Around the Empire: Yankees news - 6/28/21

New York Times | Tyler Kepner: For the fourth time in the last five weekends, the Yankees ended the weekend by losing a series. Their struggles have been most evident in these weekend series, which now includes two sweeps by the Red Sox, two others courtesy of the Tigers and Phillies, and actually winning two of three over the Athletics.

ESPN | Bradford Doolittle: The issues in this weekend’s series peaked on Sunday as Yankees’ ace Gerrit Cole had arguably his worst outing since coming to New York, allowing five earned runs to the Red Sox. Considering the last month and the foreign substances spotlight that’s shone particularly on him, it’s understandable that some concern has arisen around him.

New York Times | Dan Martin: A bit of a situation arose last week during the Yankees’ series with the Royals. Aaron Boone elected to intentionally walk Kansas City’s Carlos Santana, despite apparently deciding not to after having a conversation with closer Aroldis Chapman on the mound just before then. Chapman then walked the next batter with the bases loaded, blowing the save. The Yankees eventually rallied to win, but Chapman was visibly frustrated after the inning in the dugout. Despite the disagreement both Boone and Chapman say everything is good between them.

Insider | Jackson Thompson: CC Sabathia has dealt with alcohol addiction issues during his life, and now he is looking to help others also going through them. Sabathia is part of a group launching “My Relationship With Alcohol,” an alcohol dependency program to help people try and get sober. You can read out interview with CC about the campaign here.