Schadenfreude 230 (A Continuing Series)

Dan Martin, Post:

Instead of taking advantage of a downtrodden team that sold off most of its remaining assets at the trade deadline, the Yankees instead looked lost in an ugly 7-5 defeat to the Orioles [on Wednesday] ...

This one featured another atrocious clunker from Sonny Gray, some shoddy infield play and a lineup that was shut down by Alex Cobb, perhaps the worst pitcher in the majors. ...

Trying to win a fourth straight for the first time since June 18-21, the Yankees instead watched Gray get booed off the mound in the third inning.

Gray's outing ... proved again that any thoughts of the right-hander being consistently reliable should be put aside. ...

[Lance] Lynn, who was an option to start against the Red Sox Saturday if J.A. Happ is unable to recover from hand, foot and mouth disease in time, won't be available [after pitching 4.1 innings out of the bullpen] and the Yankees might have to turn to Luis Cessa.

Kevin Kernan, Post:

Smilin' Sonny Gray showed the Yankees once again why he cannot be trusted in a big game or even a small game. Here is the Yankees forecast: Not so Sonny. ...

A year ago the Yankees acquired Gray at the trade deadline thinking he could step up to the challenge of being a force in the Yankees rotation. So much for that.

Gray has failed miserably, and Wednesday was another extension of his losing ways as he surrendered seven runs over 2.2 innings to the minor league Orioles in an embarrassing 7-5 loss ...

[Gray] was hammered by fans for how he walked off the mound smiling in the third inning. ... 47,206 fans cheered Boone for coming to get Gray and then unloaded on Gray as he walked off the mound. ...

"That's kind of how I handle situations. How I tell myself to move on and not let it get to you."

It got to the fans.

Bottom line, being a Yankee is not working out for Gray as he is becoming a modern-day Ed Whitson. ...

Newly acquired [Lance] Lynn was asked how he would describe his personality on the mound and Lynn, who did not allow a run over 4.1 innings, said: "Not very nice. I'm in attack mode all the time. ..."

That style fits New York. ...

Some guys can pitch in New York. Some can't. Gray can't.

Eric Barrow, Daily News:

This is no laughing matter, Sonny

Sonny Gray was chased in the third inning by the team with the worst record in the majors, and the struggling starter was caught smiling when he walked off the mound as boos rained down ...

The loss puts Gray's tenuous hold on his spot in the rotation in serious jeopardy. ...

On an afternoon that began with a partly sunny sky, Gray left under dark clouds just before a 39-minute rain delay. ... [H]is ERA [rose] to 5.56. ...

[In the second inning] Giancarlo Stanton came to the plate as the tying run. But [Alex] Cobb struck out Stanton, leaving the Yankees 0 for 15 with four sacrifice flies in their last 19 plate appearances with the bases full.

Mollie Walker, Post:

When sudden rain showers put the brakes on the Orioles stacking runs in the Bronx, Yankees third base coach Phil Nevin seemed to have some choice words about the team's uncharacteristic performance Wednesday. [Twitter]

Just three innings in, Baltimore led 7-1 on eight hits and two walks off Sonny Gray. As the Yankees flooded into the dugout to escape the rain, Nevin unleashed his frustrations.

Fred Kerber, Post:

Third-base coach Phil Nevin had watched the Yankees fall far behind the Orioles on Wednesday afternoon with pitching and defense as crisp as a wet piece of uncooked pasta.

Sonny Gray's pitching, in what became a 7-5 loss, was awful. Gleyber Torres' handling of second base was nearly as bad and the Orioles, who are on pace to win their 100th game sometime in 2021, led 7-1 in the third inning. So Nevin spoke up in the dugout. Loudly. Forcefully. ...

In Baltimore's five-run second inning, the Yankees anticipated a bunt from Caleb Joseph who, not shockingly, bunted. Third baseman Miguel Andujar fielded the ball. But Torres was slow getting over to cover first. Joseph had an infield hit, loading the bases. ...

With runners on first and third and two out [in the third], switch-hitter Breyvic Valera, batting lefty, hit a shot to Didi Gregorius at short. With a shift on, Torres was well off the bag, but didn't break. Gregorius looked to second, then threw to first. Too late. A run scored.

Dan Martin, Post:

Sonny Gray's rotten Wednesday extended off the field when he was left to defend himself against anonymous Twitter trolls.

The right-hander became the latest high-profile person to have to answer for questionable comments on Twitter from their past, as a tweet surfaced during Wednesday's game from six years ago in which Gray responded to an unseen message to Sir_Peanut with "1. You didn't go to college. 2. You are black. #followdaleaderleaderleader clap clap clap." ...

Gray defended himself and said Sir_Peanut was a close friend, former minor league teammate Rashun Dixon, who also played in the A's organization.

Gray said it was an inside joke between the two, calling the controversy "ridiculous."

"I'm comfortable with who I am," Gray said. "You can ask anyone in this clubhouse who I am and what I'm about. ... If people are trying to dig stuff up, then ask [Dixon]. ... I'm not scared of my past."

Kristie Ackert, Daily News:

Recently acquired Yankees starter J.A. Happ has contracted hand, foot and mouth disease — also known as coxsackie — Brian Cashman told reporters Tuesday ... The lefthander will "probably" be able to start in Boston.

Cashman said he does not know how Happ ... contracted the disease. The Yankees were bringing in extra hand sanitizer to try and prevent it from spreading through the clubhouse.