Yankees pick up momentum with wins out West
The Yankees continue to play winning baseball with a positive six-game West Coast road trip, taking four from the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers before returning to the Bronx to begin a six-game home stand. They opened it on Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox. The series ends tonight and the Boston Red Sox will be in town starting tomorrow for a weekend three-game set.
The Yankees took 10-4 and 10-2 victories from the Mariners on May 29 and May 30 respectively, followed by taking down the Dodgers 6-3 on Saturday and 4-1 on Sunday after dropping the first game of the series last Friday 8-4. They were 36-25 before facing the White Sox on Tuesday, the fifth-best record in Major League Baseball, but only good enough for third place in the American League East division, arguably the toughest. The first-place Tampa Bay Rays had the best record in MLB at 43-19 and the second-place Baltimore Orioles were 37-22, the third-best overall mark in the league.
The Yankees saw the return of outfielder/designated hitter Giancarlos Stanton and third base player Josh Donaldson from the injured list. Both came back in the Dodgers series. Stanton had been out since April 15 with a strained hamstring and Donaldson shelved since April 5, also with a hamstring strain. Donaldson immediately made his presence felt, hitting two homers in the Yankees’ 8-4 loss last Friday. Stanton also homered and had a walk in his first action in almost seven weeks.
RELATED: Aaron Judge’s power fuels Yankees’ surge
With the two sluggers adding a lift to the lineup, last year’s AL MVP Aaron Judge injured his right big toe in crashing into the Dodgers’ outfield wall on Saturday. He missed Sunday’s and Tuesday’s games, awaiting results with the possibility of a trip to the IL.
“I really don’t care at this point,” said the frustrated star. “If I’m on it, I’m on it.”
The week started with Judge second in MLB with 19 homers. Starting centerfielder Harrison Bader was placed on the 10-day injured list on May 30 with a hamstring strain and starting pitcher Nestor Cortes is expected to be out of the rotation for perhaps the next two weeks or more with a left shoulder injury. The 2022 All-Star is having a subpar season posting a 5-2 record with a 5.16 ERA in 11 starts.
Meanwhile, after winning three in a row against the Philadelphia Phillies May 30 through June 1, the Mets were swept by the Toronto Blue Jays last weekend. On Monday, the Mets designated Catcher Tomas Nido for assignment and activated catcher Omar Narvaez, who will slot in as the backup catcher to Francisco Alvarez.
The Mets were 30-30 and in third place in the NL East behind the 35-24 Atlanta Braves and 33-28 Miami Marlins when they opened a three-game road series versus the Braves on Tuesday. They will be in Pittsburgh to play the Pirates, with Game 1 taking place tomorrow. Kodai Senga (5-3 3.75 ERA) will be on the mound for the Mets, who are back home at Citi Field to meet the Yankees next Tuesday and Wednesday.
The post Yankees pick up momentum with wins out West appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.