Yankees win nine out of 10 but gauntlet lies ahead

Behind Gary Sanchez’s blast and CC Sabathia’s Sunday night gem, the Yankees got their ninth win in a row before losing to the Astros 2-1 on Monday.

After starting the season 9-9, those nine consecutive wins put the Yankees at 18-9, a fresh .667 win percentage and only two games behind the slumping Red Sox. Although the Twins and Angels are good, they are nothing compared to the Yankees upcoming schedule.

Following the buzzsaw that was Charlie Morton, in the next nine games, the Yanks play the last year’s three AL division winners. First, they play have three more games against reigning the World Champion Astros in Houston.

Then, they return home to face the Red Sox and Indians. After somewhat of a break against the Athletics, the Yanks travel to Washington to take on the reigning NL East champion, Washington Nationals.

Luckily for the Yankees, help is on the way. Greg Bird has been making progress in his rehab assignment, Brandon Drury is close to returning and Clint Frazier has been promoted to Triple-A Scranton. All these players should solidify what has been a weak bench so far this season.

These upcoming matchups may be the hardest part of the season. However, it couldn’t have come at a better time. Up until Monday’s 2-1 defeat, the Yankees were red hot.

If the Yanks even split the series in Houston, it will be a good series. Then they come home to face the sputtering Indians and faltering Red Sox. If the Yankees come out of this 6-4, it would be considered an enormous success and that seems pretty doable right now.

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How can the Yankees get through this gauntlet? It starts and ends with pitching. The series against the Astros features the likes of Justin Verlander, Dallas Kuechel and Lance Mccullers, all of whom have a recent All-Star appearance. As such, the Yanks need good performances from Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino to at least split the series.

Luckily, Tanaka has shown the ability to match zero for zero. During the 2017 playoffs, Tanaka matched or bettered Dallas Keuchel’s performance, twice. Similarly, Severino has successfully battled with the likes of top caliber pitchers such as Chris Sale.

On the offensive side, the Yankees will hope for contributions from Giancarlo Stanton, who looked better at the plate recently, Gary Sanchez, who has begun to get hot and the other Yankees who have already contributed this year.

This is the Yanks’ first challenge of the season. This will be Aaron Boone’s first real test. If the Yankees get out of Dodge without falling back in the standings, the Yanks should be able to carry that momentum over an easier upcoming schedule and take off.

Next: What does the future hold with Clint Frazier

Hopefully, the Yankees’ pitchers come through and deliver in this critical stretch of schedule. A little run support from the big bats can be all that’s needed to come away from this stretch successfully.