6 Is The Magic Number In The Bronx

The New York Yankees return the Bronx after a seven game West Coast trip that started slow but saw them finish strong with a 5-game win streak and a sweep of the Oakland A’s. Monday’s day off is much needed after the team played 20 games straight. Additionally the Yankees are preparing to play their next four series against AL East teams with the possibility of gaining some serious ground in the division. Over the course of this win streak, the Yankee bats have come alive collecting 26 runs and 58 hits over the 5 game span. With Alex Rodriguez out, Mark Teixeira struggling big time and Austin Romine starting to take on a larger role behind the plate, the Yankees have been without their best bats, excluding Carlos Beltran who has been hot recently. Obviously to win ballgames runs need to be scored, but that is not the only thing that has contributed to the Yankees 13-8 record so far in the month of May. The return of Aroldis Chapman has changed the dynamic of the Yankees pitching. Six has become the magic number in the Bronx.
The Yankees starting rotation has come under fire all season because of the inconsistency. Teams like the Giants and the Dodgers can rely on their aces, Madison Bumgarner and Clayton Kershaw to go out and pitch lights out with every start but the Yankees honestly do not know what they are going to get every time one of the starters takes the mound. The most frustrating part about it is that every starter has the raw ability to pitch like an ace, but they cannot seem to get a grasp on their consistency. The difference over the course of this win streak has been that each starting pitcher has lasted through six innings without unravelling. Eovaldi, Nova, Sabathia, and Pineda all pitched six innings while Tanaka lasted seven, all of them picking up a win in their respective starts. After the sixth inning, it was game over for the opposing team because the Yankees pen is arguably the best in the big leagues. In three of the five games, Dellin Betances has pitched the seventh, Andrew Miller the eighth, and Chapman has entered the game to close it out in the ninth, picking up three saves in as many attempts. Since Chapman’s return, the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings have been dominated by Run BMC has they have now been dubbed (not by me, I would add). Looking at these three relievers from an opposing team’s perspective is terrifying. Betances has a ridiculous curveball, Miller’s slider when paired with his odd side arm delivery generates an extremely high number of swings and misses and then to bring in Chapman who does not throw his fastball slower than 95 mph, definitely strikes fear into the hearts of opposing lineups. It is clear that manager Joe Girardi does not want to overuse Run BMC but that does not pose too much of a problem because the rest of the bullpen is solid, pitchers like Chasen Shreve and Nick Goody are sufficient subs for when Betances, Miller, and/or Chapman can not take the field. At least there is one area of the Yankee roster that remains consistent, the bullpen.
The current form that the Yankees have been in certainly seems like a the tides are changing. The starting pitching has clearly been much better. None, however were completely lights out. They all pitched well enough to hand the ball to the bullpen and watch the relievers mow down the opposing batters for the final three innings. The most promising pitcher so far has been Nathan Eovaldi, who treated fans to some of his best stuff when he retired 18 straight batters in his last outing in Arizona. But again consistency is key with him and hopefully if he maintains his strong form, there is a strong chance that he takes the title of ace in the Yankee rotation. While the starting pitching is working on their consistency the only thing they need to remember is six is the magic number. If they can pitch six strong innings then they should be able to sit back and enjoy the show as the Yankee relievers take control of the game.