The Yankees made a few key offseason acquisitions in hopes of capturing their first World Series since 2009, and Marcus Stroman is proving to be one of the biggest.
In an offseason where they traded for Juan Soto, the signing of Stroman has really lifted this Yankees rotation. With so many key names like Luis Severino and Domingo German leaving through free agency, Stroman’s addition has solidified this Yankees rotation, especially in this amazing stretch New York is in.
After Saturday night’s 4-1 win over the Padres, the Yankees are now a season-high 10 games over .500 and winners of four straight and a large part of that is due to the starters, including Stroman
“I think the other starters have been incredible,” Stroman said. “It just creates this flow of energy, where each guy kind of hands it off to the next guy, and we’re all expecting each other to be great. We’re all doing this without having the best pitcher in baseball, [Gerrit] Cole, who we are all dying to get back. So, It’s been a fun run.”
Cole, the reigning AL Cy Young winner, has yet to pitch a game this season but did throw a simulated game on Saturday in Tampa. And now there’s a “chance” he can be sent on a rehab assignment next week.
Until he does, Stroman and the other starters are holding down the fort and are confident they can continue to do so until Cole returns.
“We know what we’re capable of. I think we’re all just a bunch of starters who Know that we can be elite in this game and like I said, the flow of information, The pitching coaches, staff, everything’s so dialed in here. We all feel really confident when we go out there each and every start.”
It’s a beautiful moment. It’s a beautiful moment for me, it’s a beautiful moment for them that they’re not going to forget. It was a great one to experience together,” Contreras said to Whitaker after the game.
Contreras, who is fifth in MLB with 42 RBI and leads all catchers with a .337 batting average, finished the game, a 7-2 Brewers win, by going 2-for-4. He can now include one destroyed bucket to his stat line for the season.
“I told them if they want me to pay for the popcorn, I’ll pay with some tickets,” Contreras said.
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