Yankees News: Scoring First Has Been Key to Yankees Early Success

Don’t look now, but the New York Yankees are 21-13 and sitting atop the American League East. Part of the Yankees early success has been skipper Joe Girardi’s ability to create a lineup that has allowed his team strike first, and strike early.

While we didn’t see this work in Tuesday night’s 4-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, the results are still there. According to cleanuphitter.com , as of May 12th there has been a total of 538 runs scored throughout the MLB in the first inning of ball games, which is 23 runs higher than than the next highest inning, which is the combined 515 runs scored in the fourth inning of ball games.

The New York Yankees currently lead the MLB with 34 first innings run in 34 games played so far this season.

First inning runs scored:

1. New York Yankees – 34

2. Detroit Tigers – 28

3. Atlanta Braves – 28

4. San Diego Padres – 27

…

28. New York Mets – 11

29. Cleveland Indians – 10

29. Philadelphia Phillies – 10

30. Chicago White Sox – 7

The Yankees also own the game’s best run-differential in the first inning, which plays a significant role in their 21-13 record. They’ve outscored opponents by 19 runs in the first inning.

First-Inning Run Differential:

1.New York Yankees: +19

2. Pittsburgh Pirates: +11 (Thanks to an astounding starting pitching staff that has only allowed 3 first inning runs)

3.Kansas City Royals: + 10

3. Detroit Tigers: + 10

…

28. Philadelphia Phillies: -11

28.Boston Red Sox: -11

29. Chicago White Sox: -13

30. Cleveland Indians: -17

Interestingly enough, these stat lines only seem to reflect success in the American league. While the Yankees, Royals and Tigers each sit in the top four in the entire league in run differential, they are the only teams sitting within the top two spots of their division. The Pirates, who are ranked second in run differential are currently in third place in the NL Central behind the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs.

Also, the New York Mets, who are currently ranked as low as 28th in first innings runs scored, still sit atop the NL East at 20-13.

Hey fans!

What do you think about the Yankees and their recent trend of scoring early? Furthermore, what do you make of these stats?

Let us know in the comments below!

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