The New York Yankees are 8-2 in their last ten games. If the Yankees continue at the same pace they can forget about the Wild Card berth, they will win the East! The Yankees are 16-9 since July 6th.
There have been some major changes from mid-July to now. The Yankees have been excelling, and the rival Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays have been faltering. At the beginning of the season, I predicted that the Yankees’ major stumbling block to winning the East would be the Tampa Bay Rays, and I still believe that. I also said the Red Sox would fall apart. Although they haven’t fallen apart, they are not playing good baseball recently.
In the past ten games, the Yankees are 8-2, the Red Sox are 3-7, and the Tampa Bay Rays are 5-5. The Yankee record is impressive because they have done it minus three of their starting pitchers. Ace Gerrit Cole, starter Domingo German, and Corey Kluber. Looking forward, all of these pitchers will be coming back shortly. In addition, near the end of the month, they will also get the 2018 19-8 winner, Luis Severino, back into the fold. If he doesn’t immediately return to form, he can still be a powerful arm out of the bullpen.
During this period the New York Yankees have also gotten some help from the minors. Nestor Cortes Jr. and Luis Gil have uplifted the Yankees with some really good replacement pitching. The likes of Rougie Odor, Greg Allen, and Tyler Wade have also helped the Yankees during a time that the Yankees have been without their gold glove-like third baseman Gio Urshela and 2020 home run leader Luke Voit.
There is no question that the New York Yankees acquisitions before the trade deadline have boosted the Yankees’ fortunes of possibly winning the AL East. The Yankees can now put out a lineup that is right-left, making it much harder for opposition pitchers to navigate the powerful Yankees lineup. The Yankees added three pitchers, lefty contact hitter Anthony Rizzo and power-hitting lefty Joey Gallo. So far, contenders can’t keep Rizzo off the bases, and last night Gallo hit his Yankee leading 26th home run of the season, lifting the Yankees over the Mariners.
The addition of Rizzo and Gallo has also strengthened the Yankee defense; both are excellent defenders. As a result, the Yankees are finally getting the offense out of first base for the first time in years, not since Mark Teixeira have the Yankees had a healthy offensive defender at first base.
For the first time this season, the Yankees can look forward to an offense that can consistently win games. With 54 games left to the season, the Yankee season will be determined by how the pitching holds up and if they can escape further Covid problems. They will also have to rely on less than stellar play from those teams ahead of them and the rising Toronto Blue Jays. It won’t be easy, but the Yankees can pull out a division win in the East.