Yankees Stat of the Day: May 2021
MLB.com is keeping track of a Stat of the Day for the Yankees this season, highlighting a unique, interesting or fun nugget from each game.
May 31: Rays 3, Yankees 1 -- That (early) '70s show
The Yankees have scored two runs or fewer in nine of their last 12 games, marking the first time they have done so since August 1971 -- a span in which their starting infield featured Felipe Alou (1B), Horace Clarke (2B), Gene Michael (SS) and Danny Cater (3B).
May 30: Tigers 6, Yankees 2 -- LeMahieu collecting knocks
DJ LeMahieu singled in the first and eighth innings, marking the infielder's 95th multi-hit game since joining the Yankees in 2019. That's the most in the Majors over that time span, ahead of Rafael Devers (94), Whit Merrifield (92) and Trea Turner (91).
May 29: Tigers 6, Yankees 1 -- Rare setback in the Central
This loss to the Tigers snapped a streak of seven undefeated series (5-0-2) against American League Central clubs for the Yankees, dating back to June 13, 2019. The Yanks are 9-3 vs. the AL Central in 2021, and they have gone 25-14 in 39 games vs. the division since April 18, 2019.
May 28: Tigers 3, Yankees 2 (10) -- DJ flies high to beat odds
Yankees first baseman DJ LeMahieu stole an RBI from Jeimer Candelario in the bottom of the eighth with the game tied at 1, leaping high to snag a screaming liner with the potential go-ahead run at second base. Chad Green's 3-1 offering left Candelario's bat at 108.4 mph and had an expected batting average of .880.
May 27: Blue Jays 2, Yankees 0 (Game 1); Yankees 5, Blue Jays 3 (Game 2) -- Judge delivers once again
Aaron Judge belted his team-leading 13th homer in the Game 2 win. Four of Judge's last six homers have either tied the game or given the Yankees the lead. The Yanks are 87-32 when Judge has homered in his first six MLB seasons.
May 25: Blue Jays 6, Yankees 2 -- Frazier bunching hits
Clint Frazier is turning it on. The outfielder has multiple hits in three of his last five games after recording just two multihit games in his first 34 games of the season. Over that five-game span, Frazier is hitting .438 (7-for-16) with a double, a homer, four runs scored and two steals. On Tuesday against the Blue Jays, Frazier singled in the fifth and doubled in the seventh before scoring on Kyle Higashioka's RBI single.
May 23: Yankees 5, White Sox 4 -- Can't touch this NY rotation
It has been a terrific turn through the rotation for the Yankees, whose starters now own a 35-inning scoreless streak, beginning with Corey Kluber's no-hitter at Texas. That is tied for the second-longest scoreless streak by starting pitchers in franchise history, trailing only a 40-inning scoreless streak from May 10-16, 1932. Yanks starters also had a 35-inning scoreless streak from May 21-25, 1947.
May 22: Yankees 7, White Sox 0 -- It's Cole's world
How historically special has this opening act been for Gerrit Cole? The ace right-hander is the first Yankee with a sub-2.00 ERA and a sub-0.900 WHIP through his first 10 starts of a season since Allie Reynolds in 1952.
May 21: Yankees 2, White Sox 1 -- Starters throwing like it's '09
2009 was a special year in the Yankees' universe, and the trio of Corey Kluber, Domingo Germ¨˘n and Jordan Montgomery have accomplished a feat not seen in the Bronx since then. Those Yankees starters have tossed at least seven scoreless innings in each of the Yankees' last three games, their longest-such streak since Aug. 7-9, 2009, when A.J. Burnett, CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte did it.
May 20: Yankees 2, Rangers 0 -- Call 'em pinch-hit partners
Gio Urshela and Aaron Judge provided the runs the Yankees needed with pinch-hit RBI singles in the seventh inning. It marked the first time New York has had multiple batters record a hit as a pinch-hitter since Aug. 22, 2018, against the Marlins. Urshela also worked a walk in his second plate appearance, becoming the first Yankee to reach base multiple times in a game he did not start since Mike Ford on Aug. 25, 2019, against the Dodgers.
May 19: Yankees 2, Rangers 0 -- Kluber no-hits old mates
Corey Kluber only threw one inning for the Texas Rangers last year before a tear in his right teres major muscle ended his season. In his return to Globe Life Field as a visitor, he became just the third pitcher to no-hit a team he played for either the previous year or earlier in the same season. The others were Ray Caldwell for Cleveland (vs. the Yankees, 1919) and Terry Mulholland for Philadelphia (vs. the Giants, 1990).
May 18: Yankees 7, Rangers 4 -- Double your pleasure
The Yankees enjoyed a season-high four doubles in Tuesday's victory over Texas, snapping a streak of four straight games with no doubles. That was the Yankees' longest no-doubles streak since May 25-29, 2016 (five games).
May 17: Rangers 5, Yankees 2 -- Cole matches Whitey
Gerrit Cole's remarkable run of 61 strikeouts without a walk wasn't the only streak to be snapped Monday. Cole was charged with five earned runs, ending a streak of 12 straight starts with two earned runs or fewer. Cole now shares that Yankees franchise record with Whitey Ford (1963) and Chad Green (2017-19), though it should be noted Green's outings came as opening assignments.
May 16: Orioles 10, Yankees 6 -- Urshela loses on-base streak
Gio Urshela's 23-game on-base streak was snapped Sunday. It had been the longest active such streak in the Majors. Urshela batted .321/.371/.519 with four homers, 15 RBIs and seven walks during his run, which spanned April 14 to May 15.
