HOUSTON — Future $500 million man Juan Soto and third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera are a dynamic duo that no one could have predicted.
The Yankees, who started the season with three consecutive wins, have various comeback stories, but their star players remain the same.
Superstar Soto and supersub Cabrera have played the role of everyday heroes in the Yankees’ incredible start. They won three straight against the arch-rival Astros in a stadium that has seen many misfortunes over the past few seasons.
“The way we won is unbelievable,” said Soto, who leads the league in scoring.
Of course, Cabrera is a different story.
Soto is considered one of the top two or three hitters in the game. He always says it’s Aaron Judge and Yordan Alvarez, but that’s debatable.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone praised Soto, calling him a “killer.”
Cabrera, on the other hand, only made the first of three consecutive starts due to new starter John Barty’s flight arriving late and Boone worrying about his sleep. Now they can’t get Cabrera out of there.
Soto hit a game-winning homer in the seventh inning, following Cabrera’s game-tying homer with two batters, and will post a 1.433 OPS in Sunday afternoon’s series finale. Cabrera’s OPS is even higher at 1.614, and no other Yankees player has an OPS that matches his career mark. It is no exaggeration to say that these two carry the team on their backs.
Everyone is a big hit except for the great tandem. But these two are more than the Astros can handle.
On Saturday night, Cabrera’s home run, anchored by the Astros’ favorite relief pitcher Brian Abreu in the second row of right field, sparked wild celebrations in the Yankees’ dugout. I can’t believe their positive karma here this week.
A few minutes later, Soto’s opposite-field home run, also from Abreu, sailed into the Crawford box, giving the Yankees the lead in a game they won 5-3. “Let’s Go Yankees”, the driving force behind Soto, is chanted here in places where they are generally shunned (even Judge, an all-around nice guy, continues to get unfair boos).
This should be a blessing for the Yankees after the 2023 season, which was admittedly a disaster. The Yankees need to prove that last year’s “disaster” that ended the season with an 82-80 record was a fluke, and, of course, that they can defeat the haters. The Astros have appeared in the American League Championship Series for seven consecutive years.
The schedule makers didn’t gain anything by starting baseball’s oldest franchise here in the world’s greatest ghost town – no people downtown! This is where the Yankees have been absent for most of the past decade.
The Yankees are off to a hot start and flipping the script thanks to an unparalleled pairing.
Soto is cooperating with the annual salary increase, which is sure to be the largest contract in history considering the $680 million deferment fee for two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani. Cabrera, on the other hand, may have suddenly won the role after three days of performances.
On Saturday, it was announced that starting third baseman DJ LeMahieu has suffered a non-displaced fracture in his foot. The Yankees haven’t ruled out an April return, but this seems extremely optimistic for a player who has been plagued by foot problems for years. As for Berti, the Yankees were elated to acquire such a speedy, versatile player, but he may end up on the sidelines until Cabrera cools down.
The Yankees’ recent return took debut starter Marcus Stroman out of the game, but that was only fair because he was outstanding. Stroman was weakened by early mistakes by Cabrera and Gold Glove-winning shortstop Volpe. As fate would have it, the two will make up for it with a weekend of good vibes. Volpe returned home late to provide insurance.
Stroman was actually very efficient, using great six-pitch combinations to pitch six innings despite the lack of cooperation from several fielders. Stroman is likely the team’s de facto ace, with current Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole sidelined for at least two months with an elbow problem (the target date for return is rumored to be June 1st). ).
Cole says he’s “feeling good,” which is great news. And Strowman is doing well. He allowed just four hits and no earned runs and continues to impress his rotation mates on and off the field. The erudite Stroman, who was reading a book a few hours before the start, has been on Twitter a few times in the past – who hasn’t? — but they absolutely love his professionalism in his new clubhouse.
“A lot has been said, but he’s been great since he’s been here,” said Nestor Cortez, who started the season opener because Stroman wanted to stay on the schedule.
As of now, the entire Yankees team feels very good about how things are going. The odd couple of Cabrera and Soto create magic every day, and the team understandably loves it.
