TEXAS TWO-STEP :
The Yankees went into Texas (May 21-23) with the best record in baseball and having won 8 straight series which tied a team record that went back to 1998.
The Yanks did a Texas two-step that resulted in .. 1 step forward, 2 steps back.
The 3 game series in Arlington started on ..the right foot, with a 10-5 win, but ended with them stubbing their toes with two straight losses 6-4 & 12-10.
The historic Offensive power surge continued. The Yankees tied an all-time MLB record. Over the last 5 games the Yankees have hit 21 Home Runs. To make it more impressive, all 5 games were on the road
Teams to hit 21 Home Runs over five games :
1977 Red Sox
1999 Reds
2018 Yankees
During the 3 game series against the Rangers, the Bombers totaled 12 Homers.
However, with all that being said, the series ended on an extremely sour note. In the third game, the Yankees blew a 4-0 & 10-5 lead. CC and D-Rob were the main culprits in the rubber game. This was probably the most painful Yankees loss of the season.
WANNA START SOMETHING? :
The Starting pitching was not good for the entire series :
Tanaka 5. 0 innings, 4 Earned Runs
German 3.2 innings , 6 Earned Runs
Sabathia 4.1 innings, 7 Earned Runs
Total 13 innings , 17 Earned Runs = 11.77 ERA !!
COLE HARD FACTS :
I hate to sound like a broken record but along with many savvy Yankee fans I have been pointing out that Home Runs are nice but … Pitching wins Championships, and the Yanks don’t have enough quality starting pitching. They will absolutely need to trade for a top starter at the trade deadline.
Interestingly enough, Game 2 of the series featured Cole Hamels in what could be considered an audition. Hamels limited the red-hot Yankee lineup to 2 ER, 4 Hits, over 7 innings. He walked 2 & K’d 7. Aaron Boone after the game said – “He was really good. The cut fastball was a real weapon for him, threw some good changeups. We had a tough opponent tonight in Hamels.”
In a previous column ( Up In Arms ) I mentioned that I would target Madison Bumgarner at the trade deadline. If he were not made available by the Giants, next on my list would be Cole Hamels. Despite having a no-trade contract that includes NY , Hamels has hinted that he would like to pitch in the postseason in the Bronx. Cole is past his prime but the 2008 WS MVP has enough left to make him a prime target come the end of July (or sooner).
