The New York Yankees (17-9) also beat the Los Angeles Angels (16-11) in the second game of their series. On Saturday the guests in L.A. quickly took the lead and thus ensured the eighth serial victory.
Already in the first inning the entire batting order of the Yankees was used, starter Masahiro Tanaka (6.0 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB, 9 K) had to wait a long time until he could intervene in the game.
“I don’t know about other pitchers, but sometimes such a long pause gets you out of rhythm,” Tanaka said. “It was a challenge, but I got through it well. This was a good day.”
A total of ten runs in the first two game sections provided clear conditions early on. The Angels’ starter, Garrett Richards (1.2 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K), already allowed four hits for Extra-Bases in the first five outs. Aaron Judge and Miguel Andujar each had three hits in the game.
“Our quality on the record was outstanding,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “Day after day I have the feeling that we’re making the opposing pitcher work very hard for their outs.”
Rookie Gleyber Torres showed another strong game with two hits after making his MLB debut in second base just a week ago. “This team is casual, everybody plays really well,” Torres said. “I know everyone by now and I’m really comfortable.”
The Angels, however, had to do without Shohei Ohtani on Saturday. The Japanese guy suffered a bruise on his ankle joint on Friday, but feels fit enough for an operation on Sunday.
“I’m ready for our lineup, but the decision is not mine,” said Ohtani on Saturday. Ohtani’s next start as pitcher is scheduled for Tuesday, but the Angels keep a low profile as to whether this will happen.
Ohtani would have been willing to play pinch hitter on Saturday, but the Angels probably didn’t use their star rookie because of the clear gap.
This article was published without previous view by the Major League Baseball.