Texas Rangers

New York Yankees: Looking Forward to the Final Road Trip of the Regular Season

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New York Yankees, Yankees, Luke voit

The New York Yankees, already clinching the division and home-field advantage in the ALDS, travel to Tampa and Texas for the final six games of the season. This when the team has to bear down and take it one win at a time.

The first order of business, the Tampa Bay Rays. They are going to do everything in their power to win both games of the two-game set. With Glasnow and Snell coming back off injury, expect to see them at a point during this series. The one-hitter Yankees’ pitchers must be careful with is Austin Meadows. He is hitting .289, with 32 home runs, and 88 RBIs (MLB.com). The Rays have a balanced lineup, mixed with some underrated power and line-drive hitters. This could be a trap series for the team from the Bronx.

Next on the list, the Texas Rangers. The weekend series will set the tone for the Yankees heading into the postseason. Hitters will most likely face Lance Lynn and Mike Minor near the end of the series.  Lynn had a career-best ERA to start the year but fell off in the second half.  Minor helped shutout the Yankees, at home, for the first time in over a year. Beating both of these pitchers should boost the lineup’s confidence heading into the postseason.

Why is this final road trip so important?

The Yankees are currently two games behind the Astros in the loss column, for home-field advantage. They have the tiebreaker which would make it three games. This implies the Yankees must go at least four out of five to stay in the competition for home field. They will have to hope the Mariners and Angels can win at least three of the six games.

As of now, the Yankees will host the Minnesota Twins in the ALDS. This series would be a rematch of the epic 2017 AL Wild Card game. The Twins rotation will most likely consist of Jose Berrios, Jake Odorizzi, and Kyle Gibson. All of them have double-digit wins on the year. The Yankees play much better at home in the playoffs but will have to prove themselves at Target Field, to ultimately get a chance to play in the World Series.

The New York Yankees will get a chance to redeem themselves for losing to the Astros in seven games in the 2017 ALCS. As of late, the Yankees have proven they have a good enough rotation and very intimidating lineup to make it there. Let’s see how they do the second time around.

New York Yankees: Behind Paxton’s Brilliance and 5 Homers, Yanks Rout Rangers 10-1

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New York Yankees, James Paxton

After suffering a 7-0 defeat to the Texas Rangers on Monday afternoon, the New York Yankees looked forward to achieving revenge. James Paxton, who was tremendous in the month of August, recorded a 3.57 ERA, 4.04 FIP and a 1.08 WHIP in 35.1 innings pitched. On Tuesday night, Big Maple performed with fire in his heart through 7 innings, allowing only 1 hit, no runs and struck out an incredible 12 batters on 95 pitches. This is the true ace that everyone has been expecting since the blockbuster trade back in November of 2018.

The offense exploded tonight, which included 5 homers and a 6-run rally in the bottom of the 6th. Gary Sanchez led off the charge in the bottom of the 1st, hammering a deep, 2-run blast to center field, traveling 408-feet with an exit velocity of 110.7 MPH. The Kraken had unfinished business, but we will cover that story in a moment.

As Paxton continued to deal throughout the game and displayed his true potential as an ace, the offense accelerated in the bottom of the 6th. To begin the 6-run rally, Sir Didi Gregorius launched a gorgeous, 3-run shot to right field, traveling 402-feet with an exit velocity of 104.1 MPH.

Remember when I stated that we would discuss Gary Sanchez again at a later time? Well, the Sanchino himself, launched a solo shot immediately after Gregorius, traveling 412-feet with an exit velocity of 110.7 MPH. This blast signified his 34th homer on the season, which is more than any catcher has possessed in Yankees history. The legend himself also collected his 14th career multi-home run game in 365 games, which is the 2nd fastest in MLB history.

After a spectacular grab but a poor throw to 1st base by Elvis Andrus, which resulted in a base hit for Edwin Encarnacion, Brett Gardner joined the home run derby with a towering, 2-run knock to right field, traveling 370-feet with an exit velocity of 102.6 MPH. Interestingly enough, Gardy is closing in on surpassing his previous home run record in a season, which was 21 dingers in 2017. He currently is one shy of tying and two of shattering his record.

The Yankees also produced damage in the bottom of the 7th. After Sanchez took a baseball off the elbow and trotted to 1st base like the champion he is, Encarnacion smoked a 2-run shot to left field, traveling 386-feet with an exit velocity of 104.4 MPH. Keep in mind, Eddy just returned to the Bronx after a couple of rehab games in Scranton with the RailRiders. I’d say he is locked in and hasn’t skipped a beat since his last at-bat in early August.

By the time the ballgame was completely beyond reach, Scott Heineman blasted a solo shot to right field, which so happened to be his first homer in his major league career. Gregorius recorded the last out at 1st base, granting the Yankees a 10-1 victory over the Rangers and the rest is history. The New York Yankees now possess a 91-49 (.650) record and are the best club in the majors.

New York Yankees: Shut Out For the First Time in Over a Year

by
New York Yankees, Aaron Judge

On Labor Day, Monday, September 2, 2019, the New York Yankees were shutout by Mike Minor and the Texas Rangers.

Minor went 7 and 1/3 innings, allowed 5 hits, one walk, struck out 5, and lowered his ERA to 3.12 (Baseball-Reference). This outing could make the Yankees front office second guess their decision to not get a starting pitcher at the deadline.

The Yankees only amassed 6 hits in the game and left six runners on base (Baseball-Reference). Mike Tauchman had two, Tyler Wade, Gary Sanchez, Mike Ford, and Luke Voit each had a hit (Baseball-Reference). The Yankees have seemed to struggle against some of the teams in the AL West the past few seasons.

One Shutout will not Stop this Offense

The last time the Yankees were shutout was June 30, 2018, against the Boston Red Sox (mlb.com). This team has lost a lot of games since then, but they were not shutout in any of them. That is fascinating. This offense has revolutionized the value of powerful bats up and down the lineup. They have set records: most home runs by a team (until the Twins passed them two days ago), most home runs in a calendar month as a team, and consecutive games with a home run as a team. Those records should not be taken lightly.

Again, once everyone is healthy, whether it is the end of the season or next season, there is no record that this offense cannot break. Anyone can lead the offense on any given day, that is what makes this offense different from any other in MLB history. The New York Yankees’ offense should be a force come the postseason, especially at home with the lively crowd at their backs.