After Luis Severino got hurt in the spring, Masahiro Tanaka got struck by a line drive in the head and James Paxton went down with an arm injury, the New York Yankees’ rotation was left in shambles. Remember, Domingo German is also suspended and, for much of the season, J.A. Happ struggled with command and his results weren’t pretty.
Some time has passed, the Yankees had to endure a terrible spell in which they lost 15 out of 20 games, but now, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel and it all starts with pitching.
The streaking Yankees have won five in a row and are now only half a game behind the second-place Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East. They are, also, four games back from the Tampa Bay Rays with 13 to play. The top spot seems like a longshot, but it is possible if things break right.
Even Gerrit Cole struggled for a bit, mainly with home runs, but he sorted things out like the rest of the rotation. Montgomery was very bad at some point in the last couple of weeks, but he also righted the ship and dominated in his last start.
Here is how each New York Yankees’ starter has fared in his last turn:
- Gerrit Cole: 7 IP 0 ER 2 H 1 BB 9Ks
- Masahiro Tanaka: 5 IP 1 ER 3 H 0 BB 5Ks
- Deivi Garcia: 7 IP 2 ER 5 H 0 BB 6 Ks
- J.A. Happ: 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 5Ks
- Jordan Montgomery: 5.2 IP 0 ER 3 H 1 B 9Ks
Those are impressive numbers for the unit as a whole. Happ, one of the most frequently questioned members of the starting rotation, had allowed only a couple of runs in 6.1 frames with 10 strikeouts in his penultimate start, too. The southpaw has a 2.45 ERA with 27 punchouts over his last five starts for the Bombers.
The Yankees hope to keep riding their starters into the postseason. At last, the staff seems to be rounding into form just at the right time.