Last night the New York Yankees met up with the Baltimore Orioles for game two of a four-game set. Fans didn’t know what to think after the Yankees lost game one to the O’s. The pitching wasn’t great, and the hitting was lacking. Last night was a night where the Yankees shined really for the first time this season. They pitched well and hit the ball like they haven’t all season. The Yankees mixed a bit of small ball with 3 homers to get the win over the Orioles 5-1.
Corey Kluber was the real Kluber last night
When Corey Kluber was with the Cleveland Indians and got two Cy Young Awards, he was called Klubot. Last night he became the Yankee’s Klubot. He was nothing short of spectacular. He pitched into the seventh inning, the first to do that outside of Gerrit Cole. He used 96 pitches, getting five strikeouts, walking two, and only allowing one run on the night, lowering his ERA to 4.15.
Kluber last night was the pitcher that Brian Cashman thought he could be when he signed him to a one-year $11 million contract. Kluber got off to a slow start this season, but that is expected from a pitcher that only pitched one inning last season. If Kluber can pitch like this in August, September, and more importantly, the New York Yankees will be elated in October. The normal somber expressionless Kluber, when he was taken out of the game in the seventh, walked to the dugout and was greeted by his teammates. After sat down, Gerrit Cole approached him, and Kluber let out with a big smile. The two talked.
The Yankees hit em and hit em hard
Last night the New York Yankees fell one hit shy of the most hits they have had in any game this season. The situational hitter was there too. Aaron Judge, Kyle Higashioka, and Giancarlo Stanton had home runs in the game. The Yankees also had several hard-hit balls that were caught. When the Yankees hit home runs and play clean ball like they did last night, they win games. However, there are concerns; Gary Sanchez, Aaron Hicks, and Clint Frazier are still not hitting. In last night’s game, Hicks and Frazier both went 0 for 4. Frazier now has 2 hits in his last 41 plate appearances.
The Yankee bullpen again dominated
After Corey Kluber’s outstanding performance into the seventh inning, he turned it over to the bullpen. Jonathan Loaisiga pitched 1.1 innings, not allowing a run and giving up just one hit while striking out 3 Orioles. Lucas Luetge followed with a scoreless ninth inning. Jonathan Loaisiga, with a 1.23 ERA, is becoming Aaron Boone’s go-to reliever that can be used at any time in the game. He is usually lights out and is becoming a premium reliever.