Breaking down the New York Yankees
The New York Yankees mash the baseball. What’s new?
New York’s offense, while often debilitated, produced the 5th most home runs in MLB, 4th most runs, and 5th best OPS. After tallying 22 runs against the Indians over two games, including seven at the expense of Cy Young favorite Shane Bieber, the Yankees bats seem to be in tune at the right time.
Aaron Judge knocked a vintage right-center bomb off Bieber, Giancarlo Stanton blasted two homers, Gleyber Torres got going with a 5-for-8 series, and DJ LeMahieu kept going with a 3-for-10 series. Not to mention the damage Gio Urshela, Brett Gardner, and Luke Voit did. That covers nearly their entire lineup.
Gerrit Cole should be up for the task, but what version of Masahiro Tanaka will be on display against the Rays? Do the Yankees rely on 21-year-old Deivi Garcia for a key start in the series? Who can get the ball to Zack Britton and Aroldis Chapman when a starter is unable to pitch deep into the game? These are the protruding questions for the Yankees as they get ready to face a very confident Rays team.
Also, New York led baseball in fielding errors this season. Will they be able to make plays in the clutch, or will untimely mistakes cost them fiercely?