YANKS ON CLOUD 9, SWEEP ANGELS
ANAHEIM — This week, we finally get to see what we’ve been looking forward to for a while now: Murderers’ Row 2.0 against the defending champs and their star-studded rotation.
The Bronx Bombers scored just a pair of runs in their 2-1 victory over the Angels on Sunday night, but they are averaging slightly over six per game so far, and could flirt with reaching 1,000 by season’s end.
The additions of dynamic youngsters Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres to the bottom of the lineup have made it complete — an absolute grind for opposing pitchers from No. 1 through No. 9.
Aaron Judge hasn’t changed his superstar approach from last season, while April MVP Didi Gregorius has begun exhibiting Judge-like patience at the plate, making him a similarly dangerous force.
Heck, Giancarlo Stanton and Gary Sanchez haven’t even hit their strides, yet the Yankees (18-9) are equipped to handle guys slumping, possessing several hitters with the ability to carry an offense for a prolonged stretch.
On Sunday night, though, Stanton and Sanchez carried the load — Sanchez following Stanton’s double with a 447foot, two-run homer in the fourth inning that gave solid veteran CC Sabathia all the run support he needed.
But they’re about to face a formidable foursome in Charlie Morton, Justin Verlander, Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers Jr. Monday through Thursday at Minute Maid Park — a quartet of aces that combined to crush their dreams of reaching the World Series in 2017.
“They won the World Series last year, and they’re probably a better team right now than they were at this point last year,” Brett Gardner said of the Jose Altuve-led Astros (19-10), who have a plus-66 run differential — a franchise-best mark through the first 29 games of a season. “Obviously it’ll be a good challenge for us. We’re looking forward to it.”
The biggest difference between these two AL giants is in the starting rotation. And the Bombers won’t even see Gerrit Cole, who finished the month of April with a staggering 61 strikeouts and a 1.73 ERA in six starts.
Indeed, Cole still feels like the one who got away from the Yankees this offseason, with the Bombers — who carry a nine-game winning streak — still in search of another difference-maker they can slot behind Luis Severino and Sabathia, who has picked up right where he left off in 2017, posting a marvelous 1.71 ERA in his first five outings.
Brian Cashman has until the trade deadline to find that guy — Michael Fulmer? Sean Manaea? TBD? — with the prospect capital to make something happen.
Until then, it’s Pray for Gray. And hope Masahiro Tanaka can rediscover his dominant form from 2016 and the 2017 postseason on a consistent basis. Morton and Verlander have carried their ALCS dominance over the Yankees into the regular season, while Keuchel has actually gotten off to the slowest start of the group. In fact, Morton, Verlander and Cole all rank among the top-10 in baseball in ERA.
“They’ve got some guys on their staff that have really great fastballs. They’ve got some guys on their staff that have really great breaking balls. And several of the guys have both,” Gardner said, laughing. “It makes it difficult as a hitter. We have to adjust.”
Last season, the Bombers had a 3-2 lead going back to Houston. But Severino struggled, Sabathia’s magic ran out, and the bats combined to score one run in the final two games. Just like that, it was over. “It definitely took a while to get over that, but it’s one of those things where especially once the season starts it’s time to turn the page,” Gardner said. “It kind of eats away at you all offseason, but once you get down to Tampa and spring training gets going you try to learn from those things that happened in the past.”
The 2018 campaign is only a month old, but Gardner called the four-game series against the Astros “a good measuring I point for us.” t’s a chance for the Bronx Bombers to match up against some of the best pitchers in the game. For baseball fans, it’ll be must-watch TV. “They’ve got a really good team, maybe the best team in baseball. It’s a tough place to play,” Gardner said. “But we’re looking forward to the challenge.”