The Yankees are Back

The Yankees had a rough few weeks, but boy-oh-boy does it feel good to be back. 

All hope looked lost after a horrendous 20 game skid where they went 5-15. But the Yanks are now on an 8-game winning-streak and showing no signs of stopping. A few weeks ago I was unsure whether they would even make the playoffs. Now, I think they can contend for the World Series. 

First and foremost, the Yankees bats have been hot, hot, hot in the past three games. How hot is hot? Try an all-time MLB record 19 homers in a three game span, and a first in Yankees history: five home runs in a single inning. 

It hasn’t just been a few bats putting in all the work, either. This whole roster is stacked. Eight different players have homered in the past three games. Giancarlo Stanton is back from injury and as menacing as ever: he went 4-5 last night. Luke Voit leads the MLB with 20 homers on the season and D.J. LeMahieu has 8 runs in just the past three games. Backup catcher Kyle Higashioka is even making a hell of a case for more playing time. He’s caught each of Gerrit Cole’s last three starts and hit three home runs on Tuesday night. 

CHECK OUT: The Yankees Need to Keep Stanton Healthy

The Yankees pitchers have played outstandingly well throughout this winning streak as well. During their mid-season slump,New York’s starters strained the bullpen with short outings. This compounded the team’s issues. Over the past eight games, Yankees starters have completed at least 5 innings in each outing and have created precious downtime for the arms in our bullpen. 

With ten games left in the regular season, the Yankees are sitting in 2nd place in the AL East with a comfortable lead over the Blue Jays. I doubt that they will catch Tampa to win the division, but if their current production keeps up anything is possible. They are the No. 5 seed at the moment. But New York will try to pass Minnesota for the No. 4 seed and the home field advantage for the wild card round. Then, once playoffs start, expect big things.