Yankees Thunder Starting To Return

Apr 10, 2014; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees center fielder

(22) grounds out to second advancing a man during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

After a slow start to the season, the Bronx Bombers are living up to their name. After only hitting one home run through the first six games of the season, the Yankees have hit 5 of them in their last four games. After averaging only 3 runs per game in the first six games of the season, the Yankees have averaged 4 runs in their last four games. Their team batting average so far is .268, which could be a lot better, but is actually not that bad.

The Yankees had their first home series of the young season, a three game set with the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles were able to take two of three games from the Bronx Bombers, but the Yankees bat were not the issue. It was the play in the field that killed New York in their two losses. The Yankees just could not give the pitchers any solid defense. The stats may not show this as they only made one error the entire series, but the way they looked just did not look like a Major League infield.

Derek Jeter had a nice final opening day at Yankees Stadium as he was joined by the rest of the most recent Yankee retirees, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, and Jorge Posada. They were all part of the first pitch opening ceremonies. Jeter’s play was not bad as well, he went 1-for-4 with an RBI double.

For Jeter it was his last home opener, but for Yankee rookie Yangervis Solarte, it was his first to remember for a while.  Solarte continued his torrid start to the season in this series against the Orioles. Solarte went 4-for-11 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. This series was also a breakout series for new Yankee Jacoby Ellsbury who is now hitting .364 on the year as he takes on a new role of driving in runs for the injured Mark Teixeira.

This past weekend also included the beginning of one of the premier rivalries in not just baseball, but all sports in general. The Yankees started a three game series with their arch rivals the Boston Red Sox on Thursday. The Yanks won the series opener 4-1. The hero of this game was another new face on the Yankees, rookie second baseman Dean Anna, who hit his first career major league home run. The Yankees also got big contributions from Brian McCann and Jacoby Ellsbury, who returns to Boston for the first time since becoming a Yankee.

The Yankees hope to continue this balanced attack of hitting and pitching as they finish up their series with Boston this weekend. Then the Bronx Bombers have a two game inter-league series with the Chicago Cubs in New York. They will then travel to Tampa for a four game set against the division rival Tampa Bay Rays.