We’ve missed you, Yankees offense. We’re so happy you’re back, and just scored double digit runs on Wednesday night to beat the Angels 12-6. It took a couple of months, but you’re finally back. I think.
It’s just eight days into June, but the Yankees are showing signs of life again. The offense that scored the second most runs in baseball last season is stirring, and it’s averaged over five runs per game so far this month. Carlos Beltran has jump-started the offense with a ridiculous hot streak, including a home run (his 16th) and three RBI on Wednesday, and the table setters in Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner have followed suit. Three hitters can’t save a season, but those three have done wonders. The first four hitters (A-Rod had a nice game himself) in the lineup combined to go 10-17 against the Angels, with eight runs, seven RBI, three doubles, and two home runs. When everything is working on offense, everything is working on offense, which has to be the only logical explanation for why Chris Parmelee hit two home runs in his first MLB game of 2016.
On the negative side of things, Nathan Eovaldi had a rough start, giving up five runs over 5.1 innings. His ERA rocketed up to 4.42, and the voices saying he finally broke out this season have become a bit quieter. It was far from a disastrous start, but Eovaldi didn’t have his splitter working, which predictably went poorly for the flamethrower. There’s plenty of season left for Eovaldi to rebound, but he’s had a rough start to June in two outings.
The Play: Carlos Beltran hits an RBI double (.196 WPA)
Following a huge game-tying home run by Chris Parmelee, Beltran gave the Yankees the lead in the sixth. The best hitter on the team this season, Beltran has been huge for the Yankees and Wednesday was no exception. Beltran drove in Jacoby Ellsbury, making the game 6-5 and handing the Yankees a lead they would not give up.
Top Performers
Yankees: Chris Parmelee (3-5, 2 HR, 2B, 3 R, 3 RBI)
Angels: Mike Trout (3-5, HR, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI)
The Highlight: Chris Parmelee goes yard…again
The unexpected offensive explosion already had this game ticketed as a classic (not really), but the legend only grew stronger with Chris Parmelee’s second home run of the night. His double in the fourth was his first Yankees hit, his home run in the sixth was his first Yankees home run, and his home run in the seventh made a game to remember even better.
Up Next
The Yankees will try to get the rare four-game series sweep on Thursday, with Ivan Nova facing off against Jhoulys Chacin. Nova has really struggled over his past three starts, while Chacin has been surprisingly okay. On the bright side, he’s not a lefty, and the Yankees offense is firing on all cylinders at the moment
Photo: Anthony Grupposo / USA Today Sports