May 15: Yankees 8, Orioles 2 -- Judge rising in Yankees lore
After his second-inning home run Saturday, Aaron Judge boasts the fourth-most homers hit as a member of the Yankees among players drafted by the organization. His 130 career home runs since his selection in the 2013 MLB Draft broke a tie with Brett Gardner, and he now trails only Jorge Posada (275 HRs, 1990), Derek Jeter (260 HRs, 1992) and Don Mattingly (222 HRs, 1979).
May 14: Yankees 5, Orioles 4 -- Judge has Orioles' number
Aaron Judge homered in the first and fourth innings on Friday for the 13th multihomer game of his career. Five of those have come against the Orioles; Judge has belted 22 homers in 58 career games against Baltimore, his most versus any team.
May 13: Rays 9, Yankees 1 -- Where's Gio? On base, of course
Gio Urshela picked up a ninth-inning single that extended his on-base streak to 21 games. Entering play on Thursday, that was the second-longest active streak in the Majors behind the Rangers' Nate Lowe (24). Urshela has recorded a hit in eight straight games, batting .367 (11-for-30) over that span.
May 12: Yankees 1, Rays 0 -- Cole's historic dominance
Only eight starts into his season, Gerrit Cole has already made Yankees history. This marked Cole's third start of his Bombers career with 12 or more strikeouts, no walks and no runs allowed, surpassing Mike Mussina and John Candelaria, who each had two such starts with the team. All three of Cole's outings have come this season, in starts against the Orioles, Tigers and Rays.
May 11: Yankees 3, Rays 1 -- Chapman locks it down
Aroldis Chapman remained perfect on Tuesday, converting his eighth save in as many opportunities. Dating back to Sept. 4, Chapman has not allowed an earned run over his last 22 regular-season appearances, the second-longest active streak in the Majors behind the Giants' Caleb Baragar (29 games, including Tuesday). During the streak, Chapman has allowed just five hits (.072 batting average) with 47 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings.
May 9: Yankees 3, Nationals 2 -- Gleyber finally sends one out
Gleyber Torres notched his first home run of the season with a solo shot in the sixth inning. The homer came in his 119th at-bat of the year, and it snapped his career-long 39-game homerless streak. It marked his first home run since Game 4 of the 2020 ALDS, and it was his first regular-season blast in 148 at-bats, dating back to Sept. 17 vs. Toronto.
May 8: Yankees 4, Nationals 3 (11 innings) -- Cy greats square off
Saturday's matchup between two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber (2014, '17) and three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (2013, '16-17) marked the first time two opposing starting pitchers entered the game with a combined five (or more) Cy Young Awards in a game featuring the Yankees since April 3, 2006, at Oakland, when five-time winner Randy Johnson (1995, '99-02) and Barry Zito (2002) faced off.
May 7: Nationals 11, Yankees 4 -- Joltin' Joe, meet DJ
DJ LeMahieu's leadoff homer marked his 300th hit as a Yankee, coming in his 225th game with the club. According to the YES Network, that made LeMahieu the second-fastest Yankee to collect 300 hits in terms of games played. LeMahieu trails only Joe DiMaggio, who accomplished the feat during the 1937 season in his 200th game with the club.
May 6: Astros 7, Yankees 4 -- Cole flashes 'no walk' sign
Gerrit Cole has not allowed a walk and has tossed at least six innings in each of his last four starts (since April 18), which is tied for the third-longest such stretch in Yankees history. Cole trails only David WellsĄŻ six-game stretch from Sept. 6, 2002, to April 10, 2003, and Fritz PetersonĄŻs five-game streak from April 25-May 18, 1971. Cole is the first Yankees pitcher to accomplish the feat since Masahiro Tanaka (four games, from Aug. 2-19, 2016).
May 5: Yankees 6, Astros 3 -- Hicks hits the game-winner
Aaron Hicks' tiebreaking RBI single in the eighth inning of the win over Houston marked his first go-ahead hit that late in a game since July 23, 2019, at Minnesota, where the former Twin hit a go-ahead homer in the ninth inning of what might have been the Yanks' game of the year. Hicks is hitting .353/.450/.647 in his last five games.
May 4: Yankees 7, Astros 3 -- Stanton unstoppable
Giancarlo Stanton enjoyed the 12th four-hit game of his career on Tuesday and has recorded at least three hits in four of his last five games, batting .609 (14-for-23) with two doubles, a homer and three RBIs. Stanton's fifth-inning double was his 250th career double and had an exit velocity of 117.4 mph, his MLB-leading 14th hit this season with an exit velocity of 115 mph or higher.
May 2: Yankees 2, Tigers 0 -- Starters leading the charge
The Yankees' rotation has carried the club back to the .500 mark, having allowed three runs or fewer in 13 of their last 14 starts (since April 18). Over that span, the Bombers' starters have posted a 2.38 ERA in 79 1/3 innings with 91 strikeouts and only four home runs.
May 1: Yankees 6, Tigers 4 -- No need for homers
After hitting a season-high five homers on Friday, the Yankees did not clear the fences on Saturday -- yet they still posted a win over the Tigers, the Yanks' first victory this season that did not feature a big fly. The Bombers improved to 1-7 in such games, leaving the Reds (0-5) as the only remaining club not to have posted a homerless win.