About Last Night: The Yankees Beat the White Sox 4-2

About Last Night: The Yankees Beat the White Sox 4-2

By Tim Kabel

May 18, 2024

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Just like Old Man River, the Yankees just keep on rolling along. They have 31 wins and are16 games over .500. They need to keep winning as many games as they can. They need to win all the games they should win and a few of the ones they shouldn't win. The Yankees need to be like a squirrel gathering nuts for the winter except they need to gather wins. The more often they win now, the less pressure there will be late in the season. This was a game they should have won, and they did. Well done.

Quick Stats – 

·       The Yankees became the first team in the American League to reach 31 wins.

·       The Yankees are 35-4 when Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton hit home runs in the same game.

·       Nestor Cortes pitched seven innings, giving up no earned runs, striking out six and walking only one.

·       Aaron Judge has now reached base in 12 of his last 13 plate appearances and has twelve home runs on the season. 

·       The Yankees are 12-3 since May 1, which is the best record in the Major Leagues. 

·       During the postgame press conference, Aaron Boone was discussing the early struggles of Aaron Judge and said, “I've been doing this a long time, and we always have these discussions. Next year, I will be having the same discussion about one of my players.” It's good to be optimistic I suppose, but he shouldn't count his chickens before they are hatched.

·       On May 17, 1998, David Wells pitched the 15th perfect game in Major League history at the time and the second in Yankees’ history at the time.

Big Story – 

The Yankees continue to combine solid starting pitching and timely hitting to win games.

Aaron Judge is back on track and Giancarlo Stanton seems to be entering one of his hot streaks. How long that streak will last and how cold he will get when it ends is anybody's guess. However, it is hard to find fault with the way the team is playing.

I remember 2022, and I am afraid that things may go south in a hurry at some point. There is nothing we can do about that at this point. We just have to hope that this is not a repeat of 2022. Again, one of the keys to success for this team will be to accumulate as many wins as they can as early as possible. They won the first game against the White Sox. Now they need to win the series, and sweep the White Sox, if possible.

Player of the Game – 

Nestor Cortes had another solid outing. He continues to flourish at Yankee Stadium. He kept the streak of solid performances by Yankees’ starters going. It is now up to Luis Gil today.

Notable Performances –

Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton each hit a home run and now are both in double digits in home runs this season.

Better to Forget – 

Ian Hamilton gave up three hits and one run in 1/3 of an inning. He has been much shakier this season than he was last year. This season seems to be an off-Broadway production of Hamilton.

My Take –  

The Yankees are off to a tremendous start this season. Things look great. They are getting contributions up and down the lineup. The starting pitching has been excellent. Despite the fact that it is comprised of mainly unknown, and cast-off pitchers, the bullpen has been extremely effective. At some point, the Yankees will be getting Gerrit Cole, DJ LeMahieu, Tommy Kahnle, Scott Effross, and Jasson Dominguez back. To quote Ethel Merman, “Everything's coming up roses.” Just remember, not everything always came up roses for Ethel. Her marriage to Ernest Borgnine lasted 41 days and merited a chapter of one blank page in her autobiography.

When you look at the success the Yankees have had so far, combined with the fact that they will be getting major reinforcements back soon, it is very hard not to be extremely enthusiastic about this season. It is very hard to not start thinking about a parade in the Canyon of Heroes.

If the 2022 Yankees season had not happened, I would be more excited. I would be optimistic. I would be thinking about the World Series. However, after seeing 2022, I have to be cautious. I am hopeful. I am guardedly optimistic, but when it comes to World Series, I have seen six years of failure under Aaron Boone. I have seen fourteen years of failure, since 2009, under Brian Cashman. 

It is good to be optimistic, but I wouldn't bet the house on this team. Not yet anyway. We have seen this before. Hopefully, this time it will be different. Hopefully the Yankees will win the World Series. Just remember, it's a long way to October from now. Don't start collecting ticker tape just yet.

Next Up – 

Today, the Yankees play the second game of a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox at 1:05 PM at Yankee Stadium. Luis Gil, (4-1, 2.51 ERA) will face Chicago’s Brad Keller (0-1, 2.84 ERA).