Yankees State of the Union entering May 10: Rain and more series wins
Kind of an interesting week for the Yankees, right? A huge series win in Toronto, followed by three days with no Yankee baseball, finished off with three games in just over 24 hours. All said and done, it ended with the Bombers winning their sixth straight series & being the first AL team to 20 wins. Let's talk about it.
Taking 2/3 north of the border
People have been talking about this first Toronto series for months now. Back then, it was initially about which unvaccinated Yankees wouldn't be able to make the trip. Fortunately for us, the entire roster was eligible to play. Even better, the Yankees won the series. The quick summary is they won a nail biter, won a laugher, and lost a heartbreaker.
The nail biter was literally a week ago from the time I'm writing this, which is kinda nuts. Ross Stripling was good for the Jays, with the only blemish being a Gleyber Torres 2-run homer in the 4th. Jordan Montgomery also allowed just two for the Yanks, surrendering the 2-0 lead immediately as the Jays tied the game in the bottom half of the inning. You're not gonna believe this, but the offense stopped scoring for Monty after that. The bullpens battled from there, until Baby Gleyby once again came through in the clutch.
https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1521306929221545985?s=20&t=0dNspWcI-B98u-oJcXq7Uw
It's worth mentioning that Tim Locastro has really settled into the pinch running weapon role nicely. He was placed on the IL Sunday, but T-Lo will be back.
https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1521312331220893698?s=20&t=0dNspWcI-B98u-oJcXq7Uw
Game 2 looked bleak for awhile, until it wasn't. Jameson Taillon was great once again, holding the Jays to just one run through six. Unfortunately, Alek Manoah was continuing his dominance against the Bombers - until this bomb.
https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1521652458526842880?s=20&t=0dNspWcI-B98u-oJcXq7Uw
That was Manoah's final inning, and the Yankees did not mess around with the Toronto pen. The Yanks hung a six spot in the 7th. Josh Donaldson & Marwin Gonzalez RBI doubles, Marwin somehow avoids Vlad jr.'s tag (or not) to score on a rundown, Aaron Hicks RBI single, Judge two-run double. 7-1 Yankees.
![Hamilton Lane | That Escalated Quickly Hamilton Lane | That Escalated Quickly](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbec2b79f-22b4-4230-bcdf-317f28207f1d_1200x905.png)
Giancarlo Stanton added a two-run homer for good measure and the Yankees dominate this one, 9-1. The bad news is that this game was the last time the offense has been present.
Getaway day stinker
The final game was a heartbreaker. Joey Gallo's homer was the only run we'd score. Nestor wasn't great, but he, Michael King, and Clay Holmes held Toronto to just two runs. The Yanks rallied off Jordan Romano in the 9th, but it wasn't enough. Tough way to end it, but still a MASSIVE series win.
https://twitter.com/ncostanzo24/status/1522032025636679680?s=20&t=0dNspWcI-B98u-oJcXq7Uw
The Jays also celebrated insanely hard for a team that barely won even one game at home this series. I'm all for having fun, but as a Yankee fan, I'm gonna troll them for this one.
https://twitter.com/ncostanzo24/status/1522033499653476354?s=20&t=0dNspWcI-B98u-oJcXq7Uw
Rain & two on Mother's Day
No Yankees baseball for three days sucked so bad. Scheduled off day followed by two straight days of pissing rain is something I don't wanna see again. As I alluded to earlier, even when the Yankees returned, their bats didn't.
Gerrit Cole was electric once again in this one. He overcame throwing a ton of pitches in the first two innings to go 6.1 with 10 punchouts.
https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1523409425930735616?s=20&t=0dNspWcI-B98u-oJcXq7Uw
Cole's only run came on a Kole Calhoun homer in the 7th, when most people thought he'd be done after 6 because of his pitch count. Personally, I loved the decision to let Cole back out there. Your ace had two extra days off & is shoving, and your team is about to play 23 games in 22 days. No issue with that whatsoever. Johnny Lasagna & Holmes shut the Rangers down until Gleyber yet again delivered late in a tie game.
https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1523401347798024192?s=20&t=0dNspWcI-B98u-oJcXq7Uw
Chris Woodward bitching about this "Little League homer" was HILARIOUS.
https://twitter.com/ncostanzo24/status/1523421496479141889?s=20&t=0dNspWcI-B98u-oJcXq7Uw
Unfortunately, Game 2 didn't go as well for the Yanks. Stanton's two-run homer was the only run support Monty would get. King gave up his first runs of the year, allowing an inherited runner to score on a wild pitch & surrendering a two-run homer to Brad Miller. Literally impossible to be mad at King whatsoever, the dude has been so important to us this season. He wasn't gonna be perfect forever. This one was on the offense and the offense alone.
No-no Nestor
The rubber match Monday was an unofficial must-win, as explained by my friend Hoodie Gleyber.
https://twitter.com/HoodieGleyber/status/1523704952748580864?s=20&t=0dNspWcI-B98u-oJcXq7Uw
And the offense responded by... not doing much. They got one run across on an Anthony Rizzo RBI double in the 8th. But the offense wasn't the story today. That would be Nestor.
7.1 no-hit innings before he finally allowed one, striking out 11. Nestor Cortes jr. isn't some funny, feel-good story anymore. The dude legitimately shoves.
https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1523746913073319937?s=20&t=0dNspWcI-B98u-oJcXq7Uw
Aroldis Chapman was able to close it despite not having pitched since May 1, which usually affects him. It wasn't a sexy win, but it's a series win nonetheless. First AL team to 20 wins is nothing to sneeze at. The Yankees are good, folks.
Yankees "to the Sun"
How can I send anyone to the sun right now? Things are going too well. I know, I know, it's been three weeks where I haven't sent anyone. Don't worry, I'm sure the time will come.
Looking ahead
The Yankees finish the homestand with two against the Jays before traveling to Chicago for four against the White Sox.
Tuesday: Luis Severino (2-0, 3.75 ERA, 23 SO) vs. Yusei Kikuchi (1-1, 4.35 ERA, 20 SO)
Wednesday: Jameson Taillon (2-1, 2.84 ERA, 21 SO) vs. Jose Berrios (2-1, 5.34 ERA, 20 SO)
Until next week, follow me on Twitter for more updates @ncostanzo24. Let's go Yanks!