Yankees Keep Going, and Going Well

The Yankees went out to Minneapolis, to play a 3-game series against the Minnesota Twins, a team they have dominated in recent years, regardless of how good they were. Carlos Rodón started the series opener, and went 6 strong innings. The Yankees got 2 hits each from Giancarlo Stanton (1 of his was a home run), Gleyber Torres, Anthony Volpe and Oswaldo Cabrera, and won, 5-1.

Marcus Stroman pitched his best game as a Yankee so far, going 6 innings, allowing 2 hits and 3 walks. Aaron Judge went 4-for-4 with a home run, a walk, and 2 RBIs. Stanton and Alex Verdugo each had 2 hits, and the Yankees won, 4-0.

Clarke Schmidt was even better in the Thursday matinee finale, going 8 innings, allowing only 3 hits, no walks, and striking out 8. Volpe hit a home run, and he, Judge and Torres each got 2 hits, and the Yankees won, 5-0.

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Back home the Bronx Bombers came, to face the Chicago White Sox, who had gotten on a hot streak after getting off to one of the worst starts in Major League Baseball history. Nestor Cortés put a stop to that streak: "Nasty Nestor" went 7, allowing 1 run, unearned, on 5 hits and 1 walk, fanning 6. Judge and Stanton homered, the 270th and 413th of their careers, respectively. Stanton and Anthony Rizzo each had 2 hits, and the Yankees won, 4-2.

Luis Gil is the least experienced man in the current Yankee rotation, but on Saturday afternoon, he sure didn't pitch like the man who should be taken out when Gerrit Cole comes back: 6 innings, 1 run, 5 hits, 1 walk, and 14 strikeouts -- out of 18 outs that he was asked to get. This is a new record for a Yankee rookie, breaking the record set in 1998 by Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, who was on hand to watch, and congratulated Gil after the game.

Juan Soto went 4-for-4 with 2 home runs, a walk and 3 RBIs. Stanton also got 2 hits. The Yankees won, 6-1.

Carlos Rodón started again yesterday, again going 6 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks. This insistence by Yankee management that their starters only go 6 innings is frustrating, but, at the moment, we can't argue with the results. Judge and Jon Berti hit home runs. Berti, Torres and Rizzo each had 2 hits., and the Yankees won, 7-2.

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So here we are: We have played 48 games, or just under 30 percent of the regular season. The Yankees are 33-15, including 7 straight wins, having previously had 2 5-game winning streaks and a 4-game winning streak. Our winning percentage is .688, so that's a pace to go 111-51.

Keeping in mind that the teams have not all played the same number of games: In the American League Eastern Division, we are 2 games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles, 8 ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays, 9 1/2 ahead of the Boston Red Sox, and 11 1/2 ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays; but, in the all-important loss column, are tied with the O's, 8 ahead of the Rays, 9 ahead of the Sox, and 10 ahead of the Jays. In all of MLB, the only team with a better record is the Philadelphia Phillies.

In the AL, the Yankees are 1st in runs scored, 1st in on-base percentage, 1st in total bases, 1st in walks (by a whopping 30 over the Texas Rangers), tied with the O's for 1st in home runs, 2nd to the Houston Astros in hits and batting average, 2nd to the O's in slugging percentage. Two concerning stats: We also lead the AL in grounding into the most double plays, and are tied with the Astros for most men left on base. All that has been done with DJ LeMahieu unavailable through injury all season.

As late as April 26, Judge was batting just .178. He is now up to .266. As late as May 1, Stanton was batting just .223. He is now up to .252. Three worrying spots: Torres is still batting only .225, Verdugo is at .244, and our catchers, Austin Wells and Jose Trevino, are, combined, also batting .244.

Pitching-wise: The Yankees are 1st in runs allowed/per game, 1st in earned-run average (ERA, by a big 0.22 over the O's), 1st in saves (despite concerns over Clay Holmes as the closer), 3rd in fewest hits allowed behind the O's and the Seattle Mariners, 3rd in strikeouts behind the Twins and the Cleveland Guardians.

The ERAs of the starters, all of who have started at least 9 games: Gil 2.39, Schmidt 2.49, Rodón 3.27, Stroman 3.33, Cortés 3.56. Here are their WHIPs: Cortés 1.055, Gil 1.082, Schmidt 1.125, Rodón 1.200, Stroman 1.418, although he has improved lately. Gerrit Cole has been out all season, but could be back in around 2 weeks. Who do you take out to make room for him?

A concerning stat: We have 5 balks, tied with the Astros and the Los Angeles Angels for the most in the AL. We are 3rd behind the Astros and the Kansas City Royals for most runners stranded on base, meaning we can let men get on, but we don't necessarily let them score.

Baseball-Reference.com ranks the Yanks 2nd in the AL, to the O's, in "Defensive Efficiency" -- whatever that means. We are tied for 4th in committing the most errors, but it doesn't seem to have hurt us much.

Tonight, the Yankees open a home series against the Mariners. Stroman starts against Logan Gilbert.