The Yankees are off to a formidable 15-8 start and have their young nucleus, namely Aaron Judge and Luis Severino, to thank for it. It is always fun to research and discover new facts and statistics. Though we’re just five months left in the season and they might not mean the world, here are some interesting tidbits about the Yankees’ season so far.
1. On Wednesday, the Yankees defeated the Red Sox 3-1 thanks to Judge’s spectacular birthday performance and Severino’s dominance on the mound. Despite the victory, the Yankees managed to muster just five hits in the game. It marked the first time the Yankees recorded five or fewer hits and left Fenway Park victorious since July 17, 2005. Al Leiter started that game for the Yankees and Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada both went deep.
2. Last Thursday, the Yankees defeated the Red Sox 3-0 behind Masahiro Tanaka’s spectacular performance. He tossed a complete game shutout while throwing just 97 pitches – otherwise known as a “Maddux.” It marked the first time that a Yankee starter threw a CG SHO at Fenway Park since Mike Mussina did it on August 28, 2002. It was also the first time the Yankees shutout the Red Sox at Fenway since they won 2-0 on September 13, 2012. Phil Hughes started that game.
3. The Yankees +/- run differential currently sits at +43 — the best in the AL. It is also the Yankees’ best +/- through 23 games since 2006 when they had a +53 run differential. Obviously this is a young team, but their league-leading +/- might indicate that the Yankees are for real. Time will tell, but the current numbers suggest that the Yankees can maintain their record.
4. Aaron Judge hit his 10th home run of the season on Saturday extending his Yankee record for the most dingers in March/April by a rookie. Judge became one of only three Yankees to hit 10 or more in the first month of the season, the last being Alex Rodriguez who hit 14 in 2007.
5. After Wednesday’s brilliant outing, Severino has made history. It was the young right-hander’s final start of April making him the youngest pitcher in Yankees history to strikeout at least 33 batters in March/April. Tanaka previously held the record — 46 Ks in 2014. Severino also is the first Yankee pitcher 23 or younger to record a WHIP below 0.80 in the first month of the season.
Data obtained from Baseball Reference