TORONTO — Give the Yankees this: as their hot start turned cold over the past two weeks, almost all of them have had a hand in it.
Aside from Aaron Judge, the lineup has entered a collective slump, some worse than others.
The bullpen has been in disarray.
A few key injuries have hurt both the lineup and pitching staff.
But there might not be a more critical element of their skid than the rotation’s sudden spiral.
The Yankees — who snapped their four-game skid with a 16-5 blowout win over the Blue Jays on Friday night — woke up on June 15 with the lowest starters’ ERA in the majors at 2.77 across 72 games, all of which they had done without Gerrit Cole.
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And the reigning AL Cy Young winner’s return was just days away, a scary thought for opponents as the rotation was primed to get even better.
Instead, the following 11 games before Friday’s win were one big collective struggle, during which Yankees starters combined to post an 8.65 ERA — the highest in the majors during that stretch.