Bronx Bomber Ball

The Yankees enter the weekend after an off day against the leaders of the AL East, the Tampa Bay Rays.   CC Sabathia took the mound against the Rays’ opener, Ryne Stanek.  Sabathia  pitched a gem, only giving up six hits and one run through six innings.   The Yankees found themselves down in the bottom of the ninth by two runs, but clutch hitting from Luke Voit, Gary Sanchez, Gleyber Torres, and Gio Urshela saved the game.   The Bombers won a thriller, 4-3 over the Rays. Photo Credit: Noah K. Murray/USA Today Sports

For the second straight weekend the Yankees and Rays are set to face off, this time in the Bronx. Since the last time they saw each other both teams are 2-0 with the Rays taking two from the Marlins and the Yanks winning a doubleheader against the Orioles. This means Tampa Bay will open this series leading the AL East by just half a game, so whoever wins this series will be on top of the division.   Photo Credit: SI.com

Playing their first double-header of the 2019 season, the Yankees took care of business against the last-place Orioles, taking both games thanks to solid pitching and a power display on offense. The two wins put the Yanks at a season-best 26-16, just two games worse than the team’s 28-14 mark through 42 games last year. Photo Credit: Frank Franklin II/AP Photo

On Tuesday night, the Yankees acquired 1B/DH Kendrys Morales from the Oakland Athletics, in exchange for a player to be named or cash considerations. Morales, in his 13th major-league season, was designated for assignment on Monday.

Remain calm. Everything is going to be okay. Well, at least I think they will. The Yankees have undergone an almost comical string of injuries to key players in 2019 and yet have still managed to play at such a competitive level that they find themselves just one-half game back of the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East.   And yet, all I see on fellow blogs, the New York tabloids and Twitter is that this team is a mess and is in urgent need of a top-shelf starting pitcher in order for them to remain in the race over the course of the 2019 season. Photo Credit: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images Let me make this unequivocally clear: such takes are nothing but stark overreactions.

Flashback to early 2018, and Yankees’ infielder Thairo Estrada endured a tragedy much bigger than the game of baseball. He sustained a gunshot wound in an attempted robbery back in his home country of Venezuela. His injury was not life-threatening, but still created consequences that the average baseball player does not have to go through. His initial surgery to remove the bullet was carried out poorly, arguably causing more damage than the initial wound, however he was cleared to play and felt ready to go. Photo Credit: Elsa | Getty Images

Aaron Boone takes a lot of criticism from fans almost every time the Yankees lose, and even at times after Yankee wins. Many of his decisions are second-guessed and make fans wonder what he is doing, but somehow the Yankees just keep winning games. Coming into 2019, would anyone expect a Yankees team with the ridiculous amount of injuries so far to get off to a 24-16 start and be only half a game out of first in the AL East? I certainly would not have, and throughout this season of injuries, roster moves, and lineup changes at least one thing has stayed constant: Aaron Boone. Photo Credit: NJ.com

Prior to Monday night’s rainout, Jonathan Loaisiga became the seventeenth Yankee to land on the I.L. this season, succumbing to a rotator cuff strain. Loaisiga had only taken one turn in the rotation to this point in place of the injured James Paxton, but will now be shut down for at least a month. The Yanks will now look to Chance Adams, who was recalled from Triple-A to take his place on the roster. So now the question: what does he bring to the table?

After a quick trip down to Tampa which saw the Yankees take a three-game series from the Rays 2-1, they return to the Bronx for three games against the Baltimore Orioles. After struggling against Seattle and righting the ship a bit in Tampa, the Bombers find themselves at  24-16  on the year and only a half game out of first place.   This will be a six-game homestand for New York with three against Baltimore and three against Tampa. Baltimore is 3-7 in their last 10 and, as predicted, find themselves at or near the bottom of most major offensive and pitching categories. Oriole pitching has given up the most runs and homers in the majors and has the second least number of strikeouts. On the other side of the ball, they are well below average in runs per game, walks, and team on-base percentage.   Game One-Monday, May 13, 6:35pm EST   David Hess (1.4, 5.50 ERA) vs Jonathan  Loaisiga  (1-1, 4.50 ERA)   With James Paxton’s k...

Coming into this final game of the three-game set, both teams had won one game with the Yankees winning game one in a one run contest and the Rays winning the second game in blowout fashion. With the Yankees looking to catch up to the Rays in the standings, this game was a crucial one for this rolling Yankees team. Julio Aguilar | Getty Images