The Yankees played the second game of a three-game series last night on the road against the Minnesota Twins riding a seven-game winning streak. They had Major League Baseball’s best record at 10-4. Gerrit Cole is scheduled to start tonight seeking his sixth victory in 12 starts. The righty is 5-1 with 81 strikeouts in 64.2 innings pitched.
The Yankees will welcome the Chicago Cubs to the Bronx tomorrow for a three-game interleague homestand. It’ll be the only time these two teams meet this year during the regular season. The Cubs, projected by some baseball analysts to win their division this season, sat fourth in the National League Central at 23-33 when they played the Baltimore Orioles on the road last night.
The Yankees have relied on starters Cole, Luis Severino, Jordan Montgomery and Jameson Taillon to get off to a blazing start. The 4-1 Severino will be on the mound tomorrow to open up the Cubs series. He earned his fourth victory last Saturday (4-1) against the Detroit Tigers in a 3-0 shutout. Severino struck out 10 in seven innings walking just one batter.
“He was very dominant,” said Tigers manager A.J. Hinch of Severino’s outing. “He got us to chase when he needed it.”
The night before, Cole pitched perfectly into the seventh inning, backed by 13 runs from the Yankees hitters in a 13-0 win. It was the Yanks’ largest margin of victory since 2009, the last year that they won a World Series.
During a seven-game period from May 31 through this past Tuesday, all wins, the Yankees outscored their opponents 39-11, the pitching and hitting both clicking.
Following the Cubs series, the Yankees will host the Tampa Bay Rays next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at Yankee Stadium.