Thanks to another stellar Gerrit Cole performance, the New York Yankees squeaked by the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday evening 3–2. The Bombers only had to use two pitchers in the contest, giving the majority of their bullpen the day off after Aroldis Chapman did his best to try and blow two saves in back-to-back games this week.
However, the offense has gone quiet against Baltimore, failing to score more than six runs over the past three games, slowly tapering off to three on Wednesday.
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Good news and bad news in Yankees’ win over Orioles on Wednesday night:
Despite relying heavily on home runs, the Yankees have looked great in other facets, which have propelled them to wins. Against Baltimore, they utilized stellar defense and base-running to overcome their opponent. Josh Donaldson and Gleyber Torres scored on a wild pitch from Jordan Lyles and a throwing error by C Anthony Bemboom.
“Tonight we won on baserunning and defense,” Cole noted, “and we’re the Bronx Bombers.”
Cole was solid over 7.0 innings, allowing six hits and two earned runs. He only struck out five batters but carried the team along, tossing only 97 pitches. He took a lot of pressure off the bullpen.
Manager Aaron Boone has enjoyed his team’s great start to the season, also attesting to their ability to adapt and adjust when they’re not slugging at a normal rate.
“It’s been a great start, no question,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Just really pleased with how they’re doing it — in a lot of different ways. Tonight we leaned on the pitching and great baserunning.”
Offensively, the team recorded just six hits and struck out 10 times. Without Giancarlo Stanton in the game and Aaron Judge struggling to get on base, the team failed to produce.
However, Josh Donaldson has performed extremely well lately, posting two hits in the win and six hits in his last three games, including three runs and one homer.
The Yankees have found a great balance to their team, with the pitching picking up the slack when the hitting is cold and vice versa. If they can continue succeeding at this rate, they could have one of the best seasons in over a decade. They currently sit 5.5 games above the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East and host the best record in baseball with a three-game cushion.