The New York Yankees swept the Chicago Cubs in a three-game series over the weekend, finishing the finale with an 18–4 victory. The Yankees outscored the Cubs 28–5, putting on an offensive display in the series’ final two games.
The Bombers are flying high as they prepare to take on the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-game series this week starting on Tuesday. Afterward, they will travel to Toronto before heading down south to Tampa Bay and then hosting Houston. The next few weeks are critical to the Yankees’ prolonged success and justification they can beat good teams regularly.
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Main takeaways from the Yankees’ demolition of the Cubs on Sunday:
1.) Matt Carpenter is a monster
When the Yankees signed veteran infielder Matt Carpenter to a minimum contract, they didn’t anticipate he would be hitting .333 with a 46.7% on-base rate and 1.125 slugging percentage. Carpenter has hit six homers this season, tallying 13 RBIs and a 1.592 OPS. Against the Cubs on Sunday, he launched two homers and collected seven RBIs. For context, Aaron Hicks has only produced 11 RBIs over 187 plate appearances this season. Carpenter has bested that number in just 29 plate appearances this season.
If Carpenter continues to perform like this, the Yankees will be in great shape down the stretch when they need reserves to step up and mitigate fatigue.
2.) Higashioka gets out of his funk
With Jose Treviño being scratched from the lineup due to a minor lower back injury, Kyle Higashioka got the call again Chicago. Higashioka finally broke his home run drought, launching two on Sunday and recording two RBIs. He now has a .172 average on the season, still well below expectations.
Nonetheless, if Higgy can break out of his funk and provide a bit of consistency at the bottom of the order, the Yankees will be lethal in all areas.
3.) The Yankees have the best offense in baseball
As a unit, the Yankees produced 17 hits and 18 runs in the finale, adding seven walks to the mix. Everybody got in on the action, specifically the team’s sluggers. Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton combined for five hits and five runs. However, it was nice to see the bottom of the order producing, as the final four batters combined for six hits and seven RBIs.
The Cubs don’t present the most significant challenge, so the Yankees have to be on top of their game as they prepare for a tough few weeks.