The New York Yankees are about to get their first look at a team that many believed would own the AL East this season. New York is coming off of a high-powered weekend in Milwaukee where the Yankees took two of three games against the Milwaukee Brewers, scoring 36 runs in the process. This burst in production could be exactly what the Yankees need as they expect to have a hard-fought four-game series in Baltimore.
Baltimore looks to get back on track after a surprising three-game series loss to the Oakland Athletics. This recent series loss has the Orioles sitting second in the AL East standings one game behind the Yankees. The Yankees currently sit atop the AL East standings with a 19-10 record, while the Orioles have a 17-10 record and each team has gone 6-4 in their last 10 games.
Vibes are good in the Yankees clubhouse, no-doubt fueled by Aaron Judge seemingly finding his stride after an abysmal start to the season. He is currently batting .211 for the season with a .777 OPS, but has caught fire over the last six games, going 8 for 23 (.348) at the plate and blasting three home runs with seven RBI.
“We’re excited,” Aaron Judge said. “We’ve been watching them from afar, they’re a great team. They got a great young team. They did a lot of good things last year, especially winning the division. We’re excited to get out there and have some fun.”
While some fans may measure the Yankees on their performance this week, manager Aaron Boone explained that he was not putting much stock into the divisional showdown.
“Look, we know they’re a really good club, but it’s just part of the long season,” Boone said. “You know that’s a team, especially going to their place, if you’re going to beat them, you gotta play really well. I don’t get too much into barometers and messages and all that, especially this time of year. It’s about trying to stack together consistent performances.”
Baltimore, who finished 101-61 last season and took the AL East pennant, have an abundance of young talent. The team is led by Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman, who are batting .318 and .288 respectively. They also added ace Corbin Burnes in a trade with the Brewers over the offseason, making them an even more formidable foe.
Anthony Rizzo, who just hit his 300th career homerun, had this to say about the upcoming series: “We like what we have in here,” Anthony Rizzo explained. “We have a lot of respect for them with what they do and [Brandon Hyde] managing them, it’s a great team. … It’ll be a good series. This division will be tough through the end of the year.”
A look back at yesterday’s game & injury updates
Anthony Volpe, who just turned 23 on Sunday, gave the Yankees a 4-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning Sunday when he crushed a three-run home run. He entered the at-bat 7 for his last 49, struggling for the first time this season after coming hot out of the gate an earning a consistent leadoff position in the lineup. It was his first home-run since April 8th.
“He put a charge into that ball,” Boone said. “That ball’s smoked. I still feel like he’s been having the right at-bats, competitive at-bats. Not getting as great of results of late, but feel like he’s been in a good spot.”
Marcus Stroman threw 88 pitches yesterday and struggled with his command as only half of his pitches thrown were strikes; he walked a season-high five batters in the effort. He navigated his way around traffic in each of the first four innings, but could not survive the fifth when the Brewers erased a four-run deficit ushered by a three-run home run by ex-Yankee Jake Bauers.
“Struggled a bit mechanically,” Stroman said. “Too many walks overall. That’s very uncharacteristic of me. I just gotta get back in the zone.”
Infielder Jon Berti (left groin strain) began a rehab assignment on Sunday with Double-A Somerset, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and playing five innings at third base. He is expected to play again on Tuesday and likely Wednesday before potentially rejoining the Yankees.
Gerrit Cole, who has been sidelined so far this season with nerve inflammation threw on flat ground again on Saturday and could advance to pitching off a mound this week.
“I just know [Saturday] was a fairly intense day from a flat-ground standpoint,” Boone said. “Sounds like it went well.”
Yankees reliever, Tommy Kahnle, completed a 15-pitch live batting practice session on Saturday in Tampa. He is expected to throw another on Tuesday or Wednesday.
