In the Yankees’ second straight rout, Matt Carpenter and Kyle Higashioka swung the largest bats.
It’s odd to summarize a match like this. In a match where line score feels like a full phone number, what do you concentrate on? The Yankees took off right away, scoring five runs in the first inning and then keeping their foot on the accelerator the rest of the way, scoring 18 runs and achieving the sweep of the Cubs.
We’ll get to the Yankees’ strange outing in a moment, but the the whole story of the game was the way the matchup unloaded on every pitcher the Cubs put on the mound. In the top of the first, Ian Happ hit a solo home run, trying to put the Yankees down before they saw another pitch. Keegan Thompson, on the other hand, couldn’t keep his end of the bargain, walking the bases loaded in the seventh inning and then providing Matt Carpenter a chance to tie the game.
This was all downhill from it for the Cubs; it only got better for Carpenter.
Both Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Joey Gallo doubled to right, bringing in four more runs.
Thompson faced only nine batters, recorded two outs, and left the game with the score 5-1. He found it hard to find the strike zone, but the Yankees did a good job of not chasing a few of his junk, and then when he returned home over through the plate, they have been able to drive the ball — the perfect formula for knocking out a starter early.
But it didn’t stop there. Carp blasted two home runs in a blowout win, lest you think his only strength to this match was the bases-loaded walk.
The three-time All-Star drove in seven runs that day, tying his career high, which he also accomplished against the Cubs in 2018.
Kyle Higashioka also joined in the fun, striking his very First second home run of the season after a cold start to the season. Both were solo shots, which could spark a bit of an aggressive resurgence from him. He’ll never be one of the lineup’s stars, but he has to be greater than literally the worst hitter in baseball, and just getting himself off the ground a very little bit makes this team even more dangerous.
Jameson Taillon had a peculiar beginning. I noted the homer previously, but Happ is the team’s best or second-best player, so these things happen. Still, Taillon’s command was off today; he started walking just the 7th batter of the season, and he left a few balls so over plate that discovered grass, surrendering seven hits in five innings of work.
Taillon appeared to be pitching to the scoreboard by the third inning, with the Yankees putting up a 10-spot. His command wasn’t great in the first two consecutive frames, but while he had that cushion, he seemed to have been throwing the ball over the plate and working through the order as much as he could. I’m not a believer in pitchers doing that in general, but I can’t blame Taillon for just to go out there and hurling, especially given how much time he must really have waited between innings.
It’s difficult to tell how much of Taillon’s mediocre day was due to long delays and the pleasure that certain big leads provide. He hasn’t looked quite as good as he had the past 6 weeks, but he started pitching well enough to win, never allowing the Cubs back into the game, and that was all the Yankees needed at the time.
There couldn’t be a different environment around this team on Saturday and Sunday than there was on Friday night. The Yankees currently believe they can strike any pitch, and when they do, it is absolutely devastating.
This team’s vibes are fantastic right now, and they’ll enter the off-day tomorrow cruising the high of a series sweep. They are 44-16, and the wins they have accumulated this month will come in handy given how difficult the next stretch will be, with two series against Tampa, one against Toronto, and a game against the Astros before the end of June.
Nonetheless, these guys exude Best Team In Baseball energy, so you can bet they’ll be ready for the Rays on Tuesday night. At 7:05 p.m. ET, Gerrit Cole will face Corey Kluber.
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