New York Yankees fans rage after team puts forth shameful three-hit performance behind Gerrit Cole to hand series to St. Louis

On July 2, Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees would, once again, be heading to the MLB All-Star game. It will be the sixth appearance for the 32-year-old since he made his MLB debut in 2013.

This season, as in all others, the Yankees have been able to rely on Gerrit Cole's stupendous pitching to win their ball games. Cole is 8-1 in 17 starts this season and sports a 2.78 ERA during that time.

The Yankees rotation has been outstanding as a whole this season. The team's 3.54 ERA over the month of June was the highest in the AL, and the bullpen continues to be baseball's best.

"Hard to win baseball games when you only have 3 hits" - Talkin' Yanks

However, on July 2, Cole's six innings of two-run baseball was not enough. The Yankees fell to the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1. Following the affair, fans took to Twitter to have their say.

With a record of 35-48, the St. Louis Cardinals find themselves at the bottom of their division, the NL Central. Despite their struggles, they will leave New York City with a 2-1 series victory over the Bronx Bombers.

The New York Yankees were unable to conjure much in the way of offense. Despite having some of the most potent pitching in baseball, offensive production has not been a strong suit. The team's .231 June batting average placed them 27th out of 30 MLB teams.

In this affair, the Yankees were only able to put up three hits across nine innings. Ever since the IL assignment of their captain and star player, Aaron Judge, questions about the team's viability continue to swirl. Following the loss, the Yankees find themselves 10 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East, though they remain present in the AL Wild Card melee.

New York Yankees hitters will need to step up

Of the New York Yankees' many superstars, few have stepped up to fill the gaping hole in the offensive strategy that was left by Aaron Judge. Giancarlo Stanton has hit just .143 over the course of the past three weeks, while third baseman Josh Donaldson has only 4 hits in his last 23 at-bats.

Things will only get more competitive between now and the end of the season. With the All-Star break now basically upon us, the Yankees must come to terms with who they are, and who they need to be.