New York Yankees hoping to end forgettable April with life in bats
If George Steinbrenner was still alive, New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi would probably be fielding a lot of questions about his job security these days.
Not that Girardi’s job should be in jeopardy, but Steinbrenner, the late Yankees owner, was never shy about making a change in leadership in the dugout when his team was faltering and right now the Yankees simply aren’t very good.They are in last place in the American League East Division and searching for answers on the mound and at the plate. 
[David Ortiz delivers on promise to sick child with home run]
Only Tampa Bay has scored fewer runs in the major leagues so far this season than the 74 the Yankees have pushed across. The Yankees will try to end a three-game skid tonight at Fenway Park against the old rival Red Sox at 7:10 p.m. ET, right here on Yahoo Sports as our MLB Free Game of the Day. You can stream the game at Yahoo’s Sports Home, MLB index and video home.
The Yankees played in the American League Wild Card game last season, but they’re so far looking like they will have a tough time getting back to the postseason in 2016. They are hitting .236 as a team and only the Atlanta Braves have fewer extra-base hits to this point in the season than the 46 the Yankees have produced.
Alex Rodriguez hit his fourth home run of the season Friday in a loss to Boston, but he has come crashing back to earth so far in 2016 after appearing to be an ageless wonder last season. He’s hitting .194, though there have been some signs of life over the past seven games in which he is hitting .261 with only five strikeouts in that span.
[A-Rod gives home run bat to young Red Sox fan who lost his father]
Carlos Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, Mark Teixeira, Didi Gregorius and Chase Headley are all hitting .250 or below in addition to A-Rod’s struggles.
Michael Pineda will make his fifth start of the season in this one for New York hoping to cool off Red Sox bats. Boston is hitting .277 as a team, second only in MLB to Pittsburgh. The Red Sox lead the major leagues with 64 doubles and are sixth with 118 runs scored.
It figures to be a challenge for Pineda to keep his team in this one considering New York’s offensive struggles and Pineda’s 6.95 ERA through 22 innings this season.
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Kyle Ringo is a contributing writer to Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo
