The last two weeks have been incredible for the Yankees! Not only have they won four series in a row now since that dreadful series with Boston, but they are now only two games back in the division behind Toronto!
Series 1: Houston Astros (Away) → Won 2-1
My biggest takeaway from all the wackiness of this series was that the Yankees took two out of three games. Winning is the bottom line right now, especially with nineteen games left in the season. Not to mention the Yankees are still two games back in the division, as well as not locked into a Wild Card slot.
Series 2: Toronto Blue Jays (Home) → Won 2-1
This was a massive series for New York. The Blue Jays are the team standing in the way of the Yankees claiming the division right now. The division is still wide open, even though Toronto has a 2-game lead on New York and a 3.5-game lead on Boston.
Game 1 of this series is something I want to forget about. Cam Schlittler was shelled. In the next two games, the Yankees pitched well and hit in the spots they needed to, to secure a couple of wins.
Similar to the Aaron Judge factor for the offense, this staff needs Max Fried to be the ace all the time. He owns a career 3.06 ERA; needless to say, he is a DAWG! Fried, Rodon, Schlittler, Warren, Gil, and Yarbrough can get the job done to win a World Series.
The question looms, will they?
The bullpen is not a significant problem. Devin Williams has been bad in 2025, but Fernando Cruz has been disgusting on the mound and sort of made up for that lack of production from Williams. The Yankees have a ton of weapons to throw at opposing lineups after six innings between Weaver, Bednar, Williams, Cruz, Leiter Jr., Hill, Doval, and Blackburn.
Arms to Highlight Across the Past Week:
Ryan Yarbrough —> 5.1 IP | 3 K | 1.69 ERA | 0.56 WHIP
Max Fried —> 14 IP | 9 K | 2.57 ERA | 2 W | 2 QS | 1.00 WHIP
Carlos Rodon —> 6 IP | 3 K | 1.50 ERA | 1 W | 1 QS | 0.83 WHIP
Notable Team Cumulative Pitching Statistics Thru 9/7:
+ 3rd in H (1,103)
+ 4th in SO (1,270)
- 15th in QS (51)
- 14th in ERA (3.92)
The lineup is producing, and it is not even operating at full capacity. Let’s not focus on age with this, but there are 4 MVPs on this team. All of them are on the hitting side. If the Yankees head into the playoffs with Judge, Stanton, Bellinger, and Goldschmidt all hot, this is a nightmare scenario for any pitching staff.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. is a very good baseball player, and he is on his way to a 30-30 season. I can only imagine what a healthy lineup with all cogs clicking at the same time looks like. Ryan McMahon is finally finding his stride in New York, which is great to see!
The problem is that this team lives and dies with Aaron Judge. If Judge is hitting in October, I have all the faith in the world. If he is cold, well, that's a different story.
Bats to Highlight Across The Past Week:
Aaron Judge —> 0 HR | 0 RBI | .250 BA | 4 R | 7 BB | .694 OPS
Ryan McMahon —> 1 HR | 4 RBI | .313 BA | 3 R | 3 BB | .963 OPS
Austin Wells —> 1 HR | 3 R | .286 BA | 2 BB | 1.047 OPS
Notable Team Cumulative Hitting Statistics Thru 9/7:
- 14th in AVG (.249)
+ 1st in BB (562)
+ 1st in R (749)
+ 1st in TB (2,199)
- 25th in SO (1,267)
The Yankees take on Detroit in New York and then head to Boston to take on the Red Sox. New York has been playing well over the last couple of weeks, so I hope that they can get some revenge on Boston this week and solidify a playoff spot. As for the Wild Card vs. Division winner debate… time will tell, but I think the Yankees can still absolutely take the American League East.
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