Yankees State of the Union entering May 2: How sweep it is
A 6-0 week, three sweeps in a row, a nine-game winning streak. Things are all good in Yankee land right now. Let's recap.
Takin' care of business
After losing two of three to the Orioles in Baltimore a few weeks ago, the New York Yankees had to sweep them at the Stadium. Any team that wants to win the AL East has to beat up on the Orioles, something the Yankees had trouble with last year. Thankfully, this series was a success.
I was at the first game on Tuesday, and the Yankee offense exploded. A three-homer game for Anthony Rizzo, Joey Gallo's first home run of the year, and Aaron Judge went deep on his birthday. Gleyber Torres added a three-run double as the Bombers scored a season-high 12 runs.
https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1519139448423919625?s=20&t=1BdXWCVeL9Fd1QWhoaYMsg
Luis Severino was great, throwing five no-hit innings. His final line didn't reflect how good he was, as he gave up a three-run homer to Anthony Santander in the sixth and a leadoff double to Rougned Odor in the seventh. 6 IP, 4 ER, 5 K's, but he was vintage, dominant Sevy for a lot of the outing. Really encouraging from him.
The bullpen was awful, as Lucas Luetge & Jonathan Loaisiga struggled in this one. But they picked a good night to have their first off game of the year.
In a shocking turn of events, the Yankees actually got Jordan Montgomery some early run support on Wednesday with Giancarlo Stanton's 350th career HR.
https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1519457519822856197?s=20&t=1BdXWCVeL9Fd1QWhoaYMsg
Monty pitched well yet again, ultimately surrendering 2 ER in 5.2 IP. Michael King & Clay Holmes continued their dominance, holding the O's scoreless for the remainder of the game.
Stanton gave the Yanks the lead for good with his third RBI of the night, a sac fly in the sixth. Gallo added his second homer in as many days and a wild pitch made this one a 5-2 final.
https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1519457519822856197?s=20&t=1BdXWCVeL9Fd1QWhoaYMsg
Getaway day success
The Yankees have been following a script for what feels like forever. On weekday matinee games to finish a series, lose in excruciating fashion. Thankfully, that wasn't the case on Thursday.
Jameson Taillon wasn't sharp, but he battled. Jamo scattered seven hits and allowed two runs through 4.2 innings, keeping the Yankees in the game.
The offense was lifeless until the fifth. Marwin Gonzalez's double scored Tim Locastro from first to put the Bombers on the board. That was followed by three straight RBI singles from Judge, Rizzo & Stanton to give the Yanks a 4-2 lead. They'd later add six more runs, including a Judge three-run homer.
https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1519776750821167106?s=20&t=1BdXWCVeL9Fd1QWhoaYMsg
The bullpen was immaculate outside of Ron Marinaccio, and the Yanks completed the sweep of the O's.
Kings in KC
Friday was the Yankees' first Apple+ TV game, and the broadcast was just as bad as advertised. I'll give them that their camera work was impeccable:
https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1519776750821167106?s=20&t=1BdXWCVeL9Fd1QWhoaYMsg
But the announcers, woof. They were terrible. Luckily, the Yankees were not.
Nestor Cortes Jr. had what was probably his worst start of the season thus far, but luckily that still means he was pretty good. He held the Royals to just two runs (one earned) in five innings, striking out three. However, the offense was the story in this one.
Rizzo and Stanton homered again in the first, and Judge and Torres went deep later on. Kyle Higashioka had a bases-clearing double, and LeMahieu's RBI single rounded out the scoring. Rain put the Royals out of their misery as this one was called in the eighth.
https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1520233862487543808?s=20&t=1BdXWCVeL9Fd1QWhoaYMsg
On Saturday, Gerrit Cole did what the Yankees pay him to do, and that's to be the ace of the staff. He hurled six shutout innings, working into and out of trouble and striking out six.
https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1520591823043010561?s=20&t=1BdXWCVeL9Fd1QWhoaYMsg
None of the offense was sexy, with two sac flies and a double play leading to three runs. But the pitching carried the load in this one, as Miguel Castro, Holmes, and Aroldis Chapman shut the door.
Sunday was in doubt for a while, as Severino had his share of struggles. He battled and kept the Yanks in it, allowing four ER through five. The Bombers rallied from down 4-1, chipping away slowly. An IKF RBI double & DJ RBI single in the fifth made it 4-3. A Judge swinging bunt and Donaldson RBI fielder's choice gave them a 5-4 lead in the seventh. And Judge's second homer of the game in the ninth closed the case on this one. By the way, his first one was an absolute mammoth shot:
https://twitter.com/Yankees/status/1520830659777998848?s=20&t=1BdXWCVeL9Fd1QWhoaYMsg
Yankees "to the Sun"
https://twitter.com/ncostanzo24/status/1520963967396376576?s=20&t=dtZcSNwnyj--ciFiy2BE8w
Looking ahead
The Yankees have their biggest series of the season thus far starting in Toronto tonight. Here are the probable pitchers:
Monday: Jordan Montgomery (0-1, 2.70 ERA, 15 SO) vs. Ross Stripling (0-0, 3.60 ERA, 12 SO)
Tuesday: Jameson Taillon (1-1, 3.26 ERA, 17 SO) vs. Alek Manoah (4-0, 1.44 ERA, 25 SO)
Wednesday: Nestor Cortes jr. (1-0, 1.31 ERA, 28 SO) vs. Yusei Kikuchi (0-1, 5.52 ERA, 13 SO)
After that, they're off Thursday before returning home to play a weekend series against the Rangers. Let's hope they keep it rolling.
I'll be right back here next week. Until then, follow me on Twitter @ncostanzo24 for Yankees tweets and updates.