The Yankees secured another series win today as they took down the Orioles on Easter Sunday, 5-3. Nestor pitched another great game, the bullpen buckled down when it mattered, and Aaron Judge had a day to remember. The Yankees now get set to take on the Guardians in a three-game series. Domingo German takes the bump tomorrow, and then the ace, Gerrit Cole, will toe the slab on Tuesday.
The Yankees’ pitching was mostly solid:
Nestor was his usual self today as he tossed 5.1 innings of 2-run baseball, even though Albert Abreu gave up the two runs against him. Cortes struck out five and gave up four hits to boot. He continues to do well and will make his next start at the end of this week. He even added some classic Nestor flare as he did the windup specialty.
Abreu buckled down after giving up a 2R double to Santander and tossed an inning of two-strikeout ball. He’s off to a quick start this year and looks to be building some confidence as he’s given more opportunities. Following him, Marinaccio came in and pitched 0.2 innings with a K to his ledger. It was a great bounce-back appearance for him after he struggled a bit in his previous outing.
Jimmy Cordero would then come in and give up a solo bomb to Adley Rutschman, who went 4-4 on the day. The young catcher is quickly rising to one of the best players in baseball. Cordero, fortunately, got it together and struck out a pair after the solo shot, as the score would stay at 5-3. Clay Holmes finished the day for the Yanks and locked down the save.
Judge and Francy enjoyed homers:
The offense was primarily Aaron Judge today as the AL MVP smacked two home runs and a single, further showing off his dominance at Camden Yards. He’s off to a fantastic start to this season, as he’s got 4 HR and is OPSing 1.194. Judge is one of the best players in the league, and a potential repeat MVP award could be coming his way.
Rizzo added two hits to the stat sheet, including a hustle double, and would’ve had a HR if not for Cedric Mullins robbing him at the wall. Stanton kept his solid start rolling as he got the afternoon started with an RBI single. Having him in a groove to start the season is huge for the team, and he’s looked completely locked in.
Gleyber had an off afternoon as he went 0-for, but he’s still crushing it to start the year. Franchy Cordero is proving to be a great signing by Cashman and co., as he smacked a homer and added a base knock off a lefty. It makes one wonder why he pinch-hit for IKF the other day, but that’s how the cookie crumbles sometimes. Cordero is now OPSing 1.257 over 14 ABs and has two homers as well.
The Yanks had a great series this weekend, and another series dub is always ideal. They sit 6-3 on the young season, and if not for the Rays playing minor league teams to start this season, they would be in first place in the AL East. However, they’re still off to a fast start, and they look to keep the ball rolling this week.