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Around the Empire: Yankees news - 8/7/19

Gary Sanchez is set to begin his short rehab assignment in Triple-A Scranton; the Yankees break a home run record and bury the Orioles in the process; what can Aaron Boone do about Masahiro Tanaka and this starting rotation

By Kenny Crocker
New York Yankees v Minnesota Twins Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

New York Post | George A. King III: The Kraken may soon be returning to the warm waters of the Bronx. Out since July 24th with a strained left groin, Gary Sanchez will begin his rehab assignment with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday. Hoping to catch both Wednesday and Thursday for the RailRiders, the plan is that Sanchez would then return to the Yankees for their series in Toronto this upcoming weekend.

The duo of Austin Romine and Kyle Higashioka have performed well in his absence, batting a combined .293 with four homers and 11 RBI since the Yankees’ starting catcher went to the IL. Regardless, the Yankees will undoubtedly be excited to get Sanchez’s bat and arm back into the mix.

MLB.com | Zachary Silver: The 2019 Yankees officially own the Orioles, metaphorically speaking. After hitting a barrage of homers in the first of a three-game set in Baltimore on Monday night, New York broke the record for the number of home runs hit in an opposing ballpark in a season. It was the first of Mike Tauchman’s two homers of the game that broke the record. By the end of the night, 32 was the new number to beat.

Never content with their domination, the Bombers are already eyeing the next goal: their 41 homers against the Orioles in 2019 sits seven back of the record of total home runs against a team in a single season. So, that’s exciting.

ESPN | David Schoenfield: Another home run-powered win for the Yankees, another rough night for Masahiro Tanaka. Over 5.1 IP on Monday night, the righty gave up five runs on 10 hits, adding to his miserable 10.23 ERA over his last seven starts. With Tanaka’s struggles, Domingo German’s inconsistency, James Paxton’s inability to throw a good first inning, CC Sabathia’s short outings and nagging injuries, and the general lack of confidence in J.A. Happ, there’s not a lot of trust in the potential playoff rotation.

Here, Schoenfield discusses a few options for Aaron Boone to start getting creative with his starting pitching decisions.

In other news: Cameron Maybin’s nickname for Players’ Weekend is “Slim.” That is all.

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