The 53rd installment of Jake Schoeneberger’s opinions on the Yankees
After taking 2 of 3 from the Jays in Toronto, clinching the division, and watching Judge tie Maris with his 61st homer of the season, the Yanks came home for their final regular season homestand in the Bronx against the O’s. Hopefully they can keep getting hotter and be ready for the playoffs. And hopefully Judge can crank a record-setting home run for the fans in Yankee Stadium.
Here are some thoughts in random order on the series of Yankees baseball from Jacob Schoeneberger:
No O vs. the O’s
The Yanks looked pretty quiet in the 1st game of the series, losing 2-1. Cabrera cranked a solo shot to account for the only run the Yanks mustered, and Judge had a single, a K, and 2 walks. He’ll probably get walked quite a bit over the last week of the season, as he has for the past few weeks. The race to the Triple Crown remains tight.
German started the game and looked fine, going 5.1 innings and only allowing 2 runs. That’s not too shabby at all. The bad news is Britton came on in relief and couldn’t find the strike zone and wound up leaving the game with an arm issue. That stinks for him. He may have thrown his last pitch as a Yankee.
If there’s a single Jacob Schoeneberger Baseball Nugget of Wisdom it’s this: Hard to fault a team having a little hangover from previous celebrations. The Yanks clinched the division and celebrated Judge’s record-tying homer in the past few days. It’s not all that surprising that they looked a little slow in this game.
Lineup Explosion
The Yankee lineup exploded for an 8-0 win in the 2nd game of the series. Stanton cranked his 29th homer, Higgy hit his 9th, Gleyber had a couple RBIs, Donaldson had a couple, but Judge was held 1-2 with 2 more walks and no big home run.
The big story was Nasty Nestor, though. Cortes turned in 7.1 scoreless innings, allowing just 1 hit and striking out 12. He looked impressive in his final start of the year, as ready as he can be for the playoffs coming soon.
If there’s a single Jacob Schoeneberger Baseball Nugget of Wisdom it’s this: A 1-2 pitching punch can carry you a long way in the playoffs. If Cole can be a true ace, and Nestor can continue giving these kinds of performances, the Yanks have the chance to make a deep playoff run.
Sleepy Loss
The Yanks again looked a bit sleepy in the final game of the series, losing 3-1. Judge was 0-3 with a walk and 3 K’s. The bat is starting to look a bit heavy in his hands as the pressure builds to set the record.
The Yanks threw a bullpen game together with everyone pitching in. The issue came when Marinaccio had to leave the game with shin soreness. He’ll have an MRI to determine how extensive the injury is, but he would be a key loss before the playoffs if he can’t return.
If there’s a single Jacob Schoeneberger Baseball Nugget of Wisdom it’s this: Sometimes a home crowd provides too much pressure. It was great seeing the crowd react to every pitch thrown to Judge throughout this series, but maybe that added attention actually wore on his nerves a bit. Now that their final series is on the road, hopefully he can relax and crank at least 1 more homer to end his historic season.
The Jake Schoeneberger Random Yankees Thought of the Day
If there’s a single Jacob Schoeneberger Baseball Nugget of Wisdom it’s this: You want to finish the season strong and head to the playoffs hot. The Yanks now head to Texas for a 4-game series against the Rangers to complete their regular season. Hopefully, the bats can get hot, and Judge can relax a little and launch a few dingers into the stands. Jacob Schoeneberger believes that would be the perfect way to end this crazy season and begin the playoffs on the right foot.