Hell Of A Finish In The Bronx Last Night With Jake Marisnick Hosing The Tying Run At The Plate To Win The Game
This four-game series is gonna be fucking great. I know it’s mid-May, but this very well could be a preview of this year’s ALCS.
As far as the American League goes, the Astros and the Yankees have outperformed the rest of the pack with +41 and +55 run differentials, respectively. The next best run differential in the American League belongs to the AL East-leading Orioles and third place Red Sox, both at +13, AKA not in the same neighborhood as the Stros and Yanks. But, as we know, run differential isn’t an exact science. The Red Sox had a ridiculous run differential last year and couldn’t even win a playoff game. It might not be a great tool to forecast postseason success, but it is, however, a great tool for forecasting postseason participants.
Speaking of the postseason, the series opener in the Bronx last night almost had a playoff feel to it with all the buzz surrounding the new improved Yankees going up against a revitalized Dallas Keuchel, who has returned to his 2015 Cy Young form here in 2017. Keuchel ended up tossing six shutout innings with nine strikeouts and one walk to lower his ERA to a very nice 1.69 on the year. With the win, Keuchel improved to 6-0 this season, and the Astros are 7-1 when he takes the mound. The Astros’ lone loss in a game that was started by Keuchel was an outing in which the left-hander went seven innings and allowed just one earned run. So, ya. Pretty good year so far for that beautifully bearded son of a bitch.
Carlos Correa’s two-run homer off Michael Pineda in the first inning ended up being the game-winner, as the Yankees were able to plate a run in the ninth and came within inches of scoring the tying run, but Jake Marisnick had other plans. Hose City, bitch. Correa had gotten off to a pretty terrible start, hitting .197 with a .581 OPS back on April 23. Since then, he’s hitting .365 with a 1.095 OPS, 10 doubles, 3 homers and 14 RBI. Correa’s 23 hits over that span are tied for the second most in the majors, while his 10 doubles over that same span lead the MLB.
The Astros got the best of the Yankees in game one of four, but the Yankees have yet to unleash their best. Jordan Montgomery has been pretty good this year; he’ll get the ball tonight. But then you’ve got Luis Severino on Saturday and Masahiro Tanaka on Sunday. Lance McCullers will be a tall task for the Yankees tonight, but after that, those Saturday and Sunday match-ups are advantage: Yankees. The Astros’ starter on Sunday, Charlie Morton, has been pretty good this year for Houston, but Tanaka is unbeaten since his seven earned run pounding that he took on Opening Day, which spans six starts. Should be a great weekend of competitive baseball between these two.