Yankees GBU – A funeral for an enemy

The New York Yankees had the opportunity to bury the Boston Red Sox in their last series.  It was a chance for the Bombers to give back to the Red Sox what they gave to them at Fenway Park only a few weeks ago.  The Yankees gave back, and did much more.  They in essence ended Boston’s season, or at least their hopes for another A.L. East title.  A sweep was in order and the Red Sox went down in all four games of the series.

The Red Sox may still be hanging on for dear life in the Wild Card race but the Yankees used their offensive might and good pitching (wow) to bully Boston around.  This isn’t the same Red Sox team that won the World Series last season, but this also isn’t the same Yankees team that went out with a whimper against these Sox in the ALDS.  They are much more formidable, much better with RISP and much more confident.  They are possibly what the Red Sox were last season.

The Good

Excellent pitching all around

The Yankees put plenty of runs on the board, but the main reason why they were able to sweep the Red Sox was because of good pitching.  From James Paxton to Luis Cessa, almost every pitcher that worked the four game series was excellent.  Paxton had one of his best starts of the season (6 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 6 K, 3 BB), as did Domingo German (7 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 7 K, 0 BB).

The opener strategy worked again for the Yankees, as they improved to 9-0 when they employ it.  J.A. Happ didn’t have his best game (5 2/3 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 K, 1 BB) but was spotted a seven run cushion and was cruising up until the fifth inning.  Overall, both the starting rotation and the bullpen were on point, something that didn’t look possible right before the trade deadline.

The big boys in the pen (Ottavino, Kahnle, Britton, Chapman) were nearly spotless and Chad Green started Saturday’s night cap and finished Sunday’s game with his second save of the season.  You could not ask more from the Yankee’s pitching, especially considering their opponent.  The Sox were red hot at Fenway two weeks ago, but the Yankees hosed them down.

Next man up

The next man up mentality, along with the word savage, has been used to describe the current landscape of the Yankees.  They’ve had 25 players on the I.L. so far this season and have lost more games than any team in baseball.  That being said, every player in the lineup contributed to this sweep.

Let’s put it another way.  The following players had at least one hit over the weekend series;

Gio Urshela

Mike Ford

Cameron Maybin

Kyle Higashioka

Mike Tauchman

Breyvic Valera

It’s a little unfair because Urshela and Tauchman have turned into diamonds in the rough, but nonetheless six guys who had little to NO expectations coming into the season contributed.  That kind of depth is unheard of and regardless of how mad Yankee fans can be at Brian Cashman for staying pat at the deadline, he’s to thank for the insane depth this team has.

Gleyber Torres had a particularly good series against the Sox.  He had three home runs, including two in the nigh cap of the doubleheader.  He became the third youngest Yankee to have multiple Grand Slams in a season, behind only Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle.  He had four hits, two RBIs and a trip to the hospital, as he pulled something in his core on Sunday night.  Regardless, Torres lit it up against the Yankees’ biggest rival.  He is a star in the making.

They buried their rivals

We talked briefly about how the Red Sox are now dead in the water when it comes to the American League East.  The Yankees and Rays, the team chasing the Yankees, sent the Red Sox into a two week spiral.  Boston hasn’t won in eight games and losing ground to their two biggest rivals isn’t going to make things any easier down the stretch.

The Yankees pummeled Eduardo Rodriguez, Chris Sale and David Price.  They made it be known once again that they own real estate in David Price’s head.  They more than made up for the stinker of a series they had last time they visited Fenway.  It was the perfect series and the perfect way to bury the Red Sox in the standings.  The Sox are now dead and the Yankees are to thank for that.

The Bad

No bad in a perfect series.

The Ugly

Injuries piling up again

Unfortunately for the Yankees, the injury bug has been contagious almost every week of the 2019 season.  This time it bit Edwin Encarnacion, Aaron Hicks, Gio Urshela and Gleyber Torres.  Edwin will be on the 10-Day I.L. for at least three weeks after fracturing his wrist on a HBP.  Aaron Hicks came out of a game after throwing to the cut-off man, and it was determined that he strained his elbow.

As for Torres and Urshela, they will be making the trip to Baltimore for the series with the Orioles and although Gleyber was in the hospital after the game last night, his father reassured that all is well with him.  As for Gio, he was icing his legs after hitting not one but two foul balls off of his shins.  Urshela stayed in the game after each of those, one on each leg and will be out for game one of the Baltimore series.

It was the perfect series for the Yankees and their fans.  It was made ever so sweeter by the fact that the sweep came against their most hated rival, the Boston Red Sox.  The Yankees will now trudge on to Baltimore and play 15 straight games before their next off day.  Their schedule isn’t particular challenging but they need to stay focused and keep their eye on the prize;  The American League East title.