

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How the epic Yankees-Reds anthem standoff went down

How the epic Yankees-Reds anthem standoff went down

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It was a game before the game, even if it was unscheduled.

A pair of pitchers from the Yankees engaged in a pre-game anthem standoff with a pair of Reds hurlers before their July 4 showdown, turning into a minutes-long viral sensation.

“It wasn’t even planned,” Cincinnati’s Graham Ashcraft, who stood side-by-side with Carson Spiers outside the dugout as Ian Hamilton and Cody Poteet did in front of the Bombers’ digs, told reporters.

Reds pitchers Graham Ashcraft and Carson Spiers along with a pair of Yankees pitchers Cody Poteet and Ian Hamilton, were locked in a national anthem standoff. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

“All of us we’re glancing over. We saw they weren’t moving. One of the guys told Carson to stay. I was like, ‘I’m staying with you because I’m not moving. I don’t have anything to do today.’ I’m staying until I win, get ejected or both.”

While umpires did tell them to move — players were warned to end their shenanigans before the first batter stepped in — the holiday spirit seemingly kept everyone from getting the boot.

Spiers was the first to call it quits, followed by Hamilton and Poteet at manager Aaron Boone’s request, leading Ashcraft victorious and pumping his fist.

“If you’re going to win, you’ve got to win — right?” Ashcraft said.

It was all fun and games before the real game, an 8-4 Reds win, went down.

“There wasn’t much thought to it,’’ Poteet said. “It wasn’t a normal anthem, since they had the color guard, so we were standing there a little extra anyway. We noticed they were still standing, so we wanted to see who could outlast each other. We took it all the way to the last bit, close to the game starting. Just a little fun.”

Yankees pitchers Cody Poteet and Ian Hamilton along with a pair of Reds pitchers Graham Ashcraft and Carson Spiers, were locked in a national anthem standoff. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

It wasn’t the first time MLB has seen its players engage in some extracurricular pre-game patriotism.

Pitchers Robbie Ray and Luke Weaver were ejected for their star down before a Mariners-Royals game in Kansas City in September 2022, which delayed the start of their game.

In 2019, Marlins hurler Sandy Alcantara pushed things as far as they could go with Tigers reliever Daniel Stumpf before their teams faced off.

Graham Ashcraft #51 of the Cincinnati Reds stands for the national anthem before the game against the New York Yankees. Getty Images

It’s all part of the fun and games ahead of the fun and games that count in the standings.

“It’s something that happens naturally, I guess,’’ Poteet said. “It’s a little competition within the game. It’s probably the first one I’ve been a part of.”

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Scuffling Yankees hear boos as Reds sweep three-game set

Scuffling Yankees hear boos as Reds sweep three-game set

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A day dedicated to booms gave way to significant boos in the ninth inning.

On an afternoon the Yankees allowed three home runs and were no-hit until there were two outs in the fourth inning, the loudest jeers were heard when the contest was just about over.

A many-hop single approached center fielder Trent Grisham, who waited for the slow roller to reach him, one-handed it and booted it.

Jeimer Candelario safely took second base because Grisham didn’t hustle.

On a July 4 when the Yankees didn’t hit or pitch well, that clinched the trifecta: Aaron Boone’s group is playing poorly in every way.

Yankees starting pitcher Marcus Stroman #0 reacts on the mound after giving up a three-run homer. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Their pitching let them down, with Marcus Stroman allowing three home runs in five innings and Tim Hill and Jake Cousins combining to allow three seventh-inning runs.

The Yankees’ offense was asleep until the fifth inning and awoke too late against Frankie Montas, of all people.

And the Yankees’ effort halted before the game did as the Reds finished off a sweep with an 8-4 win in front of 43,154 exasperated fans in The Bronx on Thursday.

“Not good,” Boone said after his club was swept for the first time in a three-game set this year and swept for the first time ever at home in a three-game interleague series. “We got to play better on all fronts.”

The Yankees (54-35) have lost 13 of 17 and haven’t won a series in three weeks, since taking three of four in Kansas City from June 10-13.

The list of problems is growing.

Their offense showed some signs of breaking out, but the unit could use a reliable leadoff hitter, cleanup hitter and bats 5-through-9.

In other words, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge need help.

Stroman was not terrible but was not good, either, making it nine straight games the Yankees have not had a starting pitcher complete the sixth inning.

An overworked and over-injured bullpen showed signs of being overworked and over-injured.

Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (99) gets tagged out at first base by Cincinnati Reds Spencer Steer (7) when he grounded to third base during the fifth inning. Robert Sabo for NY Post

“You got to get beat down a little bit to see what you’re made of,” said Judge, adopting a common refrain around the club: This adversity can help.

In attempting to energize a slumbering offense, Boone shook up the order by bumping Ben Rice to leadoff and dropping Anthony Volpe to sixth, a move that worked: Rice crushed his first major league home run in the fifth inning.

But that blast, which followed Austin Wells’ solo shot three batters earlier, made it 5-2 Cincinnati.

Reds starting pitcher Frankie Montas #47 throws a pitch during the 3rd inning. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Soto came through with a two-run dinger in the seventh that accounted for the final score in a game when arguably each Yankees run was scored in garbage time.

The Yankees were buried because they were no-hit by Montas, an oft-injured Yankee for a season and a half, until Alex Verdugo’s double in the fourth.

Against a Reds (42-45) club that entered the series in fourth in the NL Central, the Yankees scored 10 total runs in three losses.

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And the Yankees were buried because Stroman’s three mistakes were punished.

The righty lasted five innings in which he allowed five runs, all on three home runs.

First it was Nick Martini who jumped on a cutter in the second inning.

Next it was Jonathan India who hammered a down-the-middle sinker for a long homer into the left-field seats in the third.

Finally it was Spencer Steer who turned around a splitter and deposited it into the short porch in right for a three-run shot in the fifth inning that made it 5-0.

“A lot of our mistakes are ending up in the seats,” said Boone, whose staff allowed seven home runs to Reds hitters in the series.

Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (44) safe stealing second base and advancing to third base as New York Yankees second base Gleyber Torres (25) struggles to catch the throw. Robert Sabo for NY Post

“I don’t think this is something that will last,” said Stroman, whose ERA has risen from 2.82 to 3.58 in his past four starts. “The confidence in this group is very consistent. And I feel like we’re going to come out of this pretty soon.”

Asked for another heavy day of work, the bullpen buckled.

The Reds ran away in the top of the seventh, when they loaded the bases against Hill and Cousins and watched Jake Fraley clear the bases with a triple to the wall in right-center.

Reds pitchers Graham Ashcraft and Carson Spiers along with a pair of Yankees pitchers Cody Poteet and Ian Hamilton, were locked in a national anthem standoff before the start of the game. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

An umpire speaks with Yankees pitchers Cody Poteet and Ian Hamilton as they and Reds pitchers Graham Ashcraft and Carson Spiers, were locked in a national anthem standoff. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post

Boos were heard, but not to the decibel level registered on what seemed to be an ordinary single in the ninth.

“That’s what kind of defines a team, is how we respond out of this,” Judge said. “… We got everybody in this room who knows how to do that.”

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