After a tough week, the Yankees finally have something to smile about.
The Yankees’ clubhouse and locker room were said to be in disrepair on Friday, with morale at an all-time low. They had lost five straight – and not only were they losing, they were losing badly. Baltimore blew them out of the water twice and Tampa Bay held them to a shutout Friday.
But Saturday, things would start to turn around. Led by Mr. Clutch himself, the Yankees prevailed on Saturday after a go-ahead hit by Jeter in the ninth inning. The next day, Hiroki Kuroda took the mound and led the Yankees to a 4-2 win. While a postseason berth is still highly in the balance, things are starting to look up for the Yanks.
The Yankees have passed the Blue Jays in the standings but still trail the Baltimore Orioles by seven games for the American League East title. However, they are only 3.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners for the league’s second wild card spot.
The win on Sunday has classified this season – good pitching, matched with timely hits, has led them to success. However, those timely hits only come so often – which is why they are seven games behind Baltimore.
A two-out rally in the fifth inning helped the Yankees plate a few runs. Gardner had a base hit that scored two before Jacoby Ellsbury came to the plate; recently, Ellsbury has been in a struggle. He was 0-17 before a single brough in another run, giving the Yankees a 3-1 lead.
Starter Kuroda went 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on four hits. He was backed by relievers Shawn Kelley, Dellin Betances and David Robertson, who closed out the game. Kuroda’s slider has been his bread-and-butter this year due to his command and change of speeds.
At one point, Kuroda retired 17 in a row.
Teixeria blasted his 20th home run of the season, sending one into the bleachers in right-center to give the Yankees a 4-2 lead. But the Yankees have struggled mightily offensively; this is the latest that a Yankee has reached 20 home runs since Paul O’Neill did so on September 12th, 1995. And that season began with a strike.
Robertson converted his 33rd save, and has now blown a save in 21 straight appearances. That’s the longest active streak in the majors.