Yankees beat National League Eastern leaders Braves for 10th consecutive victory

You can be sure MLB will pump this the best they can, given the media needs and market, which the Yankees, now 21 games over 0.500, cannot lose.

They beat the Braves on Monday night for their 10th straight win and 18th in the August 22 games. They moved within touching distance of the Rays in AL East (4 games back), while taking the first wildcard spot ahead of the Red Sox.

It’s not hard to spot the reason for the push as the Yankees offense is finally healthy and the Yankees have returned to this situation where it looks like they have 12 guys for nine positions and yet all 12 are hitting. every evening. Giancarlo Stanton has avoided anything falling to him in August and has a wOBA of .410 during the month. Aaron Judge has a wOBA of .394 while bouncing between right and center to accommodate the team’s plethora of hitters. Bringing Stanton onto the pitch, despite the risk of injury, whether to himself or whatever wall he runs into, opens up DH’s place for Luke Volt who is healthy again and has beaten 0.620 since he joined the roster. Even Tyler Wade turned baseballs into plasma, and it all helped mask Anthony Rizzo’s unvaccinated ass, whether he was on the IL or on an automatic exit.

With the Yankees it’s always a matter of pen, and they’ve managed to balance Aroldis Chapman’s injury issues with Zack Britton’s tendency to play games with great work from lesser-known names like Albert Abreu, Chad Green and Jonathan Loaisiga, who is excellent at being able to keep everything on the ground. While the rotation was in motion, everyone except Luis Gil demonstrated remarkable control, with no one walking more than three batters per nine innings. While Gil issued his fair share of free passes, he was able to dance through those raindrops knocking out 28% of the hitters he saw.

It’s terrifying training for anyone to have to negotiate the playoffs assuming everyone stays healthy (still a huge one if in the Bronx), even if manager Aaron Boone has to piece together the innings on the mound after Gerrit. Cole, a process he’s experienced.

And if the Yankees solidify their place, they can save Cole for the coin toss game and not really worry about not having him again before a Game 3 in the Division series.

Let’s just hope they don’t play against the Astros. These games will take six hours.