NEW YORK — The New York Yankees’ clubhouse was dark except for the party lights on the ceiling — beams of blue, purple and red going every direction. Music pulsed from the speakers and players sat smiling in the black leather chairs in front of their lockers.
A doubleheader sweep? A series victory over the division rival Toronto Blue Jays? It was cause for celebration.
“Great way to finish off the series and head on to another tough one,” manager Aaron Boone said Sunday.
Starting pitching may have ruled the day for the Yankees, who saw Max Fried give up just one run over six innings in an 11-2 beatdown in Game 1. Clarke Schmidt followed by allowing just one run over five innings in a 5-1 victory in Game 2.
“It’s not an easy thing to do,” Boone said.
Pulling off a start to the season the way the Yankees have isn’t easy, either.
They’re 17-11, leading the American League East by two games over the second-place Boston Red Sox. They’ll go into Monday night with a key road series against the underperforming, last-place Baltimore Orioles (10-17).
But what’s been real about their hot start, and what’s questionable?
What’s real?
Aaron Judge is the best player in baseball
And until Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani starts pitching again, it doesn’t feel particularly close.
Judge continued his offensive assault Sunday, going 3-for-8 with a home run. He’s hitting an MLB-best .406. He’s also leading the majors in on-base percentage (.500), slugging percentage (.717) and OPS (1.217). In Game 2, he crushed his first home run since April 16 to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead. The Yankees are 6-0 when he homers this year.
“He’s amazing,” Boone said. “He has just gotten so good at not leaving the strike zone. If you keep making pitches against him, you’ve got a chance. But he’s so strong. You have to be uber-aware of how dangerous he is and his power, so you’ve got to be perfect, and when you’re not, obviously, he can hurt you. He’s doing a really good job using the entire field and spraying the ball around right now.”
Worries about Devin Williams
Give Williams credit. He accepted it when Boone told him the Yankees would be removing him from the closer role at least temporarily. He also hasn’t made any excuses for his poor performance, which includes an 11.25 ERA and seven walks in eight innings.
“With the way things have gone recently, it’s not really a shock to me,” he said.
But it has to be concerning for the Yankees that things have gone this badly, this fast. While April is traditionally when Williams experiences most of his struggles, he’s looked uneasy on the mound, especially when getting booed, something that rarely, if ever, happened when he dominated over his first six seasons in Milwaukee.
Luke Weaver struck out one in the ninth inning in Game 2 of Sunday’s doubleheader against the Blue Jays. (Vincent Carchietta / Imagn Images)
The Yankees are fortunate they have Luke Weaver, who thrived in the ninth inning in the playoffs last year. He might grab the job and not let go.
Ben Rice’s staying power
Rice’s production has cooled a bit. He’s 3-for-25 (.120) over his last eight games. But the advanced analytics still say he’s crushing the baseball. Going into Sunday, his 94.9 mph average exit velocity was in the 96th percentile of all hitters. His expected weighted on-base percentage of .450 was in the 98th percentile.
He’s still having competitive at-bats. He still looks confident. He hasn’t looked lost playing first base in the few recent tries he’s had, and on Sunday, the Yankees even put him back behind the plate for an inning.
What we’re saying is, he’s not minute Rice. (Please refrain from throwing your rotten tomatoes.)
What’s questionable?
Trent Grisham’s blazing start
That’s not to say that outfielder Grisham couldn’t be on his way to re-establishing himself as an everyday player or amid a career year. It’s simply that this level of production likely won’t be sustainable considering his career 96 OPS+.
Still, the Yankees have to continue trying to get Grisham as many at-bats as they can. He’s hitting .298 with seven home runs, 14 RBIs and a 1.069 OPS. Everything else is looking up for Grisham, too. His 92 mph average exit velocity is the best of his career. He’s barreling up in 16.7 percent of his at-bats, up from 12 percent last year. He’s destroying fastballs (.353 batting average) after struggling with them last year (.239 batting average).
“Really controlling the strike zone well,” Boone said. “Making really good swing decisions. He’s got that really good pull power. You swing at the right pitches and have the kind of power he does, you got a chance at success.”
Slow starts from key bats
The Yankees need more from center fielder Cody Bellinger (.570 OPS) and second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. (.706 OPS). Bellinger was 1-for-7 with a double, a sacrifice fly and a walk Sunday. Chisholm was 2-for-8 with two singles and a walk, and he struck out three times. The Yankees have been keeping them in the middle of the lineup, and it’s understandable. They’re two bats capable of serious left-handed thump, especially at Yankee Stadium. They have to break out eventually, right?
But with switch hitting left fielder Jasson Domínguez swinging well at least lefty (.883 OPS) and catcher Austin Wells and shortstop Anthony Volpe seemingly coming around lately, would the Yankees consider a slight lineup shuffle?
Concerns over the whole rotation
The group might just be OK, even without ace Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil.
Led by Fried, Yankees starters have a 2.62 ERA over their last 13 starts since April 14. They have allowed two runs or fewer in 10 of those 13 starts.
Fried worked through early trouble in Game 1 on Sunday. Schmidt was “really close to being excellent” in Game 2, Boone said. Carlos Rodón has been on the upswing. Carlos Carrasco and Will Warren each pitched well in their most recent outings. Plus, reigning AL Rookie of the Year Gil began his throwing program Sunday and could be in line for a late June or mid-July return.
(Top photo of Aaron Judge after hitting a solo homer Sunday: Vincent Carchietta / Imagn Images)