While the New York Yankees are in a better position in the American League East than they were a week ago and starting a long stretch of home games, the Cleveland Guardians have led the AL Central for most of the season but are also facing a challenge from the Chicago White Sox for the lead.
The Yankees attempt to inch closer in the AL East on Tuesday night in New York while the Guardians attempt to improve their divisional lead when the teams open a three-game series.
New York lost 10 of 14 from May 8-22 and went from holding a half-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays to trailing the division by 5 1/2 games. Yankees slugger Aaron Judge did not drive in a run or hit a homer in 11 straight games from May 11-22 until his game-ending two-run homer gave the Yankees a 2-0 win over the Rays on May 24.
The Yankees are 17-9 at home and will play 12 of their next 18 at home after going 5-1 on a trip against the Kansas City Royals and the Athletics. New York scored 51 runs on the trip, hit .310 and concluded the trek by scoring all of its runs in the third inning of Sunday’s 13-8 victory when they sent 18 to the plate and had all 11 of their hits.
“I think it kind of showcased what our lineup is capable of and how dangerous it is in so many different ways,” said New York shortstop Anthony Volpe, who had two hits, two steals and two runs scored in the inning. “I feel like we could have those same types of games, those same types of innings, every night.”
Ben Rice drove in four runs Sunday and went 12-for-22 in the final five games of the trip, raising his OPS to a major league-leading 1.056. Judge also had an RBI single, was 5-for-22 on the trip and has one homer in his past 18 games.
The Guardians have held a share of the AL Central since April 29 and had a 4 1/2-game lead on May 24, only to see the Chicago White Sox close to within one game by Monday.
Cleveland is 3-5 in its last eight games since winning seven straight from May 16-22 and has not scored more than four runs in 12 straight contests since May 18.
The Guardians have produced double-digit hits in three of their past four games, including 11 in Sunday’s 9-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox when they gave up six runs in the seventh inning. They negated their 11 hits by striking out a season-high 15 times, marking the third time in five games they had at least 10 strikeouts.
Seven-time All-Star third baseman Jose Ramirez heads into the series with a .228 average after getting a hit in the past three games.
“I think we’ve seen continued progress over the last few days,” Cleveland general manager Chris Antonetti told reporters on Sunday. “If (Ramirez) keeps on the path he’s on, I think we’ll look up at the end of the year, and it’ll be a typical Jose year for him.”
Rookie outfielder Chase DeLauter had three hits Sunday and is 7-for-17 in his past four games.
Cam Schlittler (7-2, 1.50 ERA) will face the Guardians for the first time and is holding hitters to a .185 average. The right-hander earned the win last Tuesday when he allowed one run on four hits in six innings while throwing 77 pitches in New York’s 15-0 win at Kansas City.
Joey Cantillo (4-2, 3.57) starts for Cleveland a week after his shortest start this season. The left-hander won three straight decisions before allowing four runs on three hits in two innings of a 6-3 loss to the visiting Washington Nationals.
–Field Level Media
