One of my best friends, a Yankee fanatic begins each season with a simple Facebook status that reads “162-0” in honor of his favorite team finishing the regular season undefeated. With each corresponding Yankee loss that figure adds one to the right side. After the first give games, his status read “158-4”.
The way things are looking that may not change again this year.
The Yankees hammered the Chicago White Sox for seven runs over the first five innings and won easily, 7-4 to earn their seventh straight home win to start the year and eighth consecutive victory overall.
It ties 2000, 1988 and 1924 as the team’s longest-ever April winning streak.
New York is 8-4 and just a half-game behind Baltimore in the American League East.
Matt Holliday returned to the lineup after missing two games with a stiff lower back and staked the Bombers to a 3-0 lead via a three run monster shot in the third. A Chase Headley RBI double and Aaron Judge infield single in the same inning had New York comfortably in front by five.
Judge also homered, his fourth of the season in the fifth. Don’t look now but the tallest position player in baseball is hitting .275 with four homers and 11 RBI while sporting a sexy 1.006 OPS.
Starlin Castro collected three more hits (along with two runs scored) and has his batting average up to .375.
Rookie Jordan Montgomery was efficient on the mound in picking up the first win of his career. He went six innings and allowed three runs on seven hits to go with two walks and four strikeouts. Aroldis Chapman worked the final two outs to pick up his fourth save over the Yanks last five games.
New York will try to equal their second-best home start ever (1943) tonight when Luis Severino takes the ball against Miguel Gonzalez.