BROKEN BOMBERS STAY RED-HOT!
Win fifth straight as makeshift lineup produces
ANAHEIM -- They kind of look like the Yankees of the movies. You know, the generic looking baseball players they put in Yankees uniforms and have in the background for films like ‘For the Love of the Game,’ or ‘Moneyball.’ This current 25-man roster of Yankees is far from the easily recognizable lineups that usually wear the pinstripes.
But, these guys are getting the job done.
Tuesday night, it was Domingo German and Mike Ford as the latest Yankees stepping up and making the most of their opportunities. German gave the Yankees another stellar start, going into the seventh inning, and Ford crushed his first big league home run, a two-run shot in the fifth to drive the Yankees to a 7-5 win over the Angels.
It was the fifth straight win for the Yankees (13-10), their longest winning streak since May 29 to June 4, 2018. The Yankees are three games above .500 for the first time this season and 7-1 in their last eight games.
They did it Tuesday night despite a veteran coming apart in the eighth.
Trying to get reliever Chad Green “right,” Aaron Boone gave him the eighth with a six-run lead. Green loaded the bases and then gave up a home run to Justin Bour. Green did not record an out, but Luis Cessa cleaned it up the mess.
And these Yankees, household names or not, had built up enough of a cushion to withstand the blow.
Luke Voit extended his on-base streak to 34 straight games with a first-inning, solo home run and then collected his first multi-home run game of the year with an opposite field solo shot in the eighth. It was his third multi-home run game, all came as a Yankees.
Brett Gardner, who the Yankees brought in as a fourth outfielder this season only to be put into everyday service by injuries, was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle. The 35-year old finished with four hits.
Gardner and Voit may be regulars, but they are not the headliner the Yankees expected to be carrying this team this year.
The Bombers went into Tuesday night’s game with a major-league leading 13 players on the injured list. And they are not just some random injuries, they hit at the heart of the offense, rotation and bullpen. Aaron Judge (oblique strain), Giancarlo Stanton (left biceps strain) and Aaron Hicks (lower back pain), the entire expected starting outfield is out. Miguel Andujar (torn labrum), Didi Gregorius (Tommy John surgery) and his backup, Troy Tulowitzki (strained calf ) are all on the IL as well. Staff ace Luis Severino (strained lat) is probably out until after the All-Star break and set-up man Dellin Betances (bone spur in his shoulder) likely won’t be back much before then.
But they have had players like Ford, German, Clint Frazier and Gio Urshela step up in big spots.