It is a bona fide storyline. Crochet out, hurt. A pitching staff nonetheless more than holding its own. Undermined and failed by a lineup without punch or luck. A manager fired in a poorly handled out-of-town defenestration. The gang that couldn’t shoot straight, except for directly into its own foot.

Narratives once taken root are not destiny. There remains hope. Serendipity has a heartbeat.

“The Rays have swept the Yankees for the first time in eight years” Andy Freed said on WDAE.  “The first homestand at Tropicana Field in two years and it ends in a sweep.” 

“This guy has a no-no going into the seventh,” Sims said of Springs. 

The Yankees were scoreless and weak. 

“The outs aren’t even loud," Sims said of the run of strikeouts (eight), popups, and weak grounders. Aaron Judge went oh-for-four.