Stellar Pitching Performances Lead Yankees to Sweep Over Angels
Jordan Montgomery got the start in game one of the three game set against the Angels. Monty had a scare in the first when Shohei Ohtani drove the ball deep to center. The ball seemed to be heading over the wall until Aaron Judge brought it back and robbed the homer. The Yankees then had a nice top of the first when Anthony Rizzo ripped an RBI double to make it 1-0. Gleyber Torres then ripped an RBI double of his own to make it 2-0. Later in the first Matt Carpenter ripped a two run home run over the short porch to make it 4-0. Carpenter has fit in very nicely into this Yankees lineup. DJ Lemahieu hit an RBI double to make it 5-0. The Yankees added two more runs in the sixth with an RBI fielder’s choice from Lemahieu and an Aaron Judge sac fly. The Angels finally got a run in the seventh inning with a solo shot from Luis Rengifo. Montgomery would exit after seven stellar innings. Monty was simply dominant in this game. He threw seven incredible innings while allowing only one run. Jose Trevino made it 9-0 with a two run homer in the eighth. Miguel Castro pitched the eighth, and David McKay pitched the ninth to seal the victory. This 9-1 victory was surprisingly Montgomery’s first win of the season.
Nestor Cortes Jr got the ball in game two of the three game set and game one of the doubleheader. The Yankees got some early runs from a leadoff home run off the bat of Matt Carpenter after an eleven pitch at bat against Shohei Ohtani. Later that inning Gleyber Torres hit a solo homer of his own to make it 2-0. The Yankees added another run in the third with an Aaron Judge solo homer. It became 4-0 in the fourth from a Marwin Gonzalez RBI double. DJ Lemahieu made it 5-0 in the fifth with yet another solo home run. Later that inning Miguel Andujar made it 6-0 with a sac fly. Nestor Cortes was pulled after seven fantastic innings. Cortes continues to be absolutely sensational, and he has solidified himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball. He has put himself in a place where he is now the frontrunner to start in the all star game. Nestor pitched seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts. Clarke Schmidt came on in the eighth and gave up a run on the Luis Rengifo RBI single. After a lengthy rain delay, Wandy Peralta came on and secured the win in the ninth. The Yankees clinched the series victory with this 6-1 win.
Jameson Taillon toed the slab as the Yankees looked to complete the sweep over the Angels in the second game of the doubleheader. Taillon was absolutely excellent in this one. Taillon put together the longest perfect game bid for the Yankees since 2017. Taillon pitched seven perfect innings. He allowed his first hit of the ballgame to Jared Walsh to lead off the eighth. A hard ground ball hit off the diving Kiner-Falefa’s glove and trickled into the outfield allowing Walsh to pick up a hustle double. Taillon received a standing ovation from the packed Yankee Stadium crowd. Later that inning Taillon would give up an RBI single on a two out two strike pitch to Kurt Suzuki. His night would end after the eight unbelievable innings. Taillon picked up right where he left off after his incredible start in Tampa, and he backed it up with another incredible start in this one. Taillon has been nothing short of stellar all season long. This outing was no different. Jamo threw eight innings while allowing one run on two hits with five strikeouts. The Yankee pitching in this series was amazing. All three starters turned in awesome outings. That is not specific to this series. All season long each and every starter has been great, and the staff has propelled the Yankees to having the best record in baseball.
Despite the outstanding pitching performance, the Yankees trailed 1-0 heading into the bottom of the ninth. With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, the Yankees found themselves with the bases loaded and the pinch hitting Anthony Rizzo stepping up to the plate. With two strikes Rizzo ripped a clutch base hit up the middle to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead in the eighth. Rizzo had seen some struggles of late, but he still came up with a huge two out two strike two run single to take a 2-1 lead in the eighth. Clay Holmes came on for the save. After two easy outs, he walked Shohei Ohtani. Then he hit Mike Trout with a pitch, and then he hit Jared Walsh with a pitch. Suddenly the bases were loaded with two outs in a one run ball game. Holmes would get Rengifo to ground out to end the ballgame. The Yankees picked up an electric 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels to complete the sweep. The Yankees now look ahead to their three game set against the Detroit Tigers.
By: Riley Briggs