In battle between MLB's hottest teams, Yankees win 10th in a row, snap Braves winning streak
As the red-hot New York Yankees arrived at Truist Park to begin a two-game series with the Atlanta Braves Monday, there were a handful of obstacles to deal with.
-- The American League’s newly crowned Player of the Week, Luke Voit, found himself on the bench against Atlanta, with the Yankees playing an interleague game in an NL park.
-- Their top lefty setup man, Zack Britton, was headed to the injured list due to a strained elbow, his third trip to the IL this year following removal of a bone chip and a strained hamstring.
-- And those Braves? They entered Monday on a nine-game winning streak, same as the Yankees.
According to Elias, Monday’s game in Atlanta was just the third time that teams with winning streaks of at least nine straight games had met.
None of which mattered to Giancarlo Stanton, who punished two Huascar Ynoa sliders and carried the Yankees toward a 5-1 win on a warm, Georgia night.
Starting in right field, without the use of a designated hitter Monday, Stanton led off the second inning with a solo blast to right.
And after Dansby Swanson’s solo homer in the second tied it against Yankees starter Jordan Montgomery, Stanton lashed a two-run double to left in the sixth.
Yankees’ finishing touches
Jonathan Loaisiga tossed two sharp, scoreless innings following Montgomery’s bend-but-don’t-break five innings, yielding just one run.
By the eighth, Gary Sanchez greeted veteran reliever Jesse Sanchez with a two-run single for a 5-1 lead, and the Yankees (73-52) could taste their 10th straight win – their longest since last September.
This was the first meeting of teams that had won at least nine consecutive games since Sept. 7, 1901, when the Pittsburgh Pirates (10 straight wins) played at Philadelphia against the Phillies, who won to extend their winning streak to 10 games at Baker Bowl
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Stanton (2-for-3, 3 RBI) was subbed out of the game defensively entering the bottom of the sixth, with Aaron Judge (2-for-4) switching from center to right and Brett Gardner entering the game.
Gardner had not played since Friday night, when he exited a game against the Twins after being drilled on the right elbow by a pitch.
Luke Voit starts on the bench
Voit wound up walking as a pinch-hitter in the sixth, which preceded Sanchez’s game-breaking, two-run single.
“He’s playing great, but the biggest thing is he’s healthy and we know what kind of hitter he is when he’s healthy,’’ manager Aaron Bone said of Voit before the game.
In taking the AL’s Player of the Week honors, Voit batted .476 (10-for-21) in six games, with two homers, three doubles, 11 RBI and a 1.427 OPS.
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“He had a lot of big hits for us in what was a really good week for us, and he was in the middle of that,’’ said Boone, adding that the improved at-bats lately have a lot to do with his health.
Voit is a .320 hitter in 14 games since he came off the IL due to left knee inflammation.
“Even when he’s not going great, he’s usually very confident,’’ Boone said. “When he’s at his best, he controls the zone well and hits the ball hard. That’s a good combination.
“He’s risen to the occasion as these games have become very important for us.’’
Start to finish
Montgomery (5-5) yielded just the solo homer in five innings, improving the Yankees’ starters ERA to 2.83 since July 6, the lowest in the AL.
The lefty only gave up two hits, but he walked four batters with two strikeouts and needed a rested bullpen to take the Yanks to increasingly new heights in 2021.
In a non-save situation, Aroldis Chapman seemed to gain back a measure of velocity and swagger in an undramatic, quick ninth inning.
Boone’s club is a season-high 21 games over .500 and they’re on the verge of sweeping a two-game series, which would be their 10th straight series win.
Pete Caldera is the Yankees beat writer for NorthJersey.com. Email: caldera@northjersey.com Twitter: @pcaldera