Gosh, it’s nice to be able to use the broom image again. And it’s particularly nice to use it against the Rays, with whom we’ve been dueling for first place. There’s no doubt about who’s in first now: the Yankees are — by 3 1/2 games. Not a huge lead, but the best one yet.
Clearly, the Yanks have the Rays’ number at the Stadium. They absolutely dismantled the Rays during the sweep. They’ve been less successful at the Trop, but we’ll see how that goes next month when they come back to town. Also clearly, Blake Snell, the Rays’s ace, did not have a good day, while CC won his 250th game – quite a milestone.
Tanaka had a complete game. Haap was great. Which goes to show that when you have good starting pitching, good things come of it.
On the offensive side, what can I say about yesterday’s Janer, in particular? TWELVE runs. Torres’s first grand slam. Sanchez’s show of power. And LeMahieu continues to impress. I really don’t want to lose either him or Maybin. And by the way, the Yankees’ hitting coaches must be really good this year, because Maybin, for one, was talking about how he got to the Yankees batting, like, .120 and with a few tweaks he’s on a roll.
Now the Yankees take on the Astros, which should be a great test of how the team is gelling. Again, pitching will be key, and Boone hasn’t announced his starter. (Please don’t let it be Cessa.)