Mon AM BRB (4-26-21): City of Aces
This Day in Music (4-26-1984)
Legendary band-leader and pianist of the Big Band era, Count Basie, dies at 79.
Photo Credit: Jason Miller/Getty Images
Though the Yankees failed to capitalize yesterday on an opportunity to sweep away their putrid start to the season, things are starting to look up for the much-maligned Bronx Bombers. For what felt like the first time all season, watching the Yankees didn't amount to something of a chore, as the Yankees overcame early deficits, lapses in momentum and a Cy Young-winning pitcher to take three out of four from the Cleveland Indians. This run of form doesn’t right all wrongs, but it’s certainly a start. With Baltimore and Detroit on the horizon, the Yankees have no excuse not to build off of what they did in Cleveland and get back to running the American League. The blueprint was there in spades for the Yankees to build off of, as the home runs finally came with the Bombers blasting eight during the four game stretch. Pitching performances from Domingo German and Jordan Montgomery certainly didn’t start the Yankees on the right foot, but both starters battled giving the team an opportunity and a belief that coming back was possible. When the eyes of the baseball world turned to them on Saturday night, the Yankees slowly, but surely, answered the call. In a Saturday night heavyweight bout that truly lived up to its billing, both Gerrit Cole and Shane Bieber were fantastic, but it was Cole who once again got the better of his rival churning out another 10 K performance like you and I take a shower. Bieber threw his best game to date against the one team he’s yet to dominate in his career, but solo home runs by Aaron Hicks and Rougned Odor proved to be too much for Cleveland. The bat-flipping, HR-pimping, yellow sunglasses-wearing Odor has been a revelation for the Yankees, providing energy, sure-handed defense and left handed power from a most unlikely source. Perhaps another spark plug capable of pushing the Yankees out of the muck will be on display tonight, as last year’s rookie phenom Deivi Garcia makes his first start of the 2021 campaign at Camden Yards.
After being utterly electrified by Jacob deGrom’s 15 strikeout performance on Friday night, the Mets continued to show flashes of both the good (and the bad) that’s kept them right at pace with the pack in the National League East. Friday night’s game was about as perfect of a game a player and team can have on any given night in the regular season. With every 101 mph fastball deGrom was pumping out in the ninth inning, he was casually exemplifying why he is in a stratosphere most of us have never seen. deGrom has started the season off by striking out 49% of the batters he’s faced, a mark that I’m not even sure a 1999/2000 Pedro Martinez or 1978 Ron Guidry could meet. It’s almost frightening to think how great his season could turn out to be if he’s able to approximate even 70% of this dominance the rest of the way. His sub-1.00 ERA counterpart in the rotation, Marcus Stroman, was not as effective on Saturday night turning in his first clunker of the year, but the Mets were able to right the ship on Sunday thanks to the man who has turned into their multi-million dollar punching bag. Though Yankees fans bemoaned Brian Cashman for not paying the price to acquire Patrick Corbin upon his free agency two winters ago, it seems to be a smart move in hindsight, as Corbin has completely unraveled for the better part of the last year. Corbin’s ERA ballooned to 10.47 in the 4-0 loss to the Mets Sunday, with 400 foot bombs by J.D. Davis and Pete Alonso providing all the comfort needed to set the table for another sharp outing by Taijuan Walker.