Yankees Now On Pace With Best Teams In Franchise & MLB History

 

Giancarlo Stanton following the path of his three-run home run in the third inning. Photo by Jason Schott.

The Yankees had yet another comeback win on Wednesday afternoon, 5-3 over the Athletics, to complete the sweep of their three-game series at Yankee Stadium, as they improved their record to 56-20. They are now 22-5 in June, with one game in the month remaining, tomorrow at Houston. 

It is now easy to see where the Yankees rate against the best teams in their franchise and Major League Baseball history. Their 56-20 start matches the best 76-game start in team history, along with the 1928 and 1998 teams. 

It matches the best 76-game start by any Major League team in the last 93 years (since 1930), as the 1998 Yankees and 2001 Mariners also started 56-20. According to Elias, the 56 wins ties the third-most by any team through their first 76 decisions of a season since 1901. The 2022 Yankees are the ninth team to accomplish the feat, joining the 1912 New York Giants (58-18), 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates (58-18), 2001 Seattle Mariners (56-20), 1998 Yankes (56-20), 1913 Philadelphia A's (56-20), 1907 Chicago Cubs (56-20), and 1904 New York Giants (56-20).

In Wednesday's game, the Yankees fell behind 3-0 in the first before Aaron Judge got two of them back on his 29th home run of the season in the bottom of the first. Giancarlo Stanton got his 19th dinger of the season, a three-run shot in the third inning to make it 5-3 Yankees.

That was all Jameson Taillon would need, as he went five innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks, with six strikeouts, to improve to an impressive 9-1 on the season. 

The Yankees bullpen delivered with four scoreless innings to finish it off. Lucas Luetge went two innings (no runs, no hits, now walks, two strikeouts); Miguel Castro pitched the eighth, working around two hits, while notching two strikeouts to earn his eighth hold of the season; and Clay Holmes retired Oakland in order in the ninth to earn his 14th save of the season.

This was the Yankees' 24th comeback victory of the season, most in the Major Leagues. Five of their last six victories have been comeback wins, and the Yankees trailed by at least three runs on each of those five victories.

The Yankees are now 22-5 in June, which marks just the second time in the last 44 seasons (since 1979) that they have won at least 22 games in a single calendar month. (they also went 22-10 in August 1998). They could get the 23rd win in the month of June on Thursday in Houston.

The Yankees are now a season-high 36 games over .500, the highest they have been since they ended the 2019 season at 44 games over .500, at 103-59.

The Bronx Bombers' home record is now 34-9, the best home record in the Majors, and that includes a 19-2 mark in their last 21 games, their best 21-game stretch at home since July 1 - August 14, 1998. If you buff that stat out, they are 31-6 in their last 37 at Yankee Stadium.