Yankees Rebound From Their Season Opener By Staying Consistent At Beating Up On Baltimore Birds

  The New York Yankees did what they had to do to rebound from their series season opener in their second series clash at Yankee Stadium. Unlike the Blue Jays-Yankees series, where the Yanks were searching for consistency, they managed to stay in hunting mode against the birds from Baltimore.

  Coming into New York, the Baltimore Orioles were soaring high on a three game winning streak that came from beating up on the Boston Red Sox, but they had no idea what they were walking into when they stepped on the Yankee Stadium baseball diamond. One thing was for sure though, New York Yankee fans couldn't ask for anything better after watching their team fail to soar above the Toronto birds, they saw their team flip a switch and suddenly became the predators that stopped the Baltimore birds' consistent high flying rates.

  The Yankees' goal for every season is to ultimately go on a championship run and that means they have to be the team that puts every other club at a screeching halt. Well the organization and fans couldn't ask for anything better in terms of a rebound, after the Opening Series against the Jays didn't go as planned, despite the efforts the Yanks put out in game two of the series. With that said, Yankee found comfort in seeing that the Bronx ball club managed to have the ability to stay consistent at beating up on the Baltimore birds at Yankees Stadium.

  It is great for baseball when underdog teams go on a hot streak, but it is more entertaining when they get stopped in their tracks by a team that is known for beating up on them. Last night the Yankee squad looked to be clicking on all cylinders as they knocked around the Orioles in a 7-0 blowout.  

  Knowing that the Yanks suffered against the Jays, it was mostly likely an astonishment for Yankee fans to watch their team keep another bird team from being flightless all night long.

  All and all, the Orioles looked like they were a set of flightless birds that were trapped in cage from start to finish. Simply put, the Orioles were outplayed in every facet of last night's game, starting with an offense that managed just four singles and no runs. Then their was the start by Jorge Lopez, who did manage to hold his own for a while before losing his command in the fifth. Veteran relievers Shawn Armstrong and Paul Fry added more fuel  to the already growing fire, and from there the Baltimore birds were essentially out of the game long before the umpires called the last strike of the game.

  It should be a surprise that the Orioles fell at bats of the Yankees, because honestly, the Birds have developed a reputation for having the Bronx squad as their kryptonite. They are especially defenseless birds whenever they visit New York because Yankee Stadium practically serves as a bird cage to them.

  For the better parts of the 2019 and 2020 seasons, the Orioles lost 19 consecutive games to the Yanks, and while they eventually did find a way to snap out of the losing streak in Baltimore last September, they still haven’t figured out how to fly correctly at Yankee Stadium. 

  Last night’s loss was the Birds’ 11th straight at the Yankee Stadium venue. The last time the Orioles won a game there was over two years ago, on March 31, 2019, when John Means got his first major league win and Brandon Hyde managed to collect his second W there as well. That game ended with a strikeout of Troy Tulowitzki, who has been retired from baseball for 19 months. 

  It must suck for Baltimore fans, but it seems that just when Orioles fans are starting to get hyped over their baseball team, a matchup with the Yankees always smacks them with a cold dose of reality.

  Man, oh man, that game last night made the Yankees look like they were using the Orioles for batting practice as they launched the baseballs in all parts of the ball park.

  While there was a lot of offensive production in the batter's box at Yankees Stadium last, let's talk about the two big guys that Yankee fans were waiting to see get into the swing of things.

  All Yankee fans know very well the power that Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton possess with their bats in their hand. It was just a matter of time they both got a shot at beating the baseball into the Yankee Stadium grand stands. Whether you were at the ballpark or watching the game at home on your couch, you saw how Stanton felt after he heard the the sweet cracking sound of his bat and the baseball connecting. He allowed himself a spilt second to take in the sight of the 471-foot grand slam that was rocketing toward the terrace area in left-center field, then he tossed his bat aside in celebration. For both Stanton and the fans, it was certainly a paramount shoot that was worth admiring.

  Stanton launched his eighth career grand slam to highlight a five-run fifth inning, 

“Sometimes there’s no sound -- there’s not anything except you watching the flight of the ball,” Stanton said. “You don’t know anything else that’s going on, and it’s a very cool feeling. It’s hard to describe very specifically, but it’s kind of like a blacked-out zone and an in-sync feeling. You’ve got to enjoy it and make sure you have a nice finish on it.”

  After standing tall as one of the Bombers’ most productive hitters in last year’s playoffs, it was disappointing that Stanton had to hear boos during this season-opening home stand, hitless in his first 10 at-bats before stepping in against Shawn Armstrong.

  It was a very frustrating for both the fans and the slugger to have him start his season like that. Things were different last night though, Stanton was locked in and capitalized on a runners-in-scoring-position opportunity at the plate.

  It was definitely a sight to see from a struggling slugger in the bottom of the fifth in a loaded bases situation.

