Last season, the Yankees finished an MLB-best 50-31 on the road during the regular season — largely thanks to dominant pitching.
New York boasted an American League-leading 3.47 ERA away from Yankee Stadium, over a half point better than its ERA in the Bronx. But in 2025, the Yankees’ ERA at home is second-lowest in the AL, while their 4.35 road-ERA ranks bottom 10 in the majors.
New York’s struggles are seemingly heightening following an 8-4 loss in Toronto on Wednesday, with its staff posting a 4.86 ERA over the team’s last 30 road games.
Max Fried started the contest and allowed six runs, four of which were earned, as he took his third loss on the road during his inaugural season in New York. Fried’s road-ERA sits at 2.88, 0.64 higher than his mark at Yankee Stadium.
“I just wanted to make sure to put us in a good position,” Fried said. “Let the lead up early and frankly just didn’t do my job tonight.”
But it wasn’t just the former Braves’ fault.
New York, who ranks sixth in the majors in defensive runs saved, has faced major issues in the field recently. The Yankees allowed multiple unearned runs in all three games of the series against the Blue Jays, capped by a four-error performance in the series finale.
Even amid the miscues, New York was only down two going into the seventh inning, when righty Scott Effross entered the game.
The 31-year-old former Cub, whose ERA on the road is nearly 10 through six appearances, allowed a two-run home run to Bo Bichette. The Yankees’ bullpen as a whole has endured major problems on the road, including prized-offseason acquisition Devin Williams.
The two-time All Star carries a 5.79 ERA away from home and took a loss in New York’s previous series against Toronto when he allowed two runs to score in the eighth inning — after the Yankees erased an 8-0 deficit.
The bullpen similarly collapsed in the eighth inning of the following game.
Luke Weaver, whose ERA at home is 1.47, over two points less than on the road, allowed a two-run home run to George Springer, extending a one-run lead and paving a four-game sweep for Toronto.
Carlos Rodón pitched five innings with two runs allowed in the opening game of that series. The 32-year-old, in the midst of his strongest run in New York since signing a 6-year, $162 million contract ahead of the 2023 season, possesses a 3.38 road-ERA, 0.56 higher than his mark at Yankee Stadium.
Still, both Rodón and Fried’s road marks are very respectable. That hasn’t been the case for the rest of New York’s rotation.
Will Warren is the only other pitcher with double-digit starts on the road and possesses a 7.20 ERA in those games. Marcus Stroman’s ERA is nearly five away from home, though the 34-year-old has made only three starts and pitched six innings of one-run ball in his latest — a win over the Atlanta Braves.
Clarke Schmidt, who will miss the rest of the season with a torn UCL, boasted a 2.76 ERA at home and 4.25 on the road. With the 29-year-old out since the start of July, even more pressure has come on Fried and Rodón.
But the Yankees dropped all four of the duo’s starts against the Blue Jays over the past month, going 1-6 overall across two series, both at Rogers Centre. New York allowed over seven runs per game and now sits four games behind Toronto in the AL East.
“Obviously, we’ve had two crappy series up here [in Toronto],” manager Aaron Boone said. “There’s no way around it.”
Much of the talk around the trade deadline for New York has been around improving third base, a position of virtually no production for the Yankees. But with the team’s road-pitching woes intensifying and home-field advantage in the postseason seeming unlikely, New York may need to look externally to improve upon a 26-27 record away from the Bronx.
