About Yesterday Afternoon: The Yankees Beat the Tigers 5-2: Cinco de Soto

About Yesterday Afternoon: The Yankees Beat the Tigers 5-2: Cinco de Soto

By Tim Kabel

May 6, 2024

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The Yankees beat the Tigers and their ace, Tarik Skubal In a rain-shortened eight-inning game to sweep the three-game series against them. It was a nice way to bounce back after losing the series to the Baltimore Orioles. The offense was not overwhelming against the Tigers this weekend but, they scored enough runs to win.  This Yankees’ team needs to strive for consistency. A week ago, they scored fifteen runs in back-to-back games against the Brewers. This weekend they scored twelve runs in all three games against the Tigers combined. They will now play the Houston Astros in a three-game series to close out the season series with them. The Astros are 10 games under .500. The Yankees need to win this series.

Quick Stats – 

·       In Aaron Judge’s first at bat after his ridiculous ejection on Saturday, he hit a home run, which was the first given up by Tarik Skubal in a month.

·       Skubal had a career-high 12 strikeouts.

·       The Yankees are now a season-high ten games over .500.

·       Oswaldo Cabrera made his first career start at first base.

·       On May 5, 1922, construction began on Yankee Stadium. It opened on April 18,1923.  Imagine that. It takes the property managers where I live longer to fix a defective outlet.

Big Story – 

The Yankees swept the Tigers and remain in second place. Gerrit Cole’s recovery from his injury is progressing very well. He could join the team next month. Jasson Dominguez could be coming back as well. Some of the bullpen arms will be returning also. Things look good for the Yankees. They could look better. Aaron Judge has made significant improvements over the last few weeks. That needs to continue. Anthony Volpe needs to regain the approach he had at the beginning of the season. Gleyber Torres needs to improve a great deal. I think when and if DJ LeMahieu returns, Torres might be the one who goes to the bench and not Oswaldo Cabrera. Overall, the team needs to be more consistent and less streaky which has been the pattern under Aaron Boone.

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Player of the Game – 

Juan Soto is having an amazing contract year.  He drove in three runs with a seventh-inning double.

Notable Performances – 

Aaron Judge had two hits, including a first-inning home run. 

Oswaldo Cabrera was 2-3 with an RBI double. He would have driven in two runs if the ball had not bounced into the stands.

Nestor Cortes left the game with one out in the seventh inning, leading 2-0.

Better to Forget – 

Ian Hamilton was shaky, and Anthony Volpe was hitless.

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My Take –  

The Yankees remind me of the little girl with a curl in the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 

“When she was good, she was very good indeed. But when she was bad, she was horrid.” 

Watching this team is like watching a roller coaster. They could be going up or they could be going down. I would prefer a locomotive. They might not be as exciting but, they will get you where you want to go.

There are some players on this team whose performances have been concerning. Giancarlo Stanton came into the season with the promise of improved performance. So far, he is batting .225 with six home runs and eighteen RBI. Oswaldo Cabrera, whom many people wanted to be sent to the minors, is hitting .250 with four home runs and nineteen RBI. Cabrera has struck out 22 times. Stanton has struck out 42 times. Cabrera can play multiple positions. Stanton really can't play any. Cabrera is a speedy and skillful base runner. Stanton clogs up the basepaths more than bacon grease clogs your arteries. He actually cost Austin Wells a hit the other night when he was thrown out before he could advance to second base. I don't think I ever saw that before in a Major League game. Stanton is not quite as awful as he was last year but if he goes into a slump, he will be.

Gleyber Torres is the anti-Juan Soto. By that I mean he is having a dreadful season before he enters free agency. He is batting .221 with one home run and seven RBI. He is on a pace for 6 home runs and about 40 RBI. It might be time for the Yankees to consider trading him for whatever they can get. When and if DJ LeMahieu returns, he could play second base. Another option would be to bring up Caleb Durbin, who is batting .286 with two home runs, 23 RBI, and 14 stolen bases. He is also apparently a very good fielder. Gleyber Torres has 3 stolen bases and has made numerous errors and misplays and bad decisions in the field already this season. I, like many, had hoped this would be an amazing year for Torres, which would lead to the Yankee signing him to a lengthy contract. So far neither of those things has happened. He has wilted under pressure, just as he did at the trading deadline in 2022.

The Yankees do not need a major overhaul. They just need some tinkering. Having Gleyber Torres and Giancarlo Stanton in the middle of the lineup is not helpful. It is not likely to put the Yankees in the playoffs. If they make it, they will not go far with those two. There are solutions readily available. When Jasson Dominguez is ready, the Yankees could bite the bullet and either trade Stanton or if there are no takers, simply let him go. They could then put Dominguez in a four-man outfield rotation with Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and Alex Verdugo. Whichever one isn't playing the outfield would be the DH. As mentioned, DJ LeMahieu could play some second base when he returns or the Yankees could recall Caleb Durbin. Perhaps they could do both. The point is it's hard to be consistent as a team with two of the major components being totally inconsistent. It doesn't take much to fine tune a team and turn it into a champion.

Next Up – 

On Tuesday, the Yankees open a three-game series against the Houston Astros at 7:05 PM at Yankee Stadium. Luis Gil, (2-2, 3.19 ERA) will face Houston’s Justin Verlander, (1-0 2.08 ERA). The Astros are 12-22. How the mighty have fallen.