The New York Yankees' starting pitchers have gone at least four innings in all of their 51 games this season, which is the second-longest streak to start a season in franchise history, behind only the stretch of 58 games to begin the 1904 season, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com.
The latest start came from Nestor Cortes, who threw five innings of shutout ball against the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday, striking out six and walking three while giving up just three hits. Nestor Cortes has not been the best starting pitcher in the Yankees' rotation, but he has been solid so far this season, and there has not been a member of the rotation who has disappointed.
The Yankees were able to pick up a 7-3 win over the Mariners on Wednesday, winning the third game of a four-game set, in which Seattle won the first two. Aaron Judge hit a home run in the first inning, then Juan Soto hit two, and Alex Verdugo hit one late to make the score 7-3. The quality of the pitching staff combined with the lineup slugging since late April has been a recipe for the Yankees going on a tear in May. New York will try to split the series with a win on Thursday before heading out to the west coast to play the San Diego Padres.
After Wednesday's results, the Yankees moved to 34-17 overall, and lead the American League East by three games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles. It seems like that division will come down to those two teams and might be a back-and-forth battle throughout the regular season.
Yankees' starting rotation has outperformed expectations
When the Yankees' ace, Gerrit Cole, went down with an elbow injury, there was some fear that the rotation would leave the team vulnerable in the early parts of the season while he recovered. It turns out, the rotation has arguably been the team's biggest strength so far this season.
After Wednesday's game, Cortes' ERA on the season moved to 3.29, and given the season he had in 2023, the Yankees and their fans would have signed up for this performance easily.
Luis Gil, who is filling in for Gerrit Cole in the rotation, has been a revelation. His ERA on the season is at 2.39, and you could argue that he is in contention to start the All-Star Game, even though he is not the top candidate. Luis Gil's progression is a testament to the Yankees' pitching development in the majors and minors. The same goes for Clarke Schmidt, who was solid in 2023 after a rough start, but he has taken a leap so far this season with a 2.59 ERA so far. He is another player the Yankees developed internally.
The Yankees' two significant pitching signings of the last two offseasons are performing well now too. Carlos Rodon is pitching very well with a 3.27 ERA after struggling mightily in 2023. Marcus Stroman has been solid as well, with a 3.05 ERA after turning in a very good start against the Mariners on Monday.
The lineup has heated up in May, but the Yankees' pitching staff has been the backbone for them so far this season.
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