YANKEES WITHIN 2 GAMES OF AL EAST LEAD
- April Claudio, Contributor
This past week the Yankees made a push to reclaim their top seat in AL East and came close. They are now 2 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays. Here’s your recap:
They began the week with a 3 game series against the Houston Astros and won 2 out of the 3.
Game 1 saw Max Fried pitching against Framber Valdez. Fried allowed 1 run in 7 innings while Valdez allowed 8 runs in 5 innings. Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a run home run in the second inning giving the Yankees an early lead. Trent Grisham hit a grand slam in the sixth inning putting the Yankees up 6-0. His second grand slam in five days. Chisholm hit a second home run in the eighth inning and the Yankees won 7-1.
Game 2 went to the Astros despite a solid start by Will Warren. Warren allowed 2 runs in 5 innings. Jason Alexander, pitching for the Astros, allowed 3 runs in 5 innings. The Yankees got the first run with a solo home run by Giancarlo Stanton in the second inning. Austin Wells hit a two run home run in the fourth inning. Ramon Urias had a RBI in the fifth inning giving the Astros their first run. Ryan McMahon had a RBI the next inning giving the Yankees a 3 run lead. Jeremy Pena hit a home run in the sixth inning and Warren was replaced with Fernando Cruz. Another run scored due to a throwing error by Cruz. Luke Weaver pitched the seventh inning an allowed 2 singles and a walk and the tying run scored on a throwing error by Stanton. Devin Williams gave up a double and 3 walks giving the Astros another run. Camilo Doval came in and gave up a RBI single to Pena, another run scored on a balk and another run scored on a wild pitch. Cody Bellinger hit a 3 run home run in the ninth inning but the Yankees fell short. Astros won 8-7.
Game 3 Carlos Rodon tied the MLB lead with 16 wins. He pitched 6 innings, allowed 3 hits, and 2 runs, only 1 earned. Cristian Javier allowed 4 runs in 4 1/3 innings. The Yankees took the lead early with a RBI single by Ryan McMahon in the second inning. Gordon Alvarez tied the game in the third inning with a solo home run. The Yankees scored 3 runs in the fifth inning with a home run by McMahon, a RBI single by Cody Bellinger and a RBI walk by Jose Caballero. Alvarez scored again in the sixth inning due to a throwing error by Caballero. Jesus Sanchez hit a home run in the seventh inning off Luke Weaver putting the Astros within a run. But the Yankees added 4 more runs in the eighth inning. McMahon hit a RBI single and Trent Grisham hit a 3 run home run. His 30th home run and a career high for him. Alvarez had a RBI single in the ninth but it wasn’t enough. Yankees won 8-4.
The Yankees then went into the weekend with an important 3 game series against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Game 1 Kevin Gausman, who hadn’t won in a month, out pitched Cam Schlittler. Schlittler allowed 4 runs in 1 2/3 innings before being pulled. Gausman allowed 1 run in 8 innings and only 4 hits. The Blue Jays won 7-1. The Yankees lone run was a home run by Giancarlo Stanton. Bo Bichette was 3-3 with 2 RBI and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was 4-5 with a home run. Aaron Judge made his return to right field.
Game 2 Luis Gil and Chris Bassitt both pitched well. Gil allowed 1 run off 3 hits in 6 innings. Bassitt allowed 2 runs (0 earned) off 3 hits in 5 innings. The Yankees scored first with 2 runs in the second inning. Former Yankee Isaiah Kiner-Falefa grounded into an infielder’s choice to score 1 run for the Blue Jays. Austin Wells hit his second RBI sacrifice fly in the sixth inning. Cody Bellinger’s 95 mph throw from left field in the sixth inning stopped Bo Bichette from scoring a run. Bichette didn’t return to the game after injuring his leg on the side into home plate. After a 2 hour rain delay the Yankees won 3-1.
Game 3 Max Fried pitched against Max Scherzer. Fried tied Carlos Rodon with 16 wins, allowing 3 runs in 7 innings. Scherzer allowed 4 runs in 4 1/3 innings. The Yankees took the lead early scoring 3 runs in the first inning off a home run by Ben Rice. Isaiah Kiner-Falefa and Nathan Lukes had RBIs in the second inning and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a game tying double in the third inning. But the tie didn’t last long as Cody Bellinger hit a home run in the third inning. Yankees won 4-3.
The Yankees have a tough week with a 3 game series against the Detroit Tigers and a 3 game series against the Boston Red Sox. The Blue Jays will face the Houston Astros and Baltimore Orioles.
Let’s keep the momentum going and win some more games! Let’s go Yankees!