The New York Yankees tortured the Baltimore Orioles in the first game of the doubleheader on Friday. Winning 6-0, they previously lost the last three games in a series to Baltimore several days ago, but weren’t about to let them continue their streak.
Starting pitcher Gerrit Cole had a phenomenal outing, allowing just two hit and striking out nine batters. He pitched the entire seven-inning game, recovering from a previous outing that resulted in five earned runs allowed.
The Yankees were able to feature their top two starting pitchers on Friday, including Cole and Masahiro Tanaka. Their offense finally clicked, and it was clear they were riding the high from Wednesday win over Toronto.
Good news and bad news for the Yankees:
GOOD NEWS:
The Yankees could do no wrong in the first game of the doubleheader against the Orioles. Gerrit Cole was terrific, and their offense was solid throughout. The top performers in the batting order were Brett Gardner, Mike Tauchman, and Kyle Higashioka.
Gardner was 2-for-2 with two RBIs and a walk, Tauchman was 3-for-3 with one RBI, and Higashioka launched to run homer in the second inning.
I would be remiss not to mention DJ LeMahieu, who hit a leadoff homer to get things going. Altogether, it was a cohesive effort from the team, something we hadn’t seen in recent days.
This was a fantastic sign from the Yankees, who partied hard after snapping a five-game losing streak against Toronto on Wednesday. With music blasting and players dancing in the locker room, it seems they are forcing a hot streak.
In addition, manager Aaron Boone stated that the Yankees could gain back both Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton next weekend. They would provide a significant boost in the power department and allow them to sit some of their deeper reserve players.
BAD NEWS:
There wasn’t much bad news from game one, except for several offensive performances. Clint Frazier struck out twice over three at-bats, and Tyler Wade failed to get on base. Gary Sanchez walked and struck out once, but otherwise, the rest of the team performed well. Frazier isn’t someone I am too worried about, and Wade has been inconsistent at the plate, but Sanchez‘s struggles continue.
The slugging catcher is currently hitting .119 with a .321 slugging percentage. While some fans will back Gary until the death, most are coming to their senses and realizing he is colder for more extended periods that he is hot.