After going 4-2 last week, the Yankees have now had two winning weeks in a row. This is a big improvement after having one of the worst starts in the franchises history. The Yankees finished off the week with a 3-2 walk-off victory over the Nationals in a game where Gleyber Torres hit his first home run of the season. The Yankees can use these factors as momentum heading into this week. Here are three things to watch for this week as the Yankees face the Rays and the Orioles.
While the Yankees have shown some improvements on offense, they are still not scoring as many runs as some other teams. Luke Voit can help change that. It is looking like the first basemen may debut this week, which can really help improve this Yankees offense. In four games with the teams’ AAA affiliate Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders, Voit hit two homers and drove in three runs in just four games. Bringing numbers like that to New York can be a big boost to this team.
Heading into this week, the Red Sox have a multiple game lead, and the Orioles are starting to fall behind. As for the Yankees, Rays and Blue Jays, they are all within a half of a game of one another. This week is an opportunity for the Yankees to take the second place spot in the division as they take on division opponents in Tampa Bay and Baltimore. The Blue Jays will take on the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies, who are both near .500 and could test Toronto.
The Red Sox have seven games this week. They are taking on the Orioles Monday evening before hosting the Oakland A’s and the Los Angeles Angels.
This week could definitely move some teams around in the AL East standings, and the Yankees could set themselves up nicely to get closer to that first place spot.
Giancarlo Stanton (Image from thehour.com)
Outfielder Giancarlo Stanton found a groove to start May. He went 8-for-13 in a three game series against the Houston Astros with two doubles, three homers and eight RBIs. Then, he had a couple of 0-for-4 games against the Nationals before walking twice and hitting a walk-off single on Sunday. After his huge series against Houston, he is now leading the team with an OPS of .914. Stanton can hit his 10th homerun of the season this week. He can even take the MLB lead if he puts enough long balls on the stat line this week.
Featured Image Courtesy of NJ.com.
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