ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — For the better part of the first three months of the season, Paul Goldschmidt often looked like his former MVP version.
Over his last 30 at-bats, though, he has gone completely missing.
The veteran first baseman’s recent skid hit a new low Tuesday night in the Yankees’ 6-4 loss to the Rays, when he struck out in all four trips to the plate to sink to 0-for-30 over his last nine games.
“I wish I had an answer for you,” Goldschmidt said on a night when the Yankees struck out 17 times for the second straight game. “Obviously the performance tonight especially was terrible. I like to try to be more positive than that, but you strike out four times and there were guys on base, really just a bad performance. [Monday] night was the same.
“Probably swung at too many balls, taking strikes. When I do swing at the right pitch, fouling it off or swing and missing. I’ll be ready to go [Wednesday] and every game, but there’s no excuses. I have not played well.”
Before this brutal nine-game stretch, which has coincided with some awful play from the Yankees overall, Goldschmidt was batting .301 with a .933 OPS through his first 55 games of the season.
His consistent presence as a right-handed bat, especially with the Yankees missing Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, was immensely valuable.
But the 38-year-old is now searching for answers on how to snap out of his recent funk.
“They beat me tonight, every time, badly,” Goldschmidt said. “You got to keep pushing and just be ready to go. Can’t carry over any bad things, like for me individually, to the next day. I don’t feel like I’ve done that, but obviously the performance hasn’t been better.”
José Caballero, who matched Goldschmidt with four strikeouts, started at shortstop for the second straight game, marking only his third start at the position since returning from the injured list in late May.
While Aaron Boone continues to describe the shortstop situation as a “day-by-day” decision between Caballero and Anthony Volpe — the manager is unlikely to come out and declare one as the full-time starter even if he is leaning that way — now that the Yankees are closer to being whole, Caballero has a chance to be there more days than not.
With the Yankees facing Rays lefty Ian Seymour on Tuesday, it marked only the second time since Volpe was called up from Triple-A that he did not start against a lefty (the other came June 18, when the White Sox used a lefty opener).
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Volpe did eventually enter the game as a pinch hitter for Ryan McMahon (who had hit for Amed Rosario earlier) in the eighth inning against lefty reliever Garrett Cleavinger and grounded into a fielder’s choice.
Max Schuemann started in right field, giving Jasson Domínguez a day off for the first time since June 16 — though he also entered as a pinch hitter in the seventh and went 1-for-2.
Domínguez, who remains a work in progress in right field, entered Tuesday batting just .209 with a .641 OPS in 30 games this season.
“Obviously want more production [from Domínguez]. I expect more production out of who I think he is as a hitter,” Boone said. “But I also feel like he’s kind of had competitive at-bats every day.”
Max Fried is scheduled to throw a third live batting practice session Saturday at Double-A Somerset, continuing his comeback from a left elbow bone bruise.
If it goes well, he could be in line to start a rehab assignment after the All-Star break.
