The New York Yankees rotation may be turning things around.
The New York Yankees haven’t lost a game since the trade deadline (eight-straight victories) and their starting pitching has made an improvement from where it was during the Twins-Red Sox in Boston series.
During that stretch of time (Minnesota-Boston; 7 games), all five Yankees starters got shellacked for a total of 47 earned runs in 26.6 innings with 18 home runs surrendered to top it off. Then the trade deadline came and they disappointed everybody by not acquiring a starting pitcher.
But to their credit, since then, the starting rotation has stepped up and has calmed the waters with 42.2 innings of work with 19 earned runs allowed. Not great by any means, but still a hell of a lot better than what they were working with just a couple weeks prior. The team has won seven straight dating back to the second D-Backs game at Yankee Stadium and now they look to be on a roll with games against the lowly Orioles and Blue Jays until mid-August.
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This is what Brian Cashman and the front office was banking on when they opted to stay put at the deadline. This team’s strength is by no means their starting pitching, but the potency of the lineup. If they can get middle-of-the-road starting pitching from the rotation that keeps the team in striking distance in games, the lineup will most likely bail them out and pull off victories.
It was still a big mistake for the Yanks to not bring in at least one more starter, but with the power of the lineup at hand (injuries or not), their biggest weakness can be masked. Does that work out in the long run?
Can they win a World Championship with the 18th-best starter ERA (4.77)? Anything can (and will) happen in this crazy game. It’s a different formula every year for a World Series title.
If they can find a way to pull it off with a rotation that’s given up the second-most home runs in the league (118) behind only the Orioles, good on them.