It Took Some Time But The Yankees Are Finally Back To Firing On All Cylinders

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After last night's fairly easy victory over the red hot Atlanta Braves, the Yankees now own a 10 game winning streak and the second best record in the American League. Remarkably after standing 41-41 in early July, the boys are now 73-52, while holding the first wild card spot in the AL comfortably and only trailing the Rays by 4 games in the AL East. This run they're on (17 of their last 20) is fucking incredible with how lackluster they appeared in the first half of the season.

The impressive part about this awakening has been getting it done from pretty much every person on the 26 man roster. Anthony Rizzo was hot when he first burst on the scene but has cooled at the plate since coming off the covid list. His defense, however, day in and day out though never changes and only improves the rest of the infield. I'm also far from worried about his bat, it'll come along. Joey Gallo has had some massive home runs himself since putting on the pinstripes. He gets on base a ton as well and plays a fantastic left field, as you saw last night. 

Then you have Giancarlo Stanton who has upped his production ever since semi-regularly playing the outfield as opposed to DH. Insane it took them this long to deploy this strategy. Ever since the Miami series he's slashing .316/.429/.579 with 5 homers and 18 RBIs. That's the kind of production you know Giancarlo to have. He claims when he plays the field it allows him to focus less on hitting and keeps his mind in a better spot. Beautiful, keep it going. G playing the field means less Brett Gardner and more Luke Voit. It needs to keep happening. Over Voit's last 13 games we're talking a .348 batting average with 4 homers, 17 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.086. His bat needs to stay in this lineup consistently. 

Aaron Judge himself in his last 20 games has an OPS of .994 with six bombs and 16 RBIs. I mean the production from these guys has been insane. Then you talk about the unsung heroes like Andrew Velazquez and Tyler Wade who have done more than enough to help replace Gleyber and Gio's absence. Rougned Odor has also been a huge cog in this lineup when they've needed a big hit or even just a calming vet's voice in a tight spot. 

The starting pitching continues to marvel with the likes of Gerrit Cole, Jameson Taillon, Jordan Montgomery, Luis Gil, and Nestor Cortes Jr. Andrew Heaney pitches tonight and I'm not all thrilled about it, but he did have that awesome start against the Sox last week to cap off that fantastic sweep. The Red Sox I mean, remember when the Yankees swept the Boston Red Sox and Andrew Heaney shoved his dick off? Got it, just making sure. The starting rotation ranks 3rd in ERA in the American League behind only Tampa and Chicago. We're looking at the most confident I've been in a Yankees starting rotation heading into October in a long, long time.

The bullpen has even been pretty good lately. Jonathan Loaisiga has become one of the best relievers in all of baseball this season. He ranks number 1 in fWAR (2.3) among all relievers and leads all AL relievers in bWAR (2.6). Here's how he decimated the Braves lineup last night. 

The helping hands of Albert Abreu, Wandy Peralta, and Joely Rodriguez have helped in huge spots over the last few weeks when guys like Chad Green, Aroldis Chapman (he did look great last night), and Lucas Luetge have faltered. They'll get an added boost soon from Clarke Schmidt and maybe even Luis Severino in September. Maybe Luis Gil moves in there at some point as well. The pen is the weakness at the moment, but there are bright spots no doubt. You hold that Braves gauntlet of a lineup to one run with the help of Monty that's no small feat. 

All in all this team is clicking right now and it's so much fun to watch. We're gonna stream a bit from our YouTube tonight watching the game. Yes Andrew Heaney is pitching, but we'll get through it together. We'll be doing a merch giveaway too if you subscribe to the channel and tweet it at us. 

Also if you're in New Jersey you are now free to download the Barstool Sportsbook app and get in on the action. Code "pizza" when you make your first deposit will get you a free Yankees future on the WS up to $100. You also get a risk free bet up to $1000 from your first time deposit as well. Now is when the fun starts.