Kings in the North
With the Red Sox continuing to surge, it’s important that the Yankees continue to take care of business. They could have taken two from Detroit, but sweeping a double header is much easier said than done.
Nevertheless, the Yankees rolled into Toronto and were able to take both games against their divisional foe. They were on short rest, have been slumping, and ran out two pitchers that have been far from consistent; but the Bombers were able to muster out two important wins.
Game 1 (Yankees 7, Blue Jays 2)
Maybe the road had started to wear on the Yanks, but the offense came into Toronto looking as lethargic as it has looked all season. They needed an x-factor in this game, and they got it in a big way, but it was clear from the start that these Yankees can’t wait to be stateside.
CC Sabathia was masterful in this one. The home plate umpire Bill Miller is notorious for having a wide zone, which definitely played to the strengths of both pitchers in this game, that fact of that matter is that the Yankees are a better offensive team than the Blue Jays. Still, CC looked as good as he had all season. His cutter was running in on righties, his slider was entering the backdoor with ease, and his changeup was the icing on the cake. He finished with a line of 7.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, and 6 K’s; and gave the Yankees an important dosage of length and dominance.
As he has been since joined the Yankees, Miguel Andújar was the x-factor that the Yankees needed in this one. There’s been a lot of talk about moving both he and Torres up in the lineup because of how successful they’ve been; but the both of them have had that success (in part) because they play so well at the end of the lineup. They’re aggressive, they’re confident, and they’ve done a great job tonight turning the lineup over. Miggy had the big night on Tuesday, going 2–3 with a 2B and a Grand Slam; with Aaron Hicks adding a 3-run HR of his own to give the Yanks some valuable insurance.
Game 2 (Yankees 3, Blue Jays 0)
The marathon isn’t that bad for the team with the off-day tomorrow, but I did get my hopes up to enjoy the Finals tonight when they were through 6 after an hour and change. THIS is the Sonny Gray they need, and I think this tweet I sent out from Wednesday night summarizes my opinion on it best.
For the first time this season, I saw a competitive side of Sonny Gray. He gets out of a bases loaded jam and is fired up, he’s in the dugout holding court with CC (which I don’t personally love, but if it works), and he seems to be hungry. Maybe he’s heard some of the criticism, and started to feel the pressure; either way it was exciting to watch. Granted, this was all against the Blue Jays, but he’s had other big starts on the road (namely the Astros). The best par about all of this for Sonny Gray (and I can’t testify to every fan feeling this way) is that I watched this game and the thought creeped into my head “Hey, maybe this guy can start a playoff game”. He line: 8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, and 8 K’s; and he did it with a 95mph Fastball!
There wasn’t a lot of offense to report on in this one. In a similar breathe to Game 1, the Yankees are just a better offensive team (who also have a better bullpen), so after Gray exited, the performances of Green, Betances, and Chapman really won them the game. Judge’s 2-run HR was much needed, as was Stanton’s solo shot, both of which captured the brolic essence of this Yankees lineup. It would have been nice to get it done in 9, but in hindsight, having Dellin, Greeny, and Chappy get work in headed into the off day will keep them sharp for the subway series.
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I’d be lying to you if I didn't say I was worried about the subway series. The Mets are running out DeGrom (who’s easily the runner up in the NL Cy Young to Scherzer), Matz (who the Yanks should mash but has been good of late), and Syndergaard (who throws 100). The Bombers gets to counter Thor with Sevy in the series finale, which is sure to be awesome, but that only makes it a tougher test for Severino and the Yankees.
This might be going out on a limb, but I could see the Met’s taking 2 of 3 here. Todd Frazier made public his mission to energize the Metropolitans on Wednesday night, and things really can’t get much worse for this team. It’s not that I expect the Yankees to fall asleep, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Mets punched the Yankees in the mouth in Game 1 on Friday.
From there it’s a toss up. Say the Yankees respond strong in game two, and continue to crush left handed pitching the way they have all season; then you have to beat Noah Syndergaard. I get that Severino is going, and I get that Thor hasn’t been “Thor”, but I still fear Syndergaard the way many other teams/fans fear Gary Sanchez even though he’s batting .200. The body of work is there, and so I’m not expecting it to be a smooth victory over the Mets’ fireballer. What the Yankees do have going for them is an Luis Severino, and if their Ace can stay in Cy Young form, these Yanks might even surprise me.
