The New York Yankees are currently on an eight-game winning streak after taking down the Kansas City Royals for the second consecutive game on Saturday night.
The Bombers are just one game away from completing three straight series wins before they travel to Toronto for a tough three-game series. However, the Yankees are clicking on all cylinders, ranging from their starting pitching to the batting order. In fact, over the last six games, the Yankees have scored 52 total runs.
On Saturday, though, ace Gerrit Cole got the job done. Cole, who featured a 4.00 ERA heading into the game, now hosts a 3.00 ERA after blanking Kansas City across 6.0 innings. He allowed five hits, two walks, and struck out six batters in the win over 91 pitches. After a tough start to the year, Cole has finally discovered his groove and is performing at a dominant level once again.
After a few disappointing starts to open the year, the starting rotation has picked up the slack tremendously, handing over fantastic performances to the bullpen in recent days. After Cole’s great outing on Saturday, he still hosts the third best ERA in the rotation, with Nestor Cortes sitting at 1.31 and Jordan Montgomery earning a 2.70 ERA.
Cortes has been on another planet lately, allowing only 15 hits and just three runs over 20.2 innings pitched. He’s struck out a team-high 28 batters and hosts a 1.97 SIERA and 2.09 xFIP.
With every section of the Yankees playing at peak performance, they have achieved an incredible mark to open the year, hosting the best record in baseball. Sitting at 15–6 and a .714 win percentage, the Yankees hold a slim lead over the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets, who are only 0.5 games behind. The Yankees, however, had elevated their run differential to +39 with multiple double-digit outings. They are 10–3 at home and 5–3 away, showcasing dominant play in Yankee stadium. Taking advantage of their short right porch has been a priority for general manager Brian Cashman.
Retaining first basemen, Anthony Rizzo seems to be one of Cashman‘s better moves. Rizzo has hit an MLB high nine homers through 21 games, with the second-place player recording seven. If Rizzo can continue to take advantage of the short-right porch in Yankee stadium, he could shatter his personal record of 32 homers back in 2017.
Nonetheless, the Yankees are off to a fantastic start, and a shift in health luck has been at the forefront.