  Stanton was a man on a mission as he clobbered a 471-foot souvenir that came off his bat at 115.1 mph, his third grand slam as a Yankee. From the looks of it, Armstrong got shell shocked, as he immediately crouched down in disappointment behind the mound. It was just one of those pitches that is launched off the bat and as a hurler you know that there is no point in your out fielder trying to get it.

  “The way he hits them, it’s just different,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “It’s like nothing else. He is a unicorn. That ball was so pure.”

  Let's step back a moment and look at the solo slug fest that came before Stanton's base traffic clearing homerun. Shall we? 

Before the main event of Stanton's moon shot, there was the arrival Judgement Day.

Judge got the bashing  party started by lifting his first home run of the year, supporting Jordan Montgomery’s strong efforts on the mound as the Yankees posted a 7-0 victory over the Orioles on Monday evening at Yankee Stadium. It was a familiar sensation for both Stanton and Judge, you know, the one that never gets old as a batter trotting around the bases as the baseball takes orbit.

  Judge expressed relief after planting the baseball into the short porch in right field with a fourth-inning drive, a shot that measured a total of 344 feet compared to Stanton’s missile launch that outpaced the Yankees' right fielder.

  According to Judge, he said:

“You always want to get that first hit out of the way, you want to get the first RBI and the first home run.....When you get it off your back, now it’s time to go. I don’t think mine went as far as Big G’s, but wherever they go, they still count.”

  It is interesting to note that the Yankees improved to 8-0 in contests when both Judge and Stanton homer, including three postseason wins, and are 24-3 in their last 27 games against Baltimore (since April 4, 2019).

  Talking about his team with the press, manager Aaron Boone said:

"We know that when those guys are in the lineup together and healthy, they’re capable of doing special things."

  If you wanted a game to look back to see how your offense should be clicking, then this is one you need to study. 

  There is a reason why Aaron Hicks is in the three hole. He played a vital part in setting up  Stanton’s paramount slam by working a bases-loaded walk. That also came off Armstrong, pitching in relief of starter Jorge López, who walked the bases loaded in the fifth and was charged with four runs over 4 2/3 innings.

  “Just great at-bats,” Stanton said. “You’ve got to put pressure on their guys. Sooner or later, they’re going to make a big mistake when you do that.”

Stellar Offense Accompanied By Stellar Pitching

What more could be said about Monty's first start of the season? 

  Jordan Montgomery was just stellar as he just made the generating of his trademark softball contact look so effortless on the mound.  The left-hander retired 12 of the first 13 batters faced and pitched around trouble in the fifth inning, holding Baltimore to four hits over six frames.

  Gumby was just doing it all.

  The young lefty was just a strikeout machine, producing 14 swings-and-misses and he was phenomenal as he struck out seven. To add to his outing, he didn't walk a batter, as he was pounding the zone by tossing 55 of 73 pitches for strikes. His fastball velocity touched 94.5 mph, having averaged 92.6 mph across 44 regular-season frames last year.

  “My consistency was pretty timed up throughout the game and I executed a lot of spots where I wanted to,” Montgomery said. “I had a lot of run support, which was awesome today. Gary [Sánchez] was great behind the plate. I’m going to keep working.”

  To add "insult to injury", the Baltimore didn't catch a break after Monty's night was over because had to deal with two "lights out" type of arms from the back end of the Yankees' bullpen. Luis Cessa came on in relief of Monty and hurled two scoreless innings before Aroldis Chapman entered to complete the shutout. Having been suspended for the first two games of the season, Chapman struck out the side around a walk in his 2021 debut, dealing the O’s their first loss of the young campaign.

“We’re still rising,” Judge said. “We haven’t started clicking on all cylinders yet; it’s only four games into the season. We’ve still got quite a bit of time to get rolling and get everybody on track. It was good to see. It was a good night.”

  Well it was great that the Yankees had a good night to start their second series of the year, but consistency is key. Can they build off there momentum to get an actual winning streak going?

  Game 2 of this series will start at the same time as last night. It will be a 6:35 P.M. start and it will feature a battle of righties out the mound to start the night. The Yankees will send their right handed ace to the mound to toe the slab against RHP Dean Kremer.

  Yankees' Gerrit Cole struck out eight in his Opening Day start against the Jays, in which he accepted a no-decision after allowing two runs; five hits and two walks over a 5 1/3 innings of work on the mound. He threw 62 of his 97 pitches for strikes. Hope he can capitalize on Orioles in game 2 for his first W of the 2021 season.

  Dean Kremmer who will be the Orioles opposing starter got his first taste of big league action last September. The Baltimore righty went 1-1 with a 4.82 ERA in four starts. As the team's No. 7 prospect, he earned a starting spot and a chance to improve his command, which he struggled with during his Spring Training outings