All the Yankees needed to snap a season-long losing skid and break out at the plate was a scorching hot afternoon featuring a pair of bookended rain delays. Just the usual remedy for an alarming cold streak.
While their performance wasn’t exactly pretty, the Yankees couldn’t have cared less about style points on Thursday in the Bronx. What mattered most was securing a long-craved win, and they did just that by outmuscling the Angels, 7-3, in their four-game series finale. They also prevented their old playoff nemesis from pulling off their first-ever four-game road sweep at Yankee Stadium.
The six-game slide, which saw the Yankees hit a measly .155 with 59 strikeouts and go a confounding 30 straight innings without scoring, didn’t encapsulate their entire season by any means. They entered Thursday with the highest OPS in the AL, and ranked third across the majors in runs scored.
So, the awakening was inevitable, even though it took a week for the bats to connect. The Yankees’ winning formula consisted of 12 hits — two of which were home runs from Trent Grisham and Paul Goldschmidt — all nine starters reaching base, and four runs driven in with two outs. Call it welcomed pop and production, from top to bottom.
“Obviously, these last few games haven’t gone our way. Today was good, but we’ve got to keep going,” Goldschmidt said after the win. “It’s a long season. A long season when you’re playing well, a long season when you’re losing a few games in a row. We understand that. So, we’ve done a good job just taking it day by day. Today was a good example of that.”
The “no style points” mentality can apply to the performance from Carlos Rodón. While the southpaw served up a season-high three home runs to the Angels, they were all of the solo variety, and the early run support allowed him to complete six innings and earn the quality start. He stuck out seven and walked one across 92 pitches, and his ERA now sits at 3.10.
“Three solo shots, obviously I want to be in a better place with those pitches,” Rodón said. “So there’s stuff to work on this week and be better at. But all in all, we won the game, so that’s the big part… I thought they swung it great, I thought we played some great baseball. Props to the bullpen for shutting it down when I came out.”
The Yankees’ week-long stench was one for the books. They were shut out in three straight games for just the seventh time in franchise history. For the first time since 1908 — yes, 1908 — they scored seven runs or fewer with six-plus losses across a seven-game span (h/t Katie Sharp).
But the Yankees finally showed signs of life on Thursday, and with the last-place Orioles arriving in town for a three-game set this weekend, hopes of a winning streak can re-enter the brains of players and fans.
“It definitely feels good hearing the music again and coming out with a W,” said Cody Bellinger, who collected a team-high three hits. “Carlos and the bullpen did a great job of minimizing them. For us, we got to come do our job and score some runs.”
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