"Yankees' Kryptonite: Lefties Expose Lineup's Achilles' Heel in Playoff Push"

The Yankees might have valid reasons for struggling against a pitcher like Tarik Skubal, a Cy Young Award contender who held Aaron Boone’s squad to just three hits and one run (scored on a wild pitch) over six innings on Sunday.
With a .712 OPS against left-handers, the Yankees rank 13th-worst in baseball as of Monday. Out of 32 games started by lefties, they’ve managed to win only 13—a worrying trend as the stretch run approaches and potentially into the postseason. While Aaron Judge and Juan Soto have been consistent against lefties, the rest of the lineup has faltered.
DJ LeMahieu, who’s been getting starts against left-handers, has struggled mightily, posting a dismal .406 OPS with just one home run in 66 plate appearances. Left-handed hitter Alex Verdugo has also struggled (.606 OPS against southpaws) and has been increasingly benched against them, leading to the one-day call-up of switch-hitter Jasson Dominguez on Sunday (who went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts). Anthony Volpe hasn’t shown much power against lefties either, with a .636 OPS. The Yankees hoped Giancarlo Stanton’s return from the injured list would help, but he’s managed only a .663 OPS against lefties this season.
The Yankees are slated to face six left-handed starters in their next nine games, starting Tuesday with Matthew Boyd and the Guardians in The Bronx. On Sunday, the Yankees had some lengthy at-bats against Skubal—highlighted by Gleyber Torres’ eight-pitch battle to open the game, and lengthy plate appearances from Jose Trevino (10 pitches) and Volpe (eight pitches) in the second inning—and walked four times, but they failed to generate much offense against the All-Star.
“I thought we made him work hard,” Boone said after the Yankees’ 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Tigers in Williamsport, Pa. “He’s tough. We didn’t do a lot against him obviously. But I thought we made it challenging for him.”
The Yankees will face a tough three game series at home against the Guardians who are the second best team in the AL behind the Yankees, as both teams fight for the best record in the AL. The Yankees haven’t been aggressive at home as they are this year with a record of 32-27 at home this year, as they enter late August with lots of work to do to recover losing 2 out of 3 to the Detroit Tigers.