Yankees 11, Angels 1: Slugfest puts this one away early

If you had other plans tonight, you missed a fun game. Not only was the Yankee offense firing on all cylinders, but Masahiro Tanaka tossed a gem. The Yankees put the game out of reach early to extend their winning streak to eight games. Now they’ll have a chance to sweep the series tomorrow.

Garrett Richards has never fared well against the Yankees, and that remained true tonight. The offense jumped all over him in the top of the first inning, and everyone in the lineup faced him before the third out. After Brett Gardner struck out, Aaron Judge singled up the middle, and Didi Gregorius walked. Giancarlo Stanton reached on a fielding error by Zack Cozart. The ball rolled into the outfield allowing Judge to score the first run of the game. Another run scored after Gary Sanchez knocked a double to left, and Aaron Hicks followed with a RBI of his own. The runs just kept coming after that. Neil Walker struck out swinging, but reached on a passed ball. He was called out, but the call was overturned to keep the inning alive. Miguel Andujar hit yet another another double to make it a 5-0 game before Gleyber Torres grounded out for the third out.

The Yankees got right back to work in the top of the second. Gardner walked on four pitches, then Judge hit a double up the middle that rolled to the wall and allowed Gardy to score. Sanchez worked a two-out walk, then came home from first on a Hicks triple. That was enough to chase Richards from the game. Eduardo Paredes took over and Walker singled on a ball off of Paredes’ glove. Back-to-back singles from Andujar and Torres put the Yankees up 10-0.

The bats quieted down after the second inning, but the damage was already done. Meanwhile, the Angels didn’t even get their first hit until the fourth inning. Tanaka cruised through the first four innings before he surrendered a solo shot to Cozart in the fifth. It was Tanaka’s best outing of the season, but Aaron Boone opted to pull him after the sixth after just 88 pitches. Tanaka ended his night with nine strikeouts, two walks, and allowed just the one run off of two hits.

Chasen Shreve and A.J. Cole tossed three scoreless innings between them to close out the game. The offense tacked on one final run in the eighth after Sanchez smacked another double and Walker drove him in. The Yankees couldn’t have asked for more from the offense or the pitching staff tonight.

Tomorrow, the Yankees will go for the sweep and the chance to extend their winning streak to nine games. CC Sabathia will make the start opposite of Tyler Skaggs at 8:07 ET on ESPN.