The New York Yankees completed a 10-game homestead on Sunday that featured games against the Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Angels, and Toronto Blue Jays. They went 5–5 in those games. A 6–1 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Monday to begin a six-game road trip dropped the Yankees to 13–10, fourth place in the American League East, seven games behind the first-place Tampa Bay Rays when they played the second of three games versus the Twins on Tuesday night in the Bronx.
Last Friday, the Yankees met their division rival, the Toronto Blue Jays, for the first time this season to open a three-game weekend series. Starter Domingo German looked to build on his impressive 11-strikeout game on April 15 in a 6–1 victory against the Minnesota Twins. But German gave up four runs, including two home runs in six innings in a 6–1 defeat. On Saturday, Gerrit Cole went 5 2/3, striking out four and keeping his team in the game, allowing infielder DJ LeMahieu to hit a walkoff, bases-loaded single in the bottom of the ninth for a 3–2 victory.
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In the finale on Sunday, pitcher Clarke Schmidt threw four no-hit innings until the Twins’ Matt Chapman doubled in the fifth inning. He surrendered two home runs in the sixth and the Yankees would lose the game 3–2.
Although it’s far too early for scoreboard watching, it’s unavoidable for followers of Major League Baseball not to keep a close check on the hot Rays right now. Tampa Bay began this season by going 13–0 and set a modern-era MLB record by winning their 14th consecutive game at home to start a season with a 8–3 victory over the Houston Astros on Monday night. They were 20–3 before facing Houston on Tuesday night.
The Yankees are eagerly anticipating the return of outfielder Harrison Bader and third baseman Josh Donaldson back in the lineup. Bader has yet to make his season debut; he’s recovering from an oblique strain. He began a rehab assignment with the Yankees Double-A Somerset team last Friday. Donaldson, who had only 16 at-bats this season before sustaining a hamstring injury, was tentatively scheduled to be activated last Wednesday, but suffered a setback when an MRI revealed a Grade 1-plus strain of his right hamstring. Donaldson is now projected to be out several more weeks.
The Yankees will play four games against the Texas Rangers at home tonight through Sunday and host the Cleveland Indians next Monday through Wednesday.
The Mets had a very impressive 10-game West Coast trip that began on April 14 and included a sweep of the A’s, a series victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers, and a four-game split against the San Francisco Giants. The Mets were 14–9 when they opened a three-game series on Tuesday night at Citi Field against the Washington Nationals. They will play three games against the Atlanta Braves at home in Queens from Friday through Sunday.