Yankees Sweep Angels 4 Straight -- Have They Turned the Corner?

I'll have a memorial post for Gordie Howe later tonight. My trip guide for next weekend's Yankee visit to Minnesota may have to wait until tomorrow.

Have the Yankees snapped out of it yet? They're currently playing better than they have in 4 years -- since the Summer of 2012, before they stopped hitting, and basically didn't start again until a couple of weeks ago.

Ivan Nova started last night, and over the 1st 6 innings, allowed just 1 run, unearned, on 4 hits, a walk, a hit batsman and an error (hence the unearned run). If he's your Number 1 starting pitcher, you've got problems. But if he's your Number 5 starter, you're fine.

The Yankees trailed 1-0 going into the bottom of the 5th, but took care of that. Didi Gregorius led off the inning with a walk, and advanced to 2nd base on a Chase Headley groundout. Chris Parmelee, the previous night's hero -- who later had to leave last night's game with an injury -- singled Didi home to tie the score.

Jacoby Ellsbury singled. Brett Gardner walked. Carlos Beltran continued his hot streak by sending a drive to right field, and it bounced into the stands, scoring Parmelee and Ellsbury to give the Yankees the lead. Alex Rodriguez got Gardner home on a sacrifice fly. And Brian McCann doubled home Beltran. 5-1 Yankees.

Joe Girardi once again let the pitch count make his decision for him, and left Nova in to begin the top of the 7th. At first glance, this appeared to be the right thing to do, as Nova was pitching very well. But he allowed a double and a home run, allowing the Angels to close within 2 runs.

So Girardi went to the bullpen, to the combination that some Yankee Fans were calling "The Three-Headed Monster." But Modell's is already printing up T-shirts with their other nickname, based on the Queens rap trio of the 1980s: "NO RUNS DMC." D, Dellin Betances; M, Andrew Miller; C, Aroldis Chapman. (I think calling them "DMC" is a bit of a stretch, but if it excited the fans and doesn't hurt anybody, who am I, a white guy who grew up in the suburbs when Run-DMC were "Tougher Than Leather," to judge?)

Betances got the last 2 outs in the 7th. A Gardner single, a wild pitch, a balk, and an A-Rod double got the Yankees an insurance run. Miller allowed a leadoff single in the 8th, but got the next 3 batters to end that minor threat. Chapman got the 1st 2 outs in the 9th, allowed a double, and then got a strikeout to end the game.

Yankees 6, Angels 3. A 4-game sweep. WP: Nova (5-3). SV: Chapman (11). LP: Jhoulys Chacin (2-4).

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The Yankees are now back to .500, at 30-30. They are 6 1/2 games behind the American League Eastern Division-leading Baltimore Orioles, 7 in the loss column. My research going back to the start of Divisional Play in 1969 shows that the teams that finish 2nd in the AL East average 92 wins. That means that, more often than not, 93 wins is enough to win the AL East. Therefore, to get to 93 wins, the Yankees will have to go at least 63-42 the rest of the way -- a winning percentage of .618, a 162-game pace for 100 wins.

I'm not going to doubt it at this point. The Yankees look like they really have turned the corner.

Tonight, the Yankees begin a 3-game home series with the Detroit Tigers. Here are the projected pitching matchups:

* Tonight, 7:05 PM: CC Sabathia vs. former Met Mike Pelfrey.

* Tomorrow, 7:15 PM: Masahiro Tanaka vs. Justin Verlander.

* Sunday, 2:05 PM: Michael Pineda vs. Michael Fulmer. This will be Old-Timers' Day, and the ceremonies will begin at 11:30 AM. There has been no announcement of a new Plaque for Monument Park. Then again, on last year's Old-Timers' Day, they announced they were giving one to Willie Randolph, and surprised that other Number 30, Mel Stottlemyre, with one. So if anything is planned, the Yankee brass isn't telling.

Parmelee Powers Yanks Past Angels

Last night, the Yankees needed a spark. They got it, and blew up the house.

Nathan Eovaldi started against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and fell behind in the top of the 1st inning. But in their 1st 4 batters of the game, the Yankees got a double from Jacoby Ellsbury, an RBI double by Brett Gardner, a popup from Carlos Beltran (easily forgivable due to his current hot streak), and an RBI single from Alex Rodriguez. 2-1 Yankees.

The Angels struck back with 2 runs in the 2nd, 1 in the 3rd, and 1 in the 5th. Nasty Nate did not have his good stuff. But Ellsbury led off the bottom of the 3rd with a home run, his 3rd of the season, off Jered Weaver, brother of Jeff F. Weaver (and you know what the F stands for). In the 4th, Chris Parmelee doubled, and came home on a Gardner single. That tied it at 4-4, before the Angels made it 5-4 in the top of the 5th.

Then came the bottom of the 6th, and the aforementioned needed spark. Parmelee took Weaver deep, with his 1st homer as a Yankee, to tie the game. With 1 out, Ellsbury walked, Gardner singled, Beltran doubled, A-Rod grounded out, and Brian McCann singled. 8-5 Yankees.

Didi Gregorius led off the bottom of the 7th with a single, and Parmelee hit his 2nd Yankee homer. Ronald Torreyes reached on an error, and Beltran hit one out, continuing said hot streak with his 16th homer.

Anthony Swarzak, a true journeyman (he even spent part of last season in Korea's baseball league), finished the 6th inning for Eovaldi, became the pitcher of record, and also pitched the 7th, allowing just 1 baserunner. Kirby Yates pitched a scoreless 8th, and Nick Goody allowed a meaningless homer by Mike Trout in the 9th.

Yankees 12, Angels 6. WP: Swarzak (1-0). No save. LP: Weaver (5-5).

The Yankees have now taken the 1st 3 games of the series, and go for the sweep tonight. Ivan Nova starts against Jhoulys Chacín, whom the Angels recently acquired from the Atlanta Braves. His name is pronounced "Yo-LEASE Sha-SHEEN." He's Venezuelan, but the pronunciation looks more Gaelic.

I'm hoping to see more of the heavy hitting the Yankees have put up lately.