"This next stretch of games is telling. Tough opponents, AL East battles, and 20 straight in 20 days. 3 vs. Rays, 3 @ Blue Jays, 3 @ Rays, 4 vs. Astros, 3 vs. Athletics, 1 @ Astros, 3 @ Guardians Focusing just on the first four series (sorry Oakland and Cleveland), if they can walk away with 8-4, I'd be happy." The Bronx Tales, June 14th 2022
I called this almost two weeks ago and they did it. I walked away happy with an 8-4 record against a gauntlet of opponents. They swept the rays, then took 2 of three from both the Blue Jays and Rays, followed by a split of the Astros.
This has to be a big boost of confidence for the team that is still the best in baseball. No more, "ThEy OnLy BeAt BaD tEaMs", because that isn't the case. They've gone 23-11 against teams with a record above . 500, so hah.
I already covered the AL East games, so this one is dedicated to the 'Stros. It wasn't pretty, but they got the job done, and kept the losses close.
To kick things off, I was pretty content with the pitching. Besides Taillon, who had a tough 10 hit, 6 run, 5.2 inning outing, the remainder of the staff held their own.
Severino - 5 hits, 3 ER, 7ks
Cole - 4 hits, 1 ER, 8ks
Cortes - 5 hits, 3 ER, 7k
Not the prettiest line, but they kept it all manageable. The bullpen though, stood out and shutdown, ensuring the Yankees were always in the mix.
June 23rd - Luetge / Abreu / Castro: 3.1 innings 1 hit, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 Ks
June 24th - Marinaccio / Castro / Peralta: 3 innings, 0 hits, 0 R, 1 BB, 3ks
June 26th - Castro / Peralta / Holmes / King: 5 innings, 1 hit, 3 BB, 7 ks
Straight gas. You really love to see it.
While the pitching was there, the offense was in a parallel dimension. Some days clobbering homers, and other days, doing absolutely nothing. I'll toss this one up to the intense heat the hit the Bronx, but this can't be the summer slogan this season.
The long ball was in play, 6 in the series to be exact. However, the third game we witnessed a dud.
Not much to go over, it was demoralizing, but not the end of the world. Combined No Hitters are overrated anyway. It'll be a nice piece of adversity added into the World Series DVD in my opinion.
It was alarming though that the offense went on a 16 inning no hit slump. Thankfully, Giancarlo knew what to do and fixed that mess.
Thank God... The 16 straight hitless innings ties the 1973 Athletics and 1981 Dodgers for the expansion era record. Interestingly enough, the '73 A's and '81 Dodgers both won the World Series.
With Miami Mike doing his part, all we needed was a Judge Homer to solidify the W.
Two wins, two walk-offs, one future MVP.
This team has no quit! 10th walk-off win of the season, 3rd for Judge. League leading 28 homers. HOW ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!
If Judge isn't the MVP, we riot. He gets it done every week and I couldn't be more ecstatic. This all comes at an interesting time. On Friday, the day after his first walk off of the series, the arbitration we've been dreading and waiting for, finally happened. They agreed to a $19M contract with incentives for 2022.
(BTW, they should've just given him the $21 million, which makes me weary for future talks).
I wish an extension was just there, which makes me weary on if he will come back. If the Yankees win the World Series, I think he follows other stars (Betts and Freeman) and gets the bag elsewhere. I think if they lose the World Series, I have a fear that he leaves too. I could be wrong the Steinbrenner does the right thing, but at this point, we can't worry until November.
ADDED NOTE: I hate to contradict that point, but after closing out those two big wins, I don't want him to ever leave. You can't lose a guy like Judge, he's becoming indispensable. Blank Check this offseason. Get it done...
Before meeting back up with the Astros for a random one game, they'll take on the A's for a weekday stretch at home. I hope this is a scouting report for Frankie Montas, but this should be a clean sweep (sorry Jess Kleinschmidt!).
Road to 60 wins and beyond. LFG.
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