Yankees Streak Reaches 10: No, Not That One, The Other One

The Yankees (10-5) won their third consecutive series by taking the rubber game from the White Sox (7-7) last night, but the story behind the game is that they have another streak going. And this one’s still alive.

The Yankees stepped on the field at Yankee Stadium on a chilly, sometimes rainy, blustery night and methodically crushed the Chicago White Sox by a margin of eight runs. They did with the blend of good pitching and power that is rapidly becoming the trademark of the team this year.

The 9-1 victory that effectively left the Yankees in a virtual tie for first place in the AL East with the Baltimore Orioles was only half the story though.

It was back on April 9, when the team was 1-4 that CC Sabathia took the start and turned in six innings propelling the team to what would become their first of eight wins in a row.

It becomes a game of one-upmanship to where one guy says to all the others, here, top that!

It is now April 20, a full week and a half later. The win streak is over, but another one keeps chugging along. That streak reached ten last night as Masahiro Tanaka (2-1) delivered another quality start, allowing only one run and six hits over seven innings. Two-thirds (96-63) of his pitches were strikes, and it was “Strike One” to 21 of the 28 batters he faced in the game.

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When a starting staff gets like this, it almost becomes five guys playing a game of tag. No one wants to be “it,” the guy who goes out there and throws a clunker that doesn’t give his team a chance to win the game.

It becomes a game of one-upmanship to where one guy says to all the others, here, top that! And with all comes a spirit of camaraderie amongst the five to where they become a team within a team.

The St. Louis Cardinals take it to another level. And maybe you noticed it when they were in town. When their starting pitcher is warming up before the game, the other four starters stand behind him. And when he’s finished, they all clap. A little cheesy, but you get you get the idea.

And so, Tanaka tagged CC, and he’s “it” tomorrow night when the Yankees take on the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC field with a chance to stretch the string of quality starts to eleven.

Oh, We Love That Power

The Yankees hit four more home runs last night to account for six of their nine runs. The started early and finished late when Chase Headley hit one in the first inning scoring Brett Gardner ahead of him to give Tanaka a quick lead in the game.

They poured it on in the fifth with two more blasts that drove White Sox starter Dylan Covey from the game. Starlin Castro hit his third of the year with two on, followed by Aaron Judge with his fifth of the season. And for good measure, Aaron Hicks (4) tacked one on in the eighth inning.

Of more significance though, every Yankees starter had a hit in the game, and only one (Judge) had two hits. Facing a rookie making only his second start in the big leagues, the Yankees didn’t wait a whole lot before jumping on Covey. Jacoby Ellsbury saw only eight pitches on his four at-bats and Castro only nine in his three appearances before being removed for a pinch-hitter.

Video Courtesy of the YES Network

Turning The Page

The three-game series with the Pirates should be an interesting one as the Yankees move into a city in disarray stemming from the Starling Marte “incident.” As a team, the Pirates could be out for revenge in taking their anger out on the Yankees, or they could simply roll over and die.

On Sunday, another element of drama sneaks in when the Yankees face the discarded but rejuvenated Ivan Nova (1-2 2.25). Jordan Montgomery draws the start against Nova.

In other news, the New York Daily News reports that Gleyber Torres, The Yankees’ top prospect was placed on the 7-day minor-league disabled list, retroactive to Tuesday, with mild right rotator cuff tendinitis. Joe Girardi added that he “probably won’t be down that long.”

Yankees Suddenly Are Looking Armed and Dangerous

Because the starters are going deep into games, they have saved the bullpen. All of this has added up to a 2.38 ERA for the entire Yankees pitching staff.

It turns out that Luis Severino made history the other night, when at 23 years old, Severino became the youngest pitcher in Yankees history with ten strikeouts and no walks, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He’s the first Yankees pitcher of any age to throw at least eight innings in such a start since Hall of Famer Randy Johnson did it in 2005.