5 Takeaways from New York Yankees' Series vs. Toronto Blue Jays
After the New York Yankees dropped two out of their first three games of the season to the Houston Astros, they rebounded and took two out of three right back against the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Bronx Bombers pounded out 32 hits in three games as the bats finally came alive, and Brett Gardner hit the team's first home run of the season. Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda and C.C. Sabathia also turned in three impressive outings, with Sabthia responding strongly after his Opening Day flounder.
And even Yangervis Solarte kept up his strong showing from the opening series, registering five hits over the three games.
All in all, multiple positives emerged from this weekend, so here are five takeaways from the Yankees' series against the Blue Jays.
5. The Yankees Still Need to Find Some Power
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Even though they finally got on the board in the home run column, the Yankees still need to find someone to hit the ball over the fence.
Gardner, of all people, is the lone Yankee to go deep this season, and the team still ranks second-to-last in the MLB in home runs hit.
If the Yankees can grind out as many hits as they did this weekend, they'll be in good shape. But let's be real, they won't get 16 hits each game. Every game, they won't have the luxury of all but one batter registering a hit.
Some run production will have to come from home runs, but only time will tell which Bombers will provide the bombs.
4. Masahiro Tanaka Is off to a Good Start
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After the first batter Masahiro Tanaka ever faced as a major leaguer, the baseball world watched in awe.
Melky Cabrera blasted a Tanaka splitter over the right field fence to cut into the 2-0 lead the Yankees had built.
But from then on out, all went swimmingly. Tanaka settled in nicely, pitching seven innings and allowing two earned runs. He struck out eight and walked nobody to contribute to his first win in America.
Tanaka threw two-thirds of his pitches for strikes and gave the Yankees much to look forward to in the near future out of their current No. 4 pitcher.
3. The Yankees' Outfielders Can Hit
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Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury and Ichiro Suzuki absolutely dominated the Blue Jays.
The outfield trio combined to hit 17-for-39 in the series, as each one picked up a hit in each game.
Ellsbury was the most impressive, though, batting 7-for-14 with two three-hit games, an RBI, two runs and two stolen bases from the leadoff spot. Gardner didn't provide too shabby of a cushion to Ellsbury, as the left fielder went 4-for-12 with a home run, three runs and four RBI over the three games from the 2-spot. And after not playing against the Astros, Ichiro Suzuki went 6-for-13 with four runs scored.
If New York can get this kind of production out of its outfielders, both at the top and bottom of the lineup, many will be smiling in the Yankees' camp.
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2. Number Five and Number One Silenced the Doubters
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Both C.C. Sabathia and Michael Pineda put some early season doubts to rest with strong performances this weekend.
Although the Yankees lost 4-0 in Pineda's outing, he went six strong innings of five-hit, one-run ball before David Phelps let the game explode in the eighth inning. Pineda threw over two-thirds of his pitches for strikes and struck out five batters along the way.
After his first performance of the season, C.C Sabathia had Yankees fans wondering if he could be a legitimate No. 1 for the duration of the season.
The southpaw went six innings, allowing four runs and striking out four for his first win of the season.
Hey, the Yankees' rotation isn't looking so bad after all, is it?
1. Yangervis Solarte Is for Real
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After opening some eyes with a 3-for-3 performance in the last game against the Astros, Yangervis Solarte backed up his performance quite fittingly.
He played all three games against the Blue Jays, going 5-for-12 with a run and four RBI. For a team that lost its third baseman to a full season suspension (Alex Rodriguez, I think his name is), they may have found a sufficient replacement.
Just several weeks ago, this 26-year-old was was asking Derek Jeter for his autograph just in case he never played with him again.
Now, he's second in the American League in batting average and is taking the Bronx by storm.
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