The Yankees have been in top form lately, showcasing their best performance of the season and securing the top spot in the American League with a record of 33-15.
Their starting pitchers have been particularly outstanding, as seen in Luis Gil’s remarkable 14-strikeout game on Saturday, breaking a club record held by Orlando “El Duque” Hernández.
Throughout their seven-game winning streak, Yankees starters only allowed four earned runs in 45 innings, resulting in an impressive 0.80 ERA.
“It’s great,” Juan Soto said. “It’s really cool to see those guys grinding out there every day and doing what we’re doing. Those guys are the reason why we’re in first place. They’ve been commanding the team in the right way, they’ve been helping the team when the offense is off.
“They’ve been great, day in and day out. I think they’re a huge part of it.”
Take a glance at the starting pitchers who have been the driving force behind this seven-game winning streak. The Yankees aim to maintain this momentum as Marcus Stroman kicks off a four-game series against the Mariners at The Stadium on Monday evening.
May 12: Gil pitched 6 innings, allowing 3 hits and no runs with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts in a 10-6 victory against the Rays.
May 14: Carlos Rodón pitched 6 innings, conceding 1 earned run on 6 hits with no walks and 6 strikeouts, including 1 home run, in a 5-1 win against the Twins.
May 15: Stroman pitched 6 innings, yielding 2 hits and no runs with 3 walks and 2 strikeouts in a 4-0 victory against the Twins.
May 16: Clarke Schmidt pitched 8 innings, allowing 3 hits and no runs with no walks and 8 strikeouts in a 5-0 win against the Twins.
May 17: Nestor Cortes pitched 7 innings, surrendering 1 unearned run on 5 hits with 1 walk and 6 strikeouts in a 4-2 win against the White Sox.
May 18: Gil pitched 6 innings, giving up 1 earned run on 5 hits with 1 walk and a remarkable 14 strikeouts in a 6-1 victory against the White Sox.
May 19: Rodón pitched 6 innings, conceding 2 earned runs on 4 hits with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts, including 1 home run, in a 7-2 win against the White Sox.
This marks only the third instance in Yankees franchise history where starting pitchers have pitched at least six innings across seven consecutive starts, allowing just five runs in total.
This achievement was previously accomplished from May 6-16, 1932, and from August 23-28, 1963. Interestingly, during the 1932 season, the relief pitchers for the Yankees had little to do, as the rotation comprising George Pipgras, Red Ruffing, Lefty Gomez, and Johnny Allen didn’t require any outs from the bullpen during that period.
During their run in 1963, Jim Bouton, Whitey Ford, Al Downing, Stan Williams, and Ralph Terry allowed reliever Steve Hamilton to pitch two-thirds of an inning. Of course, this occurred after Williams let up the go-ahead run in the 12th inning of a game versus Chicago.
Alas, we return to the current day.
“They’re doing a good job, man,” catcher Jose Trevino said. “All of them are pumped. I think that they’re throwing the ball really well right now. They know this is a time that they feel really good, so let’s keep it going.”
Indeed, great starting pitching and early run production have been a prescription for success, with the Yankees outscoring their opponents 41-12 during the winning streak.
“How about Luis Gil [on Saturday]? Pretty incredible,” Rodón said. “A great start from Nestor [on Friday]. We’ve been fortunate with our pitching. Offensively, we’ve been really clicking now.
“You guys know who Aaron Judge is, and Juan Soto is. Then you see some swings coming from other guys; Trevi is swinging the bat really well. It’s a bonus to have all that going right now.”
