Source: FanGraphs
I asked for an easy blowout win with three mop-up innings from A.J. Cole and I got an easy blowout win with two mop-up innings from A.J. Cole. Close enough. The Yankees stretched their winning streak to eight games Saturday night — it was also their 11th win in the last 13 games — and it was a laugher. They were up by double-digits in the second inning. The final score was 11-1. West Coast night games get bullet point recaps, so let’s get to it.
- Five In The First: The Yankees took the mystery out of this one early. They sent nine men to the plate in the first inning and scored runs on everything from an error (Zack Cozart couldn’t handle Giancarlo Stanton’s grounder), a double (Gary Sanchez and Miguel Andujar each had one), a strikeout/passed ball (Neil Walker beat it out), and a ground out (Aaron Hicks). Three hits, one walk, one error, one passed ball, five runs. A nice early lead, that was.
- Five More In The Second: You know things are going well when Brett Gardner gets his third at-bat of the game in the second inning. The five-run second inning featured more brute force than the first. The Angels didn’t make any sloppy defensive plays or anything like that. The Yankees just pounded the ball. Aaron Judge doubled, Hicks tripled, Andujar singled, Gleyber Torres singled. It was an onslaught. The Hicks triple officially turned it into a laugher. The Yankees were up 6-0 and there were two outs in the inning, then bam, two-run triple into the corner. Five hits, two walks, five more runs. The Yankees were up 10-0 after an inning and a half.
- Tanaka You Out: Another strong start for Masahiro Tanaka, who seems to have brushed off those back-to-back ugly outings against the Red Sox and Marlins. He did give up the #obligatoryhomer, but it was a solo homer with the Yankees already up 10-0, so who cares? Tanaka struck out nine in six innings and allowed only two hits and two walks. The offense gave the veteran pitcher a big lead and Tanaka went into attack mode. He knows what do in a game like this. Just throw strikes.
- Leftovers: The Yankees scored 10+ runs a) without a homer for only the fourth time since 2013, and b) despite Gardner, Didi Gregorius, and Stanton going a combined 1-for-13 … Judge bounced back from Friday’s four-strikeout game by going 3-for-6 with a double … three hits for Andujar (two singles, double) and two each for Sanchez (doubles), Walker (singles), and Torres (single, double) … the Yankees had six batted balls with an exit velocity of 110+ mph in this game. That’s more than the Giants, Braves, and Reds have all season. For real.
Here are the box score, video highlights, and updated standings. Also, don’t miss our Bullpen Workload page. The Yankees and Angels will wrap up this three-game series with the ESPN Sunday Night Game. First Sunday night game of the season. Lefties CC Sabathia and Tyler Skaggs are the scheduled starters.
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