Baseball's no. 1 team takes on the Rays, Blue Jays and Astros for their next four series
CC: New York Times
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. (Jun-14-2022) - After recording a season high 18 runs in their series finale with the Chicago Cubs, the New York Yankees maintained the best record in baseball.
Newly acquired infielder Matt Carpenter became the first Yankee to hit six home runs in his first 10 games with the team. He increased his batting average to .333 and recorded 13 RBIs in 24 at-bats.
"I was confident with what I was doing at the plate, was hopeful that this would potentially happen, and now it's been a lot of fun to see it play it out," Carpenter said.
The Yankees are on pace for a home-run differential of 130 which could break the current single season record of 116 set by the 1927 team consisting of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Tony Lazzeri (all of whom ranked 1-2-3 in American League home runs).
The pitching remained consistent with Nestor Cortes recording a 1.96 ERA in 11 games played. The bullpen has also stayed consistent with Clay Holmes leading the team to 11 home runs allowed in 200 innings, the best in the league.
However, despite the impressive team play winning nine of their last 10 games, the Yankees next stretch will be their toughest one so far.
The Bronx Bombers' next four series consists of teams who are considered their biggest threats to winning the pennant. Today they will kick off a three-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays who just defeated the Minnesota Twins 6-0 on Sunday. They will then go on the road to face the Toronto Blue Jays, Rays before returning to the Bronx against the Houston Astros.
The Blue Jays entered the season as the favorite to win the American League East and currently sit 8.5 games behind. The Rays sit nine games behind and lost all-star pitcher Andrew Kittredge to injury. However, the team has upset the Yankees before, tying a four game series.
The Blue Jays defeated the Detroit Tigers 6-0 with first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leading the team with 14 home runs while center fielder George Springer leading the team with a.522 slugger average. The last time these team played the Yankees won 5-3.
Finally, the Astros sit behind the Yankees in the AL with a .607 win percentage. Guys like second baseman Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez rank in top two of team slug percentage.
The Yankees roster can compete with all of these teams but playing for six days in a row could leave them tired out. Their performance in this stretch will help prove whether the Yankees are real contenders for the World Series.
The Yankees play the Rays at 7:00 p.m. in the Bronx with Gerrit Cole getting the start