As Weather Heats Up, Yankees Hitting Their Stride
Let’s face it: when you’re hot, you’re hot. And that’s certainly the case with the New York Yankees right now.
Coming home this week to Yankee Stadium, in a winnable series against Seattle, the Bombers just completed a weekend sweep of the White Sox, raising their American League best record to 33-15. Winners of 7 straight, this upcoming Mariners series looks like it could be a continuation of the recently successful strategy used by Aaron Boone: score runs and stretch out your pitching. The Yankees have done just that, scoring in the first inning in 6 of the last 8 games, and completely dominating games offensively and defensively.
Offensively, Aaron Judge is heating up, and after the weekend series in Chicago, he was named the A.L. Player of the Week after hitting .500, with 3 HR, 5 RBIs, and 5 doubles.
The Juan Soto effect has also improved the Yankees lineup, from top to bottom, starting with Anthony Volpe, who has a 12-game hitting streak, 22 RBI’s, is attacking pitches, and hitting a lofty .269.
Giancarlo Stanton is guessing right at the right time, too, and just smashing baseballs into the stratosphere. As long as he stays healthy, watch out. Just watching Juan Soto in the on deck circle, and just talking about hitting with him in the dugout helps everyone in the lineup.
The biggest key offensively for the Yankees, however, is the success of Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres. If those guys can be consistent, and put together good at-bats, looking to drive balls the other way, they can get that lineup turned over, and set up runners for the big guns of Judge and Soto.
The one aspect that seems to be overlooked is the Yankees’ running game. Not that they put guys in action all the time, but Volpe, Grisham, and John Berti are limited to their opportunities to run because their lineup dictates when they can run. Besides being a solid player at third base, Berti led the MLB in steals just a few years ago.
And in case you haven’t noticed, the Yankees pitching staff has been lights-out, even as they wait for the return of Gerrit Cole. Clarke Schmidt, Marcus Stroman, and Luis Gil are all ready to continue stacking up wins, and holding a sub-3 ERA. Schmidt is starting to get opportunities to work his way through the opposing lineup a third time, Stroman gives depth, Gil fills the zone and strikes out lots of guys. That helps the wear and tear on the bullpen over the course of the season.
The key to the starting rotation is Carlos Rodon. In his last 2 starts, Rodon has gone at least 6 innings and has 12 K’s, allowing just 3 earned runs. His heavy-ball and intensity has helped him win those last two starts, and take the number one spot until Gerrit Cole returns.
The Yankees need to remain healthy as they head into the month of June, beat the teams they’re supposed to beat, and collect series wins. It’s a pretty good recipe for success if they keep playing the way they’ve been playing lately.
I believe that the East will be a two-horse race between the Yankees and Orioles, and It’s going to take 92 wins to to crown the division champion. The Yankees are in it to win it this season, and they will still pull off a deal of some kind to help separate themselves from the rest of the division. Who could it be? We will have to wait to see. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy the show.
Submitted by Jason Beck @bourbonandbaseball