The New York Yankees finally notch a series win in Anaheim against the Angels for the first time since 2019.
The New York Yankees continue to find ways to stay hot on this 9-game West Coast trip. They have another won series Thursday, this time in Anaheim. This marks the first time since April 2019 that they have won an away series against the Los Angeles Angels, when New York took three out of four games.
Tough One to Swallow
Tuesday’s opener saw the Yankees leading a game that was too close to call. The whole story of that game was probably the starting pitching. After struggling in the first inning, SP Nestor Cortes seemed like he was cruising for the rest of the way. He got through five-and-a-third innings allowing just two runs while striking out four. His recent performance also marked the 15th consecutive game where a Yankee starter went at least five innings allowing two runs or less.
As for the Yankees’ scoring situation, most of their runs came with the help of OF Juan Soto. After battling to a 3-0 count, Soto took Angels SP Griffin Canning deep to start the early scoring for New York. He then drove in the next run with a clutch single, evening the score at two with runners in scoring position. C Austin Wells would later drive in the final run of the night later on an RBI double, with 1B Anthony Rizzo scoring.
Then there were the defensive miscues. That was probably what hurt the Yankees during the later innings. It all started off with single from OF Willie Calhoun, followed by a Rizzo error allowing 2B Luis Rengifo to reach. The Angels would eventually take the lead on the two-run double off RP Clay Holmes, which proved to be the difference of the game.
Luis Gil Continues to Sizzle
Looking to bounce back following that last rough game, the Yankees sent SP Luis Gil out in hopes of preventing another series loss to the Angels in Anaheim. He continued to dominate as we seen all year long from him. The young ace tossed eight strong innings allowing just one run while striking out nine. Eventually he would earn himself his seventh win of the season.
In the month of May, Gil has posted a record of 6-0 with an ERA of 0.70 in just six starts. A reason for his recent success is thanks to his pitch combination of fastball-changeup-slider all proving to be effective pitches during his starts. It would be interesting to see if the Yanks decide to keep him in the rotation once SP Gerrit Cole comes back, which could be soon. New York wouldn’t be this good if it wasn’t for Gil’s recent contribution to the rotation.
SS Anthony Volpe got the offense going in the first inning with a leadoff single. It extended his hitting streak to 21 games, the longest since for a Yankees player Robinson Cano’s 23-game streak in 2012. In the seventh, Volpe led off with a triple and scored on a throwing error, giving Gil some breathing room.
The Angels would make things interesting in the ninth inning. They would put two guys on base, causing Clay Holmes to be in trouble once again. Eventually, Holmes would get out of the jam. He got pinch-hitter Willie Calhoun to ground into a double play, followed by another groundout by C Logan O’Hoppe to end the game.
Aaron Judge Continuing to Have a Strong May
In the rubber game of the series, captain OF Aaron Judge got the offense started early on. In the fourth inning, he would give New York the lead due to a tw0-run blast to deep left field. With that homer, he would also tie former Yankee C Jorge Posada for ninth place in team history with 275 homers. Even better, Judge also joins Lou Gehrig as the only Yankees to have at least 12 home runs and 12 doubles in a calendar month.
Soto would later break the scoring open with a bases-loaded triple. Though the Angels would score a couple of runs back later in the inning to make things close.
Then there was the pitching. Carlos Rodon pitched another solid game, earning himself his seventh win of his season. He would eventually end the Yankees’ consecutive streak of allowing two or less runs. The last time a Yankees starting pitcher allowed more runs dates back to May 11th against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Featured Articles
Featured Writers
