Bronx Bomber Ball

The first half of the 2019 MLB season was a whirlwind. We saw balls flying out of the yard at an alarmingly high rate, player use of analytics at an all-time high, and Major League Baseball’s first series in England. For the New York Yankees, the first half had many storylines, mostly centered around the injury bug the team has still not managed to fully shake. From the mound to the field and from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to the Bronx, it has seemed that no one on this team has avoided an IL stint.

The Yankees are the hottest team in baseball, and it is not even close. Coming off an incredible two-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox in Major League Baseball’s first series across the pond, the Bombers have won 13 of their last 14 games, outscoring their opponents by an average of 3.1 runs per game over that span. On this 14-game tear, the Yanks have put up an average of 8.2 runs per game. Their offense has been impossible to stop and is a main reason they hold a seven-game led in the AL East.

The Yankees are still one of the most injured ball clubs in the league yet they continue to put tallies in the win column. The Bronx Bombers are one of the hottest teams in baseball having won ten of their last twelve games. They return home after a short road trip that saw them complete a four-game sweep of the Orioles as well as a 2-1 series win in Kansas City. The Pinstripes will start a seven-game home stand with a three-game set against the San Diego Padres. The Padres won the Manny Machado sweepstakes this offseason but many figured the 2019 season was going to be a rough one as San Diego sports one of the youngest rosters in the majors. They have vastly outperformed expectations as they sit at 28-25 through 53 games, good for second in the NL West. The Padres come into this series having won five of their last six as they look to keep pace with the LA Dodgers. The Yanks should look to continue their winning ways against three very young pitchers. The three p...

The New York Yankees are finally returning home after a nine-game road trip that saw them go 6-3.  If you told a Yankee fan they would finish their West Coast stint with a 6-3 record before the trip, they would have been satisfied.  However, after starting 6-1 and dropping the last two games to Arizona by a combined three runs, it feels as if they left a win or two on the table.  Nonetheless, the Yankees currently have a 17-13 record and are just 2.5 games behind the AL East leading Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees start their seven-game home stand with a three-game set against the Minnesota Twins.  The AL Central leading Twins come into this series with a 19-10 record after just completing a series win over the Houston Astros.  Minnesota is 6-1 over their last seven games. They are getting it done on both sides of the ball as they are in the top-13 in the majors in both runs scored and runs against.  This is the first of two t...

Once again, the New York Yankees put a tally in the win column, something they have done eight of the last nine times they have taken the field.  It was a beautiful day for matinee baseball in San Francisco and the Yanks played an all-around solid game, beating the Giants 6-4 while securing a series win ahead of Sunday’s matchup.

The New York Yankees and the Kansas City Royals will be meeting for the first time this season for a weekend four-game set in the Bronx.  The Yankees have dominated the Royals in recent memory with a 19-8 record against the AL Central foe over the last four seasons, via  baseball-reference .  Both teams come into this series with below .500 records as the Yanks sit at 8-9 and the Royals at 6-12.

Well, it's been just about a week now since the Boston Red Sox eliminated the Yankees from playoff contention and we've all had some time to stew on it.  Obviously not the ending any of us wanted and made even more painful due to the fact that it was our arch-rivals who put the nail in the coffin.   Some of our contributors weigh in below about how this season ended, what to make of it all, and where the Yankees go from here heading into 2019.

The Yankees will welcome the Detroit Tigers into the Bronx for a four-game weekend series. The clubs split a pair of games in Detroit back in June. New York is coming off a series loss to the White Sox where they only combined for three runs in their two losses. Nonetheless, the Yankees have won nine of their last 12 games. They currently sit 7.5 games back of the Red Sox in the AL East, but 4.5 up in the Wild Card. At this point, it's pretty safe to assume this club will be hosting a one-game playoff. This four-game set with the Tigers gives the Yankees a chance to bounce back and put three or four more wins on the board.

In the second series between the 2017 ALCS competitors, the Astros will travel to the Bronx to take on the Yankees. New York (33-16) and Houston (34-20) have the second and third best records in the American League respectively. Houston sports the best starting rotation in the league but has had some trouble in the back end with the bullpen. The Yankees will show off the best lineup in the league, one that goes one through nine with players that can beat you. The Yankees took three of four when these teams met in early May. Expect a back and forth series with a fair share of drama.

The Yankees will head to Kansas City to face the Royals after a two-game set against the Washington Nationals in which one game was suspended and one was postponed due to weather. It will be the first nine inning game the Yanks have played since their 6-2 win versus Oakland on May 13 th . The Royals have the second worst record in the league, sitting at 13-30. The 28-12 Yankees will hopefully add three wins to their total after this series.                                              Photo Credit: David Richard/USA Today Sports                                          

The Yankees will be traveling to Houston for a four-game set against the defending World Champion Houston Astros, the first time the Bombers have visited Minute Maid Park since Game 7 of the 2017 ALCS. It is the final series of New York’s first mini West Coast trip. No one in baseball is playing hotter than the Yankees, having won their last nine games, including a three-game sweep of the Angels over the weekend. The Astros have started 2018 with a 19-10 record, notching the best team ERA in the MLB (2.59). This series should be a fun one to watch and will give Yankee fans a better indication on how legit this team is.   Photo Credit: Getty Images Game 1: Monday, April 30 th , 8:10pm Sonny Gray (1-1, 7.71 ERA) vs Charlie Morton (3-0, 1.86 ERA) Sonny Gray takes the bump for the Yankees in the series opener. In his five starts this season, Gray has been no better than abysmal. He has one win to his credit, the only start he qualified for a W all season. Four of his sta...

The Yankees came in looking to cap off a sweep of the Angels and extend their eight-game win streak. The game was dominated by pitching, especially Yankee starter CC  Sabathia . He had his longest start (in innings pitched) since August 25th, 2017. The Yankees bats struggled to put anything together for most of the  night , but another clutch home run from Gary Sanchez proved to be the difference in a 2-1 ballgame.   Photo Credit: Mark J. Terrill/AP Photo

Coming into this seven-game road stint, the Yankees were feeling good. Winners of their last six games, New York ace Luis Severino took the bump Friday night looking to secure his fifth win of the season, and the seventh straight for the Yankees. The name of the game for both teams was solid defense and timely hitting, but the hottest hitter of the season struck once again, giving the Yankees a 4-3 win in 10 innings.   Photo Credit: Jae C. Hong | AP

In what seemed like more than a regular April game, the Blue Jays traveled to the Bronx for another four-game set between the two. Jays’ ace Aaron Sanchez took the bump for the visitors, and CC Sabathia made his first start in 13 days, returning from nagging hip soreness. 6.5 games behind the Red Sox, the Yankees got a must needed win against the second-place team in the AL East. It was not pretty and no one on the Yanks tallied more than one hit, but they did enough to pull out a 4-3 win over Toronto.

Coming off a 5-2 loss against the Orioles on Thursday night, the Yankees looked to bounce back as C.C. Sabathia took the bump for his first home start of the season. However, the exact opposite happened as the Yankees played in a gut-wrenching 14-inning marathon that saw multiple players go down with injuries, sloppy baseball, and a 14th inning grand slam that sealed the deal.   Photo Credit: AP