The Yankees did what they needed to do. Win another series. In taking 2 of 3 in KC the Yankees have now won 8 straight series in a row (longest series winning streak since 1998 when they won 9 straight series). After dropping the opener 5-2 (Junis > Sabathia) the Yankees shook off the rust and bounced back to win the next two , 8-3 (Severino > Duffy), and 10-1 (Gray > Skoglund).
The Offense continues to pound the baseball. The Yanks lead mlb in ..Runs Scored, On-Base%, &OPS. They are 2nd in HRs (only because they have played 3 less games than the Red Sox who lead them by 1 HR). The Bombers have hit 9 HRs in their last 2 games.
Heading into Texas, the Yankees have the best record in baseball 30-13 (.698 winning %). The Red Sox are only percentage points behind the Yanks 32-15 (.681 winning %) Houston is third with a 30-18 record (.625 winning %). You can’t help but have the feeling that these three teams are headed for a post-season collision course.
One stat that jumps out at me when I look at these 3 top teams is starting pitching. It is amazing to see that the Houston Astros have the top 3 A.L. starters with the lowest ERA’s and all 3 have a sub 2.00 ER
- Justin Verlander (HOU)1.05 ERA !!
- Gerrit Cole (HOU) 1.75 ERA
- Charlie Morton (HOU) 1.94 ERA
- Chris Sale (BOS) 2.29 ERA
- Luis Severino (NYY) 2.35 ERA
Last year the Astros traded for Verlander at the trading deadline and won the WS because of the move. Will the Yankees be able to trade for a Verlander-type difference-maker ? There is one huge difference-maker on the DL in San Francisco.
Madison Bumgarner !! But will he be available ??
SF is 24-24 without him. If they fell out of the race, they could decide to trade him because they will only have control of Madison for one more year. Bumgarner will be a FA after the 2019 season. He is a bit of a health risk because he is rehabbing from surgery on his left pinkie, and also was out 3 months last year with a shoulder sprain when he fell off a dirt-bike, but the Yanks have plenty of prospects to trade, and no pitcher out there has a better post-season track record than the 3X WS Champion.
