Bryce Elder pitched seven innings to lead a one-hitter, and the Braves blanked the reeling New York Yankees, 5-0, on Tuesday night in Atlanta.
The last-place Yankees, at 60-60, are now .500 for the first time since May 1 when they were 15-15. They have never been under .500 this season.
But the numbers get worse for New York. The Yankees, in fact, are at .500 this late in the season for the first time since 1995. «We're not showing up,» Yankees slugger Aaron Judge said. «That's what it comes down to, we're not showing up when we need to.
Especially down the stretch right now, and we've gotten every opportunity to keep ourselves in the race. But we're not capitalizing on what we need to.» The Braves have outscored the Yankees 16-3 over the first two games of the series, and have pushed New York's latest losing streak to four. «We need to take some personal pride,» manager Aaron Boone said.