By Mohsin Baldiwala
April 28, 2024
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About Last Night: The Yankees blew out the Milwaukee Brewers (.654) in an absolute offensive explosion by the team from New York.
Quick Stats
WP - Carlos Rodon: 2-1, 2.48
LP - Joe Ross: 1-3, 5.40
HRs - Alex Verdugo, Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo, Giancarlo Stanton (Yankees) Rhys Hoskins (Milwaukee)
The Big Story:
The Yankees have shown flashes of brilliance interspersed with frustrating inconsistencies, a pattern that's become all too familiar for us fans. With Juan Soto, Anthony Volpe, and surprisingly sprightly Oswaldo Cabrera starting well, and sporadic standout performances from Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton, the team has been inconsistent the past few weeks. We've been waiting for Aaron Judge to wake up. Despite these ups and downs, the team is collecting wins — enough to not set off alarms but not enough to ease my perpetual Yankees-fan anxiety.
Then came last night's game, where the Yanks didn't just win; they exploded in a 15-3 rout of the NL Central leading Milwaukee Brewers. It was a night when the AL East seemed to channel some serious cosmic power, evidenced by the Red Sox annihilating the Cubs 17-0.
Alex Verdugo was a revelation in the cleanup spot, hammering a three-run homer in his first at-bat that set the tone for the Yankees' most impressive offensive performance this season. This included 15 runs and 19 hits, numbers we hadn't seen since mid-2022.
Amidst this, Gleyber Torres broke out of a slump with a crucial three-run double in the third inning, bolstering the Yankees' lead and, hopefully, his own confidence.
Carlos Rodon continued his strong start to the season, using the run support to his advantage by pitching six solid innings, allowing just a single run on two hits.
Anthony Rizzo is finding his groove, hitting his third home run in the last five games.
Player of the Game
Alex Verdugo absolutely shined, going 3-5 with a home run, four RBIs, and two runs scored in his debut as the Yankees' cleanup hitter.
Top Performers
Carlos Rodon: Delivered six innings of quality pitching, conceding just two hits and one run, with eight strikeouts.
Anthony Rizzo: Strong at the plate, going 3-4 with a home run, two RBIs, and three runs scored.
Better to Forget
Honestly, yesterday was about as flawless a performance as you could ask for. The Yankees did pretty much everything right en route to the lopsided win.
However, I do have one major concern that simply cannot be ignored - the team's struggling bullpen. Jose Trevino's outing was particularly troubling. For a guy we're counting on to lock down innings, and who flexes that nasty knuckleball constantly in practice sessions, getting rocked for 2 hits and 2 runs in just 1 inning of work is unacceptable. He didn't even really utilize that well-boasted knuckleball enough. It was fluttering all over the place too. If he can't locate that bread-and-butter pitch, we're in trouble. The bullpen woes have to get sorted out ASAP before they derail this hot start.
My Take
After a disheartening series against Oakland, last night's game was a refreshing blast of sheer dominance against a formidable Milwaukee team. As a fan, it's tempting to see this as a harbinger of a stellar season, but years of heartbreak have taught me better. So, I'll try to temper my hopes — but forgive me if I dream a little after such performances. After all, hope is the most treacherous part of the human heart, but an irresistible part of being a Yankees fan.
Next Up
The Yankees will wrapup the series against Milwaukee and will play one more game before heading to Baltimore for a crucial series against their biggest AL East rivals at the moment.
Let me know your thoughts on Twitter @baldi.0110 - it's not all baseball over there, but feel free to reach out!
