Yankees to start 10-day road trip
The New York Yankees start a 10-day road trip today after going 9-1 in their last ten games. They have won series after series and are most recently off a series win over the Minnesota Twins. The Yankees are the winningest team in baseball after going 26-8 since July 17th.
This will be a tough road trip for the Yankees; first, they face two excellent pitchers for the Atlanta Braves during a short two-game series. Tonight Jordan Montgomery starts against Huascar Ynoa. Tuesday night’s game will pit Andrew Heaney against Yankee killer Charlie Morton. After the Braves series, they will play three games with the Oakland Athletics and the Los Angeles Angels before returning to Yankee Stadium and a series with the Baltimore Orioles.
Luis Severino to get checked out again
Luis Severino’s long-awaited return to the Yankees may have to be put on hold again as pitching this season seems less and less likely. Manager Boone has let be known that Luis Severino will reportedly fly across the country to California this week to get an in-person examination from Dr. Neal ElAttrache who is an Orthopaedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine at Cedar Sinai Hospital. He is also Team Physician for the Los Angeles Dodgers. For Severino, this will be a second opinion.
Severino has been out from the Yankees since his Tommy John surgery at the beginning of 2019, not allow him to play at all in 2019 and 2020. Since then, he has been struggling to get back with the Yankees. GM Brian Cashman recently said he expected Severino back with the team by September 1st. But that went down the drain when he strained his groin in a rehab assignment in June. Then, last week he pulled himself from a rehab game due to shoulder tightness. He had an MRI that showed no structural damage, but whether he pitches again this season might be evident after this in-person check out at Cedar Sinai and a clean bill of health.
Anthony Volpe showing off
We all know that Yankee prospect Luis Gil has been showing off for the Yankees in his first few games pitched as a starter. But Gil is not the only Yankee prospect that is shining this season. Anthony Volpe that grew up idolizing shortstop Derek Jeter is making a name for himself with the Hudson Valley Renegades; he has an OPS of over 1.000 to go along with 20 homers and 28 steals in the minors this year. That puts himself right up there with Jasson Dominguez as the Yankees’ number one prospect. Some of his success is due to his work during the 2020 season when there were no minor league games.
Rays Injury news good news for the Yankees
In baseball, you never want to see anyone on any team injured, but that fact remains a deterrent to one team and benefits another. The Rays have reported Right-hander Chris Archer lasted just two innings Sunday in his return from the IL. Archer left the game with hip soreness. He will be checked out by doctors as the Rays are concerned he may have more hip trouble. Although the Rays are in first place they have had pitching concerns ever since ace Tyler Glasnow need Tommy John surgery and will miss the entire season.
On top of that, Yankee killer Ji-Man Choi left Sunday’s game with left hamstring tightness. According to Ray’s manager Kevin Cash when he hit a double and getting to second base, it grabbed him and continued to tighten up. Choi was hitting .250 this season with nine home runs in 64 games. Add to that the recently obtained Nelson Cruz has landed on the Covid-19 list. These are critical problems for the Rays as they try to protect their 4.5 game lead ahead of the Yankees.
Yankees latest injury updates
A pitch hit Gardner’s right elbow and forced him out of the game in the Yankees’ 10-2 win over the Twins on Friday night. On Saturday, he was still out of the lineup. Manager Boone has said that he doesn’t feel it’s too serious and will not be put on the IL. Instead, he will travel with the team on their road trip and likely see action on the west coast.
The Yankees star player Gio Urshela is advancing in his rehab. Yesterday with the Somerset Patriots, he went 3 for 4 with a double and scoring a run. He looked good in rehab from a hamstring injury. A date for his return to the team has not been announced.
Gleyber Torres is advancing in his rehab from an injured thumb caused by a bad slide into second base. On Friday, he took dry swings and did some infield work. No timeline has been given for his return either.
Yankees wild card stock is rising
The New York Yankees have won 9 games in a row and their tenth series in a row, being the best performing team in baseball. They have gone from nearly 10 games behind in the AL East to just 4.5 games behind the division-leading Tampa Bay Rays. From July 17th to the present, they have a 26-8 record. During the span, the Yankees have gone from 3 1/2 out of the second wild-card slot to 2.5 games ahead of the Red Sox for the first wild card spot.
Donaldson making an ass out of himself
The New York Post reports that New York Porch Sport, the Donaldson, has blasted the New York Yankees and ace Gerrit Cole. Apparently, he was embarrassed by his play against Cole in the Minnesota Twins series. Earlier in the year, he accused Cole of using sticky stuff. Now he made this statement:
“Yeah of course he’s still using that stuff,†Donaldson said of Cole. “I know my capabilities. The only way to make me look so feeble at the plate is to have a bit of extracurricular help. I’m sending my findings to Manfred soon.â€
More playing time has paid off for Tyler Wade
Tyler Wade has always been a useful utility player for the Yankees for the past few years. But with injuries to both Gio Urshela and Gleyber Torres, Wade has finally played enough game to show what he is worth to the Yankees. And that is just not his excellent defense in the field, but now playing more games, he has shown that he can hit also. He has raised his batting average from below .200 to .278. He has 15 hits and 4 extra-base hits during August. Saturday against the Twins, Wade started in left field, giving a day of rest to Joey Gallo. He went 2 for 4, one a double, and one RBI. Wade has been one of the best Yankee hitters in this month, going .500 since August 3rd.