ANAHEIM, Calif. — It’s no good just holding the fort.
The Yankees’ starting rotation has been dominant in the absence of Gerrit Cole, a role that has played a key role in the team’s recent success, and now they’re on the offensive.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Yankees starting pitchers have pitched at least five innings and allowed two runs or fewer in 14 straight games, tying the MLB record dating back to 1893.
Nestor Cortes will take the mound on Tuesday against the Angels, aiming to make his 15th appearance in a season that would surpass the 2022 Mets, 1968 Pirates and 1907 Phillies appearances.
“We’re doing good. Every guy is building on what he did last time,” pitching coach Matt Blake said Sunday before Clark Schmidt pitched a complete-six inning shutout in a 5-2 loss to the Padres. “I feel like we have good chemistry as a team, everybody’s eager to help each other out. The conversations are good. I feel like we’re in a good rhythm and everybody’s building on what they did last time.”
The Yankees entered Monday’s off day with a 2.72 ERA among their starting pitchers, the second-worst in the major leagues.
The only starting rotation that was better at preventing runs than the Yankees was the Phillies (2.69), and they were also the only team to win more games than the Yankees.
But the group of Cortez, Lewis Hill, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman and Schmidt have taken their starting pitching to a new level recently, going five or more innings and allowing two runs or fewer in 18 of their last 21 starts.
“That’s really been the case all year,” manager Aaron Boone said. “They gave us a chance to win games almost every day, but what we’ve seen over the last few weeks and now with the rotation changes is how great they’ve been. At the end of the day, it all starts on the mound, it all starts with the starting pitcher, and we owe it to them to have us off to this start.”
In just those 14 games, Yankees starting pitchers have a 0.84 ERA with 84 strikeouts and 24 walks in 85 2/3 innings.
In eight of those games, starting pitchers have not allowed an earned run, and the Yankees are 11-3 during that span.
“I think we’re a bunch of starting pitchers that we all know can be elite in the game,” Stroman said. “The information flow, the pitching coaches, the staff, everything’s perfectly aligned. I think we’re really confident every time we step on the field as a starter.”
Of course, this won’t be an issue if the Yankees’ offense has been performing well lately and their pitchers can get out to an early lead.
“Really, what we’ve done together with them is [the starters]”They’re just riding their momentum,” Alex Verdugo said. “They’re just dominating and making us hit it quicker in the dugout.”
But what makes the starting pitching streak even more impressive is that it happened without the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner even pitching an inning, although Cole has served as a temporary pitching coach in the dugout, in bullpen sessions and in the clubhouse.
Cole is well on his way back from nerve inflammation in his elbow that sidelined him in March and is expected to face hitters again this week, likely Thursday, before potentially starting a rehab assignment on June 4. If all goes well, he’s expected to be back in late June or early July.
Meanwhile, the current five starting pitchers have worked hard, stayed healthy and given the Yankees a chance to win almost every night.
“I think the guys just knew we had to work harder without Cole and they rose to the occasion,” Blake said. “They’re just taking it one step at a time every day and I don’t think they’re worried about when Cole’s going to come back or what that means for them. They’re just continuing to do their job of pitching zero runs every inning every night.”
