Since then, they are 33-11.
Anybody who predicted that was basing it on wishful thinking, and nothing more.
The Yankees went down to Cumberland, Cobb County, Georgia, in the northwestern suburbs of Atlanta, to face the Atlanta Braves for 2 games at Truist Park. The Braves were rolling as well: It was the 1st time since 1901 that 2 MLB teams faced each other with both carrying a 9-game winning streak.
Jordan Montgomery started the opener, and went 5 innings, allowing 1 run on 2 hits, but walked 4. The teams traded home runs in the 2nd inning, Giancarlo Stanton doing the honors for the Yankees, Dansby Swanson (sounds like a bad law firm) for the Braves. Stanton struck again in the 6th, doubling home 2 runs to give Montgomery the lead. Gary Sanchez added a 2-run single in the 8th.
Jonathan Loaisiga pitched a scoreless 6th and 7th. Wandy Peralta pitched a scoreless 8th. Aroldis Chapman hadn't pitched in a while -- with some reason -- but, with a 4-run lead, he was fine, pitching a perfect 9th.
Yankees 5, Braves 1. WP: Montgomery (5-5). No save. LP: Huascar Ynoa (4-3). That's 10 in a row.
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Aaron Boone started the inconsistent Andrew Heaney in the 2nd game, possibly as a sacrifice, so that the Yankees could set their rotation up properly for the next series. It didn't turn out that way: He only pitched 4 innings, but he was effective, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits and a walk.
As he did in the 1st game of the series, Stanton homered in the 2nd inning. A Sanchez single tied the game in the 4th. In the top of the 5th, 5th, the Yankees got a single from Andrew Velazquez and a home run from DJ LeMahieu, making it 4-2 New York.
Boone sent Albert Abreu in for the bottom of the 5th, but he only got 1 out. Joely Rodriguez had to finish the inning, and he allowed a single by Austin Riley that scored Ozzie Albies, but when Freddie Freeman also tried to score, he was ruled out. The Braves appealed, and pretty much everybody who isn't a Yankee Fan said he was safe. The umpires decided that it wasn't conclusive enough to overrule the call, and it remained 4-3 Yankees.
Given how many umpires have called strikes on Yankee batters, on pitches that were well outside, I have no qualms with getting the call here, especially since it may still have been correct. And especially since there was a later call that might have undone everything.
Clay Holmes pitched a perfect 6th. Rougned Odor homered in the 7th, to make it 5-3. Chad Green pitched a scoreless 7th and 8th.
Then Boone brought Chapman in to close it out. This was a save situation, a 2-run lead. He got Travis d'Arnaud to ground out. Two outs to go. But then he gave up a single to Adam Duvall. And those of us who know Chapman is a front-runner knew this was trouble. Cliche Alert: Aroldis gotta Aroldis.
He struck Guillermo Heredia out. One out to go. But he walked Ehire Adrianza. Cliche Alert: Walks can kill you. Albies was up, and he swung and missed at strike 3. Except home plate umpire Chris Conroy, who had made that controversial out call in the 5th, ruled that Albies had foul-tipped the ball. So instead of the game being over like it should have been, and a shaky but effective inning by Chapman, the game continued. Chapman gave up an infield single.
Bases loaded. At this point, in the Georgia heat, Chapman was sweating like prime James Brown, himself a Georgia native. At this point, Boone should have taken Chapman out. After all, Peralta was already warming up in the bullpen.
Boone left Chapman in. And he walked Jorge Soler. 5-4. Half of #YankeesTwitter was ready to send Chapman to Scranton. The other half was ready to send him to the Sun.
Freeman, the returning National League Most Valuable Player, was up with the bases loaded. Boone knew better than to keep Chapman out there. He brought Peralta in. Freeman hit it deep to left, but Joey Gallo was there to catch it. Whew.
Yankees 5, Braves 4. WP: Holmes (5-2). SV: Peralta (5). LP: Charlie Morton (12-5). The winning streak goes to 11, the Yankees' longest since September 1985. It's also the Yankees' 10th straight series won, their longest since 1954. It should be noted, though, that they didn't reach the postseason in either of those years.
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If the current standings hold to the end of the regular season, the Yankees would host the hated Boston Red Sox in the American League Wild Card Game. But they're only 4 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL Eastern Division, with 36 games left to play, including the last 3 of the season, home to the Rays. The Division title is well within reach.
Now, the Yankees go west. Today is a day off, and then they have 4 games away to the Oakland Athletics, followed by 3 in Anaheim against the Los Angeles Angels, before coming home to face the Baltimore Orioles, who have now lost 19 straight games. Ironically, their last win was against the Yankees.
I'm a little concerned with the West Coast phase of this road trip. Not because the A's are a good team, although they are, despite struggling recently. It's just that I'm old enough to remember when going out to the West Coast was usually bad news for the Yankees. They would play the Angels, the A's, and the Seattle Mariners (whom they will not face on this trip), and go on a "Borg Road Trip": They would lose seven of nine, and resistance was futile.
But things are shaping up well. They've done well against the A's and Angels this year. Still to come are the pathetic Orioles, the freefalling Mets, the collapsing Red Sox, the awful Texas Rangers, and the struggling Cleveland Indians -- but also those pesky Toronto Blue Jays, and finally the Rays. And the Rays have a much tougher schedule the rest of the way.
Right now, the Yankees are having their best regular-season stretch since the 1996-2001 Dynasty. (Or 1996-2003, if you prefer.) It's still possible to make something special out of this season.
But it would still help a lot to have a single reliable closer, and Chapman doesn't look like it right now.
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