This Week in the Bronx - Week 9
The Dodgers Humble New York...Again
Well, it happened. I missed my first week of Yankees coverage of the season last week. Honestly, it was a good week to miss as the Yankees just crushed the Rangers & Rockies, taking five of six games in these two respective series.
Fast forward to this past week, New York continued its West Coast road trip and took on both teams from Los Angeles. The Yankees swept the Angels and then were humbled by the Dodgers. Shohei Ohtani even took a little snooze during one of the games, as this seemed like it was easy work for the Dodgers. This is a scary sight to see, as the Dodgers have been hit by the injury bug hard the last few weeks. Their depth is evident, which is precisely why they have been spending so much on player acquisition over the last few years. The Yankees need to improve their in-house development and shed a few contracts if they hope to compete with Los Angeles at the top level of the league.
The good news is the Yankees still sit atop the American League East with a 36-22 record and have a five-and-a-half game lead on Toronto for the division at this time. Although I said on the podcast that I would stop saying “early” as we are now in June, I will pivot to saying that there is a lot of baseball left to be played.
Series 1: Los Angeles Angels (Away)
Game 1: W 5-1 | Game 2: W 3-2 | Game 3: W 1-0
Series 2: Los Angeles Dodgers (Away)
Game 1: L 8-5 | Game 2: L 18-2 | Game 3: W 7-3
You cannot complain about the pitching staff if you are a Yankees fan. Ace Gerrit Cole was ruled out for the season, and last season’s Rookie of the Year, Luis Gil, has been out all season so far. That being the case, the Yankees are still pitching rather well.
Carlos Rodon and Max Fried have been nothing short of spectacular to start 2025. Ryan Yarbrough & Clarke Schmidt are delivering quality results, and Will Warren is showing signs of life. Yes. Devin Williams did not have a great start to his tenure in New York, but he is looking just fine as of late.
I low-key love this bullpen for the playoffs (if healthy) with Weaver, Williams, Leiter Jr., Hill, Hamilton, and Loaisiga. The Yankees just need more consistency from everyone, and the staff is very dependable for another deep playoff run.
Arms to Highlight:
Carlos Rodon —> 13 IP | 18 K | 0.00 ERA | 2 W | 2 QS | 0.69 WHIP
Ryan Yarbrough —> 17 IP | 20 K | 1.59 ERA | 2 W | 2 QS | 0.59 WHIP
Devin Williams —> 5.2 IP | 8 K | 3.18 ERA | 4 HLD | 1 SV | 1.06 WHIP
Notable Team Pitching Statistics Thru 6/1:
+ 1st in H (410)
+ 3rd in SO (547)
- T-16th in QS (21)
+ 8th in ERA (3.60)
The bummer of the past week is that Jasson “The Martian” Dominguez is starting to get hot, and he hurt his thumb sliding into second base on a steal. I love to see him running, but this is just a part of the game, unfortunately. He should wear protective mitts going forward, this has to be a lesson learned.
Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt continue to have stellar seasons, and their efforts have been carrying the Yankees. Austin Wells is starting to come around, but I’d be lying if I said I was disappointed in his season so far. Ben Rice is also starting to rebound from his slump. Cody Bellinger and Anthony Volpe have both been solid. Bellinger is a former MVP, and I am dreaming that he can return to that form come playoff time. Volpe has shown a ton of growth in his game, he is only twenty-four years old. Once Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Giancarlo Stanton come back, this lineup can be lethal.
I have to mention Trent Grisham as he has been the unsung hero of this group. He owns a .865 OPS so far this season to pair with thirteen bombs. I am salivating at the thought of this lineup at full strength.
Bats to Highlight:
Aaron Judge —> 6 HR | .349 BA | 12 R | 9 BB | 1.276 OPS
Jasson Dominguez —> 1 HR | 4 RBI | .276 BA | 3 R | 5 BB | 4 SB | .775 OPS
Paul Goldschmidt —> 1 HR | 8 R | .310 BA | 3 RBI | 2 SB | .859 OPS
Notable Team Hitting Statistics Thru 6/1:
+ 3rd in AVG (.259)
+ 1st in BB (240)
+ 3rd in R (319)
- 9th in SO (512)
New York heads home to take on the Cleveland Guardians and then closes out this upcoming week with a series against arch rival, the Boston Red Sox. I think they can take two of three in both of these series. A Boston sweep would be awesome!