Why Yankees still aren’t ready to pull plug on rotation disaster Sonny Gray

Struggling right-hander Sonny Gray was tagged for five runs in two innings on Friday night in a 6-2 Yankees’ loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

TORONTO — Yankees manager Aaron Boone sat through yet another Sonny Gray meltdown Friday night at Rogers Centre that was as bad as last Saturday’s against the Red Sox.

This time, Boone had enough after two innings.

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By then, the Blue Jays were leading 5-0  and on their way to a 6-2 win that wasn’t a blowout only because Yankees mop-up man David Hale replaced Gray and then allowed just an eighth-inning run over 5 2/3 innings of tremendous long relief.

Considering everything – Gray’s terrible first half, Hale’s outing, the Red Sox winning to go two games up in the AL East with the All-Star break approaching – it seems like a no-brainer for Boone to say enough’s enough.

You’d think by now that the Yankees, at the very least, would remove Gray, his 5-7 record and 5.85 ERA from the rotation and go with Hale next Wednesday in Baltimore when the rotation turn comes up again.

Other options include calling up Jonathan Loaisiga or Luis Cessa … or why wait until July 31 to pull the trigger on a rotation upgrade that everyone and their mother know is coming?

But noooooooooo!

Stunningly, manager Aaron Boone practically shot down the notion that the Yankees will consider replacing Gray in the rotation even for the short term during his post-game presser.

“I don’t think so,” Boone said. “No. No. I don’t think we would do that before the All-Star break.”

Why not think about giving Hale a start?

“Hale picked us up big-time,” Boone answered. “He saves our ‘pen and frankly kept us in it enough to where we had some traffic out there to really make a game out of it. It was a really nice job by him, but I don’t think we’re considering that right now.”

Why?

Why go back to Gray, who hasn’t made it through five innings seven times in 17 starts?

Boone was reminded that every Gray loss could lead to the Yankees playing in a do-or-die Wild Card playoff game again instead of starting the postseason with a best-of-five Division Series as AL East champs.

“Part of it is we feel like he’s our best option,” Boone said. “That’s certainly part of it.”

No better option?

Bet a lot of Yankees fans will agree to disagree with that eye-popping statement.

The other part of the Yankees’ rational to give Gray more chances is management and the coaching staff somehow still think the righty can be really good even though the one-time All-Star has a 9-14 record and 4.98 ERA in 28 starts since being traded from Oakland to New York last July 31.

“I am concerned, but we also believe in the stuff, and as best we can we have to try to help him right the ship a little bit because even (Friday night) the stuff’s there,” Boone said. “Sometimes you want it so bad and you’re trying so hard to make the perfect pitch that you get yourself in trouble and they were able to take advantage of mistakes.

“I think he can right (the ship) in the rotation. He’s got another one coming up in Baltimore. I do feel like it’s one of those things that can click for him. One good start can lead to another and it can start to snowball like we’ve seen at times this year. But we’ve got to help him get there in every way.”

What can pitching coach Larry Rothschild try this week that wasn’t tried last week and last month … and so on?

“I think Larry and everyone in-between starts can get him into that good place,” Boone said. “With the risk of being over simple here, it’s executing a pitch early and doing what you want. You’re putting the ball where you want, then it can kind of snowballs a little bit.”

It snowballed in the second inning Friday night when the Blue Jays scored five times to go up 5-0, the killer a rally-capping, three-run homer by Justin Smoak on a down-the-middle hanging slider. After two innings, he was pulled having allowed five runs on six hits, two walks, two wild pitches and a hit batter.

It was ugly.

Last Saturday it snowballed in the first two innings when Boston scored six runs on Gray, who lasted just 2 1/3 in an 11-0 Yankees loss.

That also was ugly.

Boone was asked what he’s seeing that’s encouraging from Gray, who retired just six of 15 Blue Jays in a 62-pitch outing in which he threw just 34 strikes.

“Enough,” the manager responded. “The way the ball’s coming out. First of all, this is a guy with a track record of success. He’s 28 years old. And when you watch him throw, you see that guy. Even in these outings where he struggles, he flashes that guy.

“This is not an injured pitcher or a guy that’s past his prime that’s trying to find it. This is a guy that’s just kind of struggling that’s really talented, and that’s why I think we’re so renascent to try and help him get it right. We believe it can happen here because we are seeing it come out similar to when he’s been really successful.”

Yet the results, for the most part, are shoddy and the season is more than half over. So despite this continued vote of confidence, Gray surely needs to get better very soon and stay better.

Right?

“Sure,” Boone said. “Absolutely. “These are things we consider, but we also feel like it’s on all of us to help him get it right.”

Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.