Yankees get back into the win column with 4-3 victory over the Athletics

The Yankees needed to get back into the win column, and they did exactly that tonight, securing their 16th win of the season. It was the first inning that seemingly decided the game, as after Juan Soto misplayed a ball in right field and allowed a run to score in the top of the frame, the offense exploded. It started with a single from the aforementioned Soto and Aaron Judge pulling a double just fair down the line, with Giancarlo Stanton rocketing a ball into the left center gap.

Anthony Rizzo, who had been struggling to open the season, drove a ball into right field for a home run, which he desperately needed as well. It was an encouraging day for the first baseman, who made some strong defensive plays as well that flew under the radar to help keep the pesky Athletics from trying to steal a win from the Yankees. His two-run blast proved to be critical, as the team won this game by just one run, with Oakland pecking away at their lead.

Marcus Stroman gave up some loud contact, but his ERA doesn’t properly reflect how well he pitched in this ballgame, as two of the three runs allowed weren’t on poor decisions. The previously mentioned misplay from Juan Soto allowed a runner from first to score on what should have been a harmless single with two outs, and the second home run he had allowed was scooped from outside of the zone for a porch job in right field. Still, he worked around those problems and put together a nine-strikeout performance.

On the season, the right-hander has a 24.3% strikeout rate and 57.3% groundball rate to go with his 2.93 ERA, and the signing has been an overwhelming success thus far for the Yankees. You would sign up for a sub-3.00 ERA from him any day of the week, and the Yankees have seen their rotation really anchor their success thus far on the season. After struggling early on to generate strikeouts, their rotation is now sixth in strikeout rate (24.8%) while remaining third in ERA (2.93).

As for their bullpen, everyone expected it to be a strength, but some injuries have limited their efficiency as of late, but they showed up tonight. Ron Marinaccio and Caleb Ferguson delivered scoreless outings in relief, with Dennis Santana getting two outs in the eighth inning to hand the ball to Clay Holmes. The best closer in baseball this season, Holmes got three easy outs including two strikeouts, recording his MLB-best ninth save of the season.

The Yankees will hope for the Angels to beat the Orioles, as it would put them right back in first place in the AL East, but it’s far too early to do a standings watch. Their main focus will be picking up a win tomorrow, as Clarke Schmidt gets the ball in the third game of this series facing off against Joe Boyle at 7:05 PM EST in the Bronx.