Yankees 1998 Tracker: Game 66

From now until the end of the season, we will be tracking the progress of the Yankees with their 1998 World Championship team, which won 114 games in the regular season.

Through 66 Games:
2018: 46-20
Saturday afternoon: Yankees 4, Rays 1

Luis Severino threw another gem, as he went eight innings, scattering three hits and two walks, with nine strikeouts, to improve to 10-2 on the season, and his ERA dropped to 2.09.
The Yankees got on the board in the second inning when Gleyber Torres had an RBI double, followed by a Didi Gregorius RBI single in the third inning to make it 2-0.
In the 5th inning, the Yankees got back-to-back solo home runs from Giancarlo Stanton, who hit his 16th of the season, followed by one from Gary Sanchez, which was his 13th.
Tampa Bay's Matt Duffy homered off Chasen Shreve in the ninth, so the Yankees turned to Aroldis Chapman, who earned his 20th save of the season.

1998: 49-17
June 19, 1998: Cleveland 7, Yankees 4

Cleveland got on the board in the bottom of the second inning when Jim Thome led off the frame with a solo home run off Yankees starter David Cone.
Scott Brosius hit a solo home run off Cleveland starter Jaret Wright in the top of the third to get the run back for the Yankees and tie it at 1 .
In the bottom of the fourth, Cleveland got a run on a Manny Ramirez RBI single and off a Cone wild pitch to make it 3-1.
In the top of fifth, Brosius had a two-run single, followed by a Derek Jeter RBI groundout to make it 4-3 Yankees.
Cleveland came right back in the bottom of the fifth when Kenny Lofton hit a two-run shot to give them a 5-4 edge.
Jim Thome hit a two-run shot of his own off Graeme Lloyd in the seventh to make it 7-4 and put it away for Cleveland.
Jaret Wright got the win to improve to 6-4 as he went 6 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and five walks, with five strikeouts.
David Cone took the loss for the Yankees, just his second of the season, as his record dropped to 9-2. He went 5 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits and three walks, with four strikeouts.

Where they stand: With the win on Saturday, the 2018 Yankees improved to 46-20 and gained a game on the 1998 Yankees, who lost the equivalent game to drop to 49-17 through 66 games. The 2018 Yankees are just three games off the 1998 pace in the quest for 114 wins.