The New York Yankees faced off against the Texas Rangers in a make-up game from May 7 on Monday afternoon at 1:05 PM. After Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery got the starts in Sunday’s doubleheader, Nestor Cortes toed the slab in the series finale before the Bombers host the Toronto Blue Jays in a two-game series starting Tuesday.
Cortes enjoyed a phenomenal performance, helping blank the Blue Jays as the Yankees squeaked by 1–0.
Good news and bad news for the New York Yankees:
Cortes took the game into the 8th inning without allowing a single hit against the Rangers. Over 103 pitches, Cortes struck out 11 batters and walked four, lowering his ERA to 1.41. The bullpen took over from there, easily finishing the game, aside from a tricky situation with the Rangers getting a runner into scoring position in the bottom of the 9th. Aroldis Chapman luckily managed to work his way out of trouble.
Overall, the pitching was excellent for the Bombers, having enjoyed three consecutive games of elite pitching but poor offensive production.
The Yankees posted five hits and four walks on the afternoon, striking out nine times. Despite multiple opportunities to drive in runners in scoring position, including a bases-loaded situation in the 5th inning, the Yanks were unable to take advantage and get back to their slugging ways. Clearly, missing two consecutive games hurt their offensive flow since they were completely dominating during their 11-game winning streak.
Thanks to the pitching, the Yankees host the most wins in baseball at 20–8, sitting atop the AL East by 2.5 games and tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in baseball.
Nonetheless, Luis Severino will get to start against Yusei Kikuchi on Tuesday at 7:05 PM. The Yankees will have to turn around their offensive luck against a dangerous Toronto team that just lost two consecutive games did the Cleaveland Guardians.