By Sunday 
A Tale of Two Skids in the City
For fans of New York baseball, the last week has been a tough pill to swallow. The Bronx Bombers and the Amazin’ Mets are both riding simultaneous losing streaks—and not the short kind. As of Wednesday night, both teams have dropped at least five straight games. That may not sound too shocking on its own, but here’s the kicker: this hasn’t happened since August 1996.
Yes, it’s been nearly three decades since both of New York’s baseball teams slumped this hard at the same time. For reference, Bill Clinton was president, Tupac was still alive, and Derek Jeter was just beginning his legendary rookie campaign.
Yankees Cooling Off at the Stadium
The Yankees dropped their sixth straight game in a 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels at home Wednesday night. Their record still sits at a solid 42-31, but the mood in the Bronx feels anything but steady.
The offense, once explosive, has gone quiet. And with a slim 1.5-game lead over the Rays and only two games separating them from the Blue Jays, what looked like a comfortable cushion atop the AL East is starting to look shaky.
Mets in a Free Fall Too
Just across town, things aren’t much sunnier in Queens. The Mets are on a five-game losing streak, capped off by a defeat to the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Before that? A sweep at home by the Tampa Bay Rays—their first of the season.
This slide comes after what felt like a major victory in the offseason when Juan Soto shocked the league by jumping from the Yankees to the Mets. Early returns were promising, but lately, the Mets have been “on the struggle bus,” as some fans are calling it. Their lead in the NL East? Dissolving fast.
History You Didn’t Want to Repeat
According to MLB insider Bryan Hoch, this marks the first time since August 1996 that both the Yankees and Mets are on overlapping 5+ game losing streaks. It’s not exactly the kind of Big Apple baseball history you frame and hang on the wall.
For longtime fans, the déjà vu is painful. For younger ones, it’s a crash course in what it means to ride the highs and lows of a 162-game season in one of the world’s toughest sports markets.
What’s Next?
The Yankees wrap up their series with the Angels before hosting the Orioles this weekend. Meanwhile, the Mets look to salvage what they can in Atlanta before returning home.
It’s still June, and there’s plenty of baseball left to play. But if you’re a New Yorker, this much is clear: the heat isn’t just on the field—it’s in the pressure cooker of expectations that both clubs are feeling as the summer rolls on.