Yanks Talk: Episode 1

It was an excellent week for the Yankees as they went 5-2, sweeping the Athletics and splitting with the Rays. The A’s continued their struggles coming into the series with only 8 wins which is the worst in the MLB by a far margin. The Yankees won Game 1 of the Series 7-2 with 4 Home Runs which included a 2-run bomb by Aaron Hicks in the 7th Inning. The Yanks won Game 2 10-5 with a Home Run from Jake Bauers which was 420 feet in the 7th  The Yankees then won Game 3 and swept the A’s winning 11-3. The highlight of the game was a Grand Slam by the rookie Anthony Volpe in the 5th. 

The Rays then came into the Bronx for a huge 4 game series. Game one on Thursday was a snooze fest. Domingo German had a very solid start for the second game in a row. However, the bullpen completely collapsed which is becoming a recurring theme this season. On Friday night, the Yankees showed some heart for the first time this season. The Yankees found themselves down 2-1 before Anthony Rizzo exploded for two home runs on his bobblehead night. Saturday and Sunday provided two wild games. On Saturday, the Yankees were down 6-0 because the MVP hit two home runs. On Sunday, the Yankees found themselves winning 4-3 after being down 3-0. Once again, the bullpen imploded. A five-run fifth was too much for the Yankees to overcome, despite another homerun for Volpe.

One thing is clear- if the Yankees do not fix their bullpen, there will be no postseason in the Bronx. It is only May and still too early to overreact to anything. Right now, the Yankees are simply not good enough to compete for a World Series title. The Yankees easily could have won 3 of 4 against the Rays. If the bullpen was not a disaster, we would be having a completely different conversation. However, splitting four against the MLB’s best team is no easy feat. A 5-2 homestand is also very successful.  

The Yankees now have a 7 game road trip, 4 games against the Toronto Blue Jays, and then 3 games versus the Cincinnati Reds. It’s the point of the season when the Yankees need to start to get the record up and move up in the division. This road trip is huge and the Yankees need to win at least 4 out of the 7 games. Taking ⅔ vs. Toronto and sweeping Cincinnati would go a long way into putting the Yankees back into AL East contention.