The Angels and Tigers proved no match for the Yankees in a pair of home sweeps.
The Bombers have won six straight and are now 39-15, the best record in baseball by four games in the loss column. Their lead atop the American League East is now seven games in the loss column. And Aaron Judge is having an MVP-caliber season as his contract year dominance continues. So life is good.
That said, the Angels have now lost 11 straight after a weekend series by the Joe Girardi-less Phillies and the Tigers are a far cry from the team that swept the Yankees in Detroit last year. Business is about to pick up with a three-game set at the AL Central-leading Twins starting Tuesday.
Some takeaways from the weekend and homestead:
Can anyone hit Yankees’ pitching? In case you’ve missed it, New York’s pitching staff is having a pretty solid 2022, including back-to-back perfect game bids that went into the seventh inning (or later) during the home stand. The Yankees’ arms have posted a 2.73 ERA, with crafty lefty Nestor Cortes’ 1.50 ERA ranking second in the majors. The last team to finish a full season with a sub-3 team ERA was the Cardinals in 2015. They lost in the NLDS. Maybe these Yankees will have some better luck?
Miguel Andujar wants out. After getting bumped for the one-dimensional Joey Gallo one too many times, Andujar requested a trade (which is not new, according to reports). Injuries and lack of opportunity have kept his trade value low, but Andujar has shown he can handle left field and still has pop in his bat. Andujar is batting .289 at Triple-A Scranton in 2022, so perhaps Yankees general manager Brian Cashman can trade him for an extra bullpen arm.
Fully-operational Death Star? It’s also worth noting the Yankees got Giancarlo Stanton and Josh Donaldson back from the injured list this weekend. Both are former MVPs and Donaldson’s walk-off sacrifice fly clinched a sweep of Detroit on Sunday. Even with Gallo and Aaron Hicks not playing well, does it really matter? It’s early June and the Yankees are playing with house money.
