Yankees: Gary Sanchez injury puts finishing touches on feckless loss

At one point in the second game of the Yankees’ weekend series at Fenway Park against the Red Sox, the Bombers had runners at second and third with no outs and a run already home in the second inning.

An injury replacement for Eduardo Rodriguez was en route to the mound in the form of Phillips Valdez. The possibilities were endless.

Four batters and three strikeouts later, and the rally was extinguished, the game felt hopeless despite the lead, and a directionless Yankees team continued to teeter on the precipice of a pointless trade deadline deal.

Two losses down, two games to go. Anyone feeling optimistic?

Rumor had it the Yankees were poised to trade for Trevor Story pregame, but unfortunately, the team decided to take the field on Friday and show Story exactly what he’d be joining.

This game had everything — and by everything, we mean nothing — and the Yankees fell in Gerrit Cole’s start against Eduardo Rodriguez, the fourth time Boston won E-Rod’s start this season (and this time, he barely even pitched).

Oh, and to cap off the Rafael Devers power show, Gary Sanchez departed the game in the middle with back spasms, putting Rob Brantley back on the field ahead of two must-win games. What a time to be alive.

Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez is injured (back spasms).

Will Sanchez recover quickly? Who knows? There are two crucial games left in this series, and the Bombers seem poised to be without their All-Star-level catcher just at the time when they most desperately need him.

We’ve seen it all at Fenway over the years, but more often than anything, we’ve seen a blow save derail and entire series. 2016, the Red Sox ended the Yankees’ Wild Card chase with a four-game sweep propelled by a Hanley Ramirez walk-off. 2018, the Red Sox ended the Yankees’ resurgence with an awful four-game sweep, capped by a Miguel Andújar throwing error.

This year? If you’re optimistic for the final two games of this series, one of which will be started by Domingo German, we wish we could get on board with your overall vibe. Seems impossible. The second game was winnable. The first game was won.

Both were losses.

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