Yankees Look to Continue Momentum on West Coast Trip

Thursday August 25, 2022

The Yankees have been struggling for the better part of a month, but if they can pull off three wins in a row, they might be able to start climbing back up the standings.

The Yankees felt good about themselves after sweeping Mets on Tuesday. The Yankees haven’t won three straight games since July 28-30.

The Yankees’ mojo disappeared during a 9-20 stretch after the All-Star break (when they were still on a 113-win pace), especially during their recent 2-9 skid. The last three games showed a team rediscovering itself.

Now, Giancarlo Stanton will be back from the injured list when they start a four-game series against the Athletics in Oakland, California, on Thursday. They will then go to Los Angeles to play the Angels the following week.

Judge’s MVP form helps. Judge hit a home run in both wins over the Mets after a brief slump.

Other things the Yankees have done recently suggest that they might be getting out of their funk. One of these reasons is that Judge’s performance has improved, and there are also signs that Montas is getting used to his role.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Gleyber Torres turned two double plays against the Mets on Tuesday. On Monday, Oswaldo Cabrera and Marwin Gonzalez dropped a pop-up in right field, and on Tuesday, Torres raced Jeff McNeil to second while allowing Pete Alonso to score from third. Manager Aaron Boone attributed both to amped-up crowd noise.

Andrew Benintendi‘s timely hits helped all three victories. He got off to a sluggish start, but now he’s hitting. In his last 16 games, he had a batting average of .310, nine hits that went for extra bases, and an OPS of .892.

Cabrera has also boosted the Yankees. The versatile rookie has impacted every game.

One area that warrants attention is the bullpen. Unexpected arms helped close out three consecutive victories by a score of 4-2; however, the bullpen is still unsettled due to injuries and inconsistent performance.

Not everyone has emerged from their ruts yet. In his last 12 games, Josh Donaldson has a batting average of 6-for-44 (.136) with 17 strikeouts and an OPS of .445, but his walk-off grand slam was a big help.

Despite this, the Yankees finished a challenging nine-game homestand looking a lot better than they did when the homestand began.

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