The New York Yankees have been playing like the team that they have been looking to be for months now. The entire lineup and pitching staff seem to be playing the same tune for the first time since the All-Star break.
Over the course of the past 10 games, they have improved to 9-1 and have been firing on all cylinders. Overall, they have outscored their opponents by 30 runs in that stretch, essentially meaning that the offense has been extremely hot, and the pitching staff has done their job keeping opposing offenses at bay.
With the Yankees going into the end of the season with this type of streak, it can only feed into the hope that they could be successful in the playoffs. For the most part, the key pieces of the team have remained in good health and have been playing everyday.
9/23 vs. Boston Red Sox
The Yankees continued their dominance of the Red Sox in their four-game set in the second meeting of their series. Gerrit Cole took the mound for the Yankees and pitched a very good game up until the 7th inning when he surrendered a game-tying home run to Alex Verdugo. He proceeded to argue balls and strikes with the umpire and as such, was promptly ejected from the game, and finished his night with a no-decision.
Aaron Hicks gave fans something to cheer about amidst his current struggles, as he sent career home run no. 100 into the left-field stands. The Yankee bullpen kept the Red Sox’s offense quiet and the Yankees ended up wining 5-4 after a go-ahead single by Jose Trivino in the 8th.
9/24 vs. Boston Red Sox
In the third game of their series in New York, both teams came out swinging once more. Both offenses were alive throughout pretty much the entirety of the game. It was essentially a “back and forth” game from start to finish, as both starting pitchers struggled to slow down either offense. Nick Pivetta of the Red Sox was lit up for five earned runs in his outing and struggled to find outs.
Throughout his start, Yankee hitters were seeing his pitches rather well out of the hand. The Red Sox fought back however when the Yankees lineup performed. Overall, the game collectively yielded five home runs from either ball club. Scott Effross ended up locking down the save in the 9th for a 7-5 Yankee victory.
9/25 vs. Boston Red Sox
The Yankees have been riding on a very particular facet of their game all year, momentum. Whether that be good or bad momentum, they hop on it’s train regardless. This series against their arch-rivals was no different. Up 3-0 in the series, the Yankees were on the cusp of a series sweep and maintaining their red hot winning streak. With a lead in the series and the streak they were on, the Red Sox had their work cut out for them.
With bad weather being in the area for the entirety of the night, it was questioned how much they would play, if at all. As the whole world continued to watch every Aaron Judge at-bat, it was the goal to get him as many plate appearances as possible. However, the rain had different plans as the game was forced into a delay and eventual cancellation. Unfortunately, Judge only was able to get three chances at the plate while recording a walk. At the point of this game, he was experiencing an ongoing home run drought while being stuck at 60.
The Yankees ended up scoring two runs throughout the game and that ended up being enough for Nestor Cortes. He pitched an absolute gem, throwing six innings of one-hit ball, while recording five strikeouts. The Bronx Bombers end up taking this one with a score of 2-0.
9/26 vs. Toronto Blue Jays
After their very successful series of four games against Boston, the Yankees hit the road to cross national borders. They arrived in Toronto to start their three-game series against the Blue Jays with a concurrent seven-game win streak. The Yankees got out to an early lead in the two runs in the first two innings courtesy of Gleyber Torres’ sacrifice fly and Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s solo home run.
Although the Yankees gained the lead, the Blue Jays managed to load the bases in the 4th inning, which lead to a two-run double by Teoscar Hernandez. The game remained tied for the rest of the game and ended up going into extra innings tied at two-a-piece. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ended up walking the Jay’s off with a single into left field to lead them to victory, 3-2.
9/27 vs. Toronto Blue Jays
For the first time in eight games, the Yankees felt the sting of a loss again after their loss in the first game of the series. This sting came at a price for the Blue Jays the next day, as the offense took off.
Base runners were not a common thing to come by in this game for the Yankees as they exploded for 11 total hits lead by an big day for second baseman, Gleyber Torres. He lead the Yankees offense with three hits and three RBI’s in some crucial spots. Throughout this game, Aaron Judge continued his home run drought because the Blue Jays just seemed to refuse to pitch to him. He drew four walks on the night and continued to stay one swing away from Roger Maris.
Lead by their offensive charge and solid pitching performance from starting pitcher, Jamison Tallion, the Yankees walk away from this one with a 5-2 victory.
9/29 vs. Toronto Blue Jays
For over six decades, fans wondered if anyone would catch Roger Maris’ fabled American League home run record of 61. All it took was a 6’7″, 282 lb center fielder from Linden, California to make those dreams come true. On this date, Aaron Judge tied the mythical AL home run record with a deep drive into the left field stands of Rogers Center.
With the entire Yankee team fired up after the majestic home run by Judge, they all fed off of each other until the very end. The Yankees started this game with a three-run first inning to get the game rolling, and never stopped all the way until the final pitch. Consequently, the Yankees win this one in grand fashion with a final score of 8-3.
9/30 vs. Baltimore Orioles
Going into their last two series of the regular season, the Yankees find themselves crossed in the paths of the Baltimore Orioles. Over the course of the past decade, the Orioles have consistently found themselves at the bottom of the division every year. However, this year was much different for them. With young stars lining their roster like Adley Rutschman and Anthony Santander have been headlining as of late.
This match-up quickly opened up with an RBI single by Orioles first baseman, Ryan Mountcastle. However, that was the only run that the Yankees scored until Oswaldo Cabrera tied the game at 1 with a solo shot into right field. The game was then broke open by the way of a wild pitch in the 6th inning by Zach Britton. Unfortunately, it was the only extra run the Orioles needed as the Yankees couldn’t find an answer for it, which resulted in a 2-1 final score.
Find more articles like this at thegamehaus.com!
Featured image courtesy of Chris Donovan / New York Times
Video clips courtesy of MLB.com
“From our Haus to yours!”