Yankees make a statement, winning six of seven games on big road trip

The Yankees continued their success this past week, losing just one of seven games on their biggest road trip of the season thus far.

The Yankees first played in Anaheim, California against the Angels, who they swept in a three-game set. Severino started Game 1 (7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 K) but the offense struggled to score until the ninth. Brett Gardner tied the game with a pinch-hit sac-fly. In the 10th, Didi Gregorius hit a go-ahead home run for the 2-1 win.

Game 2 was a blowout. After batting around twice and scoring 10 runs in the first two innings, the Yanks took an 11-1 victory. Masahiro Tanaka had none strikeouts over six innings pitched. Aaron Hicks drove in thee RBI and Neil Walker chipped in two of his own.

In Game 3, CC Sabathia and Gary Sanchez provided the highlights. Sabathia pitched his longest outing since August (7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) continuing to show power even in his later years. 

Sanchez “unleashed the Kraken” with a two-run bomb in the seventh inning to propel the Yanks to a 2-1 win and secure the sweep.

MLB’s Bryan Hoch reported Sabathia discussing the importance of pitching in tight games:

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"“This is a really good team. We’ve got some good players in here. It’s just up to us to go out and execute, play good defense. These guys are going to hit. It’s up to us to keep pitching and help the bullpen out.”"

Next, the Yankees flew to Houston, where they took three of four games from the Astros.

Their first contest was the only loss of the trip as opposing pitcher Charlie Morton dominated the Yanks. Gardy’s RBI single accounted for the only run. Sonny Gray pitched significantly better despite the loss (6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K).

Game 2 was one of the most exciting of the season so far. Jordan Montgomery left with an injury after just one inning, but Domingo German excelled in relieving him (4.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K).

Justin Verlander shut down the offense for eight innings. Sanchez responded with a clutch three-run shot in the ninth for an exciting 4-0 victory to tie the series.

Severino and Giancarlo Stanton shined in Game 3. Sevvy pitched a complete-game shutout, and his control and location of pitches were phenomenal (9.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K). Stanton’s two, two-run shots led the team to another 4-0 win.

The final game in Houston was a series-winning thriller. Tanaka cruised through six-plus innings, but after loading the bases with two bloop hits and a controversial HBP, he left the game. Chad Green came in and struggled, blowing the lead 5-3. The offense, however, retaliated in the ninth.

Gleyber Torres’ two-run single tied the game, and Aaron Judge’s RBI fielder’s choice gave the Yanks a narrow lead. Aroldis Chapman allowed the go-ahead run on base but struck out Jose Altuve to save the game.

The Yanks look to continue their success on the homestand. They’ll face the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics. Sabathia (2-0, 1.71 ERA) will pitch the first game against Josh Tomlin (0-4, 9.16 ERA) in hopes of continuing the winning streak.

Next: Predicting the AL ROY; Gleyber Torres or Miguel Andujar?

The team will have their first day off in 18 days on Monday — keeping the momentum going for a good stretch at the Stadium.