Yankees: Of course Josh Donaldson punked Aroldis Chapman to ruin finale

When will Yankees manager Aaron Boone realize that Aroldis Chapman works better when he pitches more, not less?

Guaranteed, you will never see the closer look less effective than he did on Thursday night against the Minnesota Twins, giving opposing fans all across the country a chance to point and laugh after the Bombers almost did everything right for 27 straight innings in a single series.

26 isn’t going to cut it, though.

We hate to bring it up, but…with three outs away from a much-needed sweep ahead of an off day, every single bullpen pitcher did their job, from Jonathan Loaisiga to Wandy Peralta to Chad Green.

In much the same scenario as the Jose Altuve “Happy Birthday!” home run a few dreaded weeks back, the Yankees went almost an entire series shutting up their chief antagonist…before that person basically won the final game all by themselves.

Chapman threw nine pitches, they either went 96 or 83, and two of them absolutely left the yard.

The game-tying blast came off the bat of Josh Donaldson, who started the whole Gerrit Cole kerfuffle in the first place and — like we said — was one out away, basically, from leaving with his tail between his legs. The Yankees never get the last word against their antagonists and it’s frustrating as hell.

Yankees: Aroldis Chapman’s blown save against Josh Donaldson was awful.

Come ON. Nine pitches. Most dominant season of Aroldis Chapman’s career, and both his numbers and the Yankees’ recent win streak have clattered to the ground in an instant.

Was this a “must-win”? We guess not. The Bombers had already taken the series, and they seem to view potential sweep opportunities like gum on their shoe. But once you take it to the ninth, and once Donaldson is the one in your way, you HAVE to finish that game off.

From the first pitch to Jorge Polanco, a slider to nowhere, you knew this was coming, though. Much like in the Aaron Hicks Catch Game back in 2019, Chapman toed the rubber in Minny with less than nothing, and no amount of lather on his arms could have possibly saved him.

And, of course, in the postgame presser, Aaron Boone was asked whether Chapman had recently shelved some sticky stuff, which was why he looked so off. You know what? Valid question! He looked dreadful!

Altuve and Donaldson now get to yuk it up, share a laugh, and invite Marwin Gonzalez into their private club. This team’s season might feel right at certain points, but rest assured, it’s still very broken.

When your list of enemies is this long — add Austin Meadows and the entire Rays roster, too — you’re not doing it right.

Yankees: 3 reasons to officially be worried about NYY

After watching the horrendous play by the Yanks against the Tigers, Rays, and Red Sox, it is now clear that the Yankees are in deep trouble.