As the New York Yankees enter the month of July, let’s reflect back on what was an adequate month of June for the Bombers.
The New York Yankees played very well this month despite the fact that they enter a new one with their overall record evened at 39-39.Overall, their 15 wins ranked sixth-best in the American League while their offense scoring 129 runs compared to the 119 runs they scored in two more games played in May.
Pitching wise, they struck out the third most batters while recording the fourth most saves the AL. Looking past where they rank, however, this team has built tons of momentum entering what is possibly the most pivotal month of the year.
They split a series with the best team in the AL, the Texas Rangers, in a series which they undoubtedly could have won if it weren’t for one of the strangest rain delays baseball has ever seen.
Regardless, when you throw in two walk-off wins entering a month in which the Yankees expect to define themselves, it goes a long way in building confidence in being a winning team.
If you take a look at the standings, New York sits eight games back behind the juggernaut offense of the Baltimore Orioles but only three games out of a Wild Card spot.
All in all, this month helped them remain alive after a dismal 8-16 start that is still giving the Bombers some headaches. Without further adieu, let’s take a deeper look at how the Yankees fared this past month.
Grades
Offense:
Overall, their offense performed decently well, especially when compared to how dismal the output was in the first two months of 2016. We already mentioned how the offense scored 129 runs scored compared to the 119 runs they scored in two more games played in May but they only hit 30 home runs which ranked 11th in the American League while their runs scored per game is still ranked 23 in all of Major League Baseball with 4.13 RPG.
Individually, Carlos Beltran led the team in home runs (seven) and batting average (.366) while Didi Gregorius owned a .337/.368/.535 with an OPS of .903. Brett Garnder also had a solid month as he batted .323 and scored a team-leading 20 runs.
GRADE: B-
Pitching:
Other than Michael Pineda’s resurgence (2.75 ERA in June) and another month of consistency from CC Sabathia, the pitching staff struggled in June.
Their overall ERA (4.97) ranked 21 in all of Major League Baseball while their home runs per nine innings sat at 1.52 (fifth-worst). Their “super” bullpen looked inept as they maintained the sixth-worst bullpen ERA (4.84) and surrendered 1.58 HR/9.
The three-headed monster of Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, and Aroldis Chapman also took a step back as their ERA throughout this month was 2.98 compared to the 2.18 it was in May. They also gave up 27 hits which was four more than their May total despite pitching in almost seven fewer innings.
When looking at the starting pitching, the rotation only came away with seven victories which ranked 21st in baseball while they gave up the seventh-most home runs. This was in large part in thanks to the struggles of Nathan Eovaldi and Ivan Nova.
Nova, after dazzling upon his return to the staff, maintained an ERA of 7.52 this month including 37 hits surrendered in just 26.1 innings of work. Eovaldi was no better, in fact, worse as his ERA stood at 8.65 while losing three-out-of-five outings without a win.
GRADE: C-
June’s Best Moment: Didi Caps Off Epic Come-From-Behind Win
Staring right into their fourth straight loss and what would have been a ten-game fallback in the American League East race, the Yanks pulled a win out of nowhere that could ultimately provide a spark to a sad 2016.
Down 7-4 and facing Texas Rangers’ closer Sam Dyson, catcher Brian McCann pounded a tremendous three-run homer into the seats in right to knot the game up at seven after it was foreseen that New York would go down without a fight.
After a Starlin Castro walk, Yankees’ shortstop Didi Gregorius slapped a fastball just over the wall in right to cap off their first win when trailing by five or more runs in the eighth inning or later since May 1, 2009.
June’s MVP: Didi Gregorius
This came in very close as Carlos Beltran actually had better overall numbers but in terms of true value, Didi was a knight in shining armor for the New York Yankees this month.
Time in and time out, the Yankees’ shortstop always seemed to come up with the big play whether it was a home run, game tying single or an acrobatic play on the field.
Overall, Didi maintained a .337/.368/.535 slash line along with four home runs and 18 RBIs. Those numbers also include a .373 batting average in the last 15 games with a walk-off home run on Wednesday night and a game-tying shot on Thursday.
Honorable Mentions:
- Carlos Beltran: .366, 7 HRs, 22-RBI, .535 SLG%
- Andrew Miller: 3-0, 1.93 ERA, 16.7 K/9
- Michael Pineda: 1-1, 2.75 ERA, .201 BAA
Looking Forward
Yes, if you take the month’s win total and stretch it along a 162 game span the Yankees’ would be a 90-win team. That’s great and all, but they are still held down by an 8-16 start and did go 3-3 against the lowly Colorado Rockies and Minnesota Twins which is an immense reason why they are stuck at an even record.
The Bombers must take a step to the “next level” and make up some ground.
July starts off with a meeting against the San Diego Padres (33-46) in which they can get over the .500 hump for good. After that, they travel to Chicago to take on the White Sox (40-39) and then to Cleveland to face the red-hot Indians (48-30).
Simply put, they have to improve their road record (16-21) and take advantage of a manageable upcoming schedule because the real test comes when the All-Star game reaches its conclusion.
They’ll come to Yankee Stadium to welcome in the Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, and San Francisco Giants before they hit the road to play the Houston Astros which means the Yankees can make or break their season in the upcoming month. They will define who they are, whether it’s a good team or bona fide seller is up to them.