This Week in the Bronx - Week 7
A Bittersweet Week in the Bronx
It is never an easy week when you have not one but two series against teams leading their divisions. The Seattle Mariners (26-19) and the New York Mets (29-17) are playing great baseball as we approach the end of the season's first quarter. The Yankees managed to take down the Mariners in Seattle to win the series 2-1.
The long-awaited return of Juan Soto to the Bronx was nothing short of entertaining. Soto went 1-10 in this series with four walks against the Yankees. He also stole a couple of bases, which was interesting to see. Truth be told, I thought he took the criticism from Yankee fans rather well and there were a LOT of boos going on. The fans even turned their backs to Soto when he first took the field, which was a little over the top, but the most Yankee-fan thing to do. The Yankees ended up taking the series against the Mets, which was secured by a grand slam that Cody Bellinger crushed out of Yankee Stadium!
Series 1: Seattle Mariners (Away)
Game 1: W 11-5 | Game 2: L 2-1 | Game 3: W 3-2
Series 2: New York Mets (Home)
Game 1: W 6-2 | Game 2: L 3-2 | Game 3: W 8-2
Clarke Schmidt stepped it up this week with two starts and earned himself two quality starts in the process against the Mets and Seattle! The Yankees will need Schmidt to bring his A-game to every start moving forward, as Marcus Stroman’s knee injury is still lingering, and Luis Gil still needs time to build up while recovering from a shoulder issue. I will continue to say this over and over again, but the Yankees need to find ways to build depth for the playoffs.
The Yankees just took a flier on Anthony DeSclafani (35), who has agreed to a minor league deal this week. If DeSclafani can get to the majors and deliver some quality innings, the Yankees may have some of the solution to the injuries of Cole, Gil, and Stroman. I am not saying that DeSclafani is the answer to these three arms missing time due to injury, but he owns a career 4.20 ERA across 169 starts with 830 strikeouts. Another solid veteran or two can complement Fried, Rodon, and Schmidt nicely.
Arms to Highlight:
Luke Weaver —> 3.1 IP | 6 K | 0.00 ERA | 2 SV | 0.00 WHIP
Clarke Schmidt —> 12.0 IP | 11 K | 3.75 ERA | 1 W | 2 QS | 1.08 WHIP
Devin Williams —> 2.1 IP | 4 K | 0.00 ERA | 1 HLD | 0.43 WHIP
Ian Hamilton —> 2.1 IP | 4 K | 0.00 ERA | 1 W | 0.00 WHIP
Notable Team Pitching Statistics Thru 5/17:
+ 1st in H (304)
+ 4th in SO (417)
- T-19th in QS (14)
+ 9 in ERA (3.57)
Let’s start with the elephant in the room. The Cabrera injury was disgusting, and we all wish Oswaldo a speedy recovery. The fact of the matter is that he will be out for a long time following the play in which he fractured his ankle while trying to score against Seattle. This happened in Game 1 of the Mariners series, yet the team could pull it together and take 2 of 3 against the top team in the American League West.
Outside of the Cabrera injury, the bats have been excellent. The crazy thing is that the lineup is doing damage without Giancarlo Stanton or Jazz Chisholm Jr. Yes, there will be difficult discussions when Stanton is back, as Ben Rice has been a stud so far this season. This is not something I am worrying about as Stanton’s return still seems far away. I am just hoping the Yankee bats keep up the barrage.
Also…CODY BELLINGER is a DAWG!
Bats to Highlight:
Aaron Judge —> 1 HR | .440 BA | 5 R | 4 BB | 1.140 OPS
Anthony Volpe —> 1 HR | 4 RBI | .318 BA | 4 R | 4 BB | 1 SB | .952 OPS
Paul Goldschmidt —> 1 HR | 5 R | .348 BA | 6 RBI | 1 SB | .984 OPS
Notable Team Hitting Statistics Thru 5/18:
+ 3rd in AVG (.262)
+ 1st in BB (184)
+ 3rd in R (258)
- T-25th in SO (405)
Schedule-wise, it gets easier this week as the Yankees start with a home series against the Texas Rangers (25-23), a rival in the American League. Then, they will head straight to Colorado to face off against the Colorado Rockies (8-38), the worst team in baseball. You cannot expect perfection, but ideally, the Yankees take at least two of three in both of these series.
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