
The 2021 regular season is officially underway in the MLB. All 30 teams have gotten a chance to get on the field and start getting some wins. The Yankees went 4-5 to start their season, and are having some issues early in the year. Even with the struggles, they are still just one game under .500 and can be above the even mark by the end of the week. Here are three things Yankees fans should watch for this week.
New York will be taking on the Blue Jays and the Rays this week. These are two teams that have enough talent to win the division. If the Yankees can have a solid record this week, it can have a big impact on the division.
The Yankees will have their first three guys in the rotation pitch against the Jays this week. Gerrit Cole, Jameson Taillon and Corey Kluber are slated to face Robbie Ray, Hyun Jin Ryu and Ross Stripling, respectively. After those three road games, the Yankees will host the Rays at home over the weekend.
All three teams are 4-5 heading into the week, so this is a big opportunity for the Yankees to pull ahead of both of this weeks’ opponents.
Gary Sanchez has a .962 OPS to start the 2021 season. (Image from albat.com)
The Yankees opened up the season scoring eight runs in a three game series against the Blue Jays. They were limited to two runs or less in two of those games. Then against Baltimore, the Yankees scored seven runs in back-to-back games before losing 4-3 in the series finale. In their third series, they played three games against the Rays. They scored five, zero and eight runs in those games. If the Yankees can start to have less of those one or two run nights on offense, they can set their pitchers up for more success on the mound.
Through the clubs first nine games of the year, Gleyber Torres is slashing .222/.300/.250. He has just one extra-base hit, one RBI and two runs scored. He has drawn four walks which has boosted his OBP a little. However, the numbers are clearly not where Torres or the franchise wants them. It has only been nine games, though, so of course their is still time for him to turn things around. If Torres can get going offensively, that can help the category above of offensive consistency as well.
Featured Image Courtesy of nj.com.
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