Ryan Weathers delivered another quality start as the Yankees completed a sweep of the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium on Sunday.
The Yankees have been putting up runs all series long, and their pitching staff finally matched that energy. Weathers led the charge in the series finale, tossing 7.1 scoreless innings while striking out seven and allowing just five hits and one walk.
Ryan Weathers vs. Royals:
7.1 IP
0 ER
8 K
5 H
1 BB
33% Whiff rateYankees SP lead AL with 2.98 ERA this season.
The shutdown performance anchored a convincing 7-0 victory. Ben Rice, Aaron Judge and Trent Grisham all went yard in the win. Grisham drove in three runs while Judge added two RBIs of his own.
After Monday’s off day, the Yankees head to Boston for a three-game set against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. From there, it’s on to Houston and Texas before returning home to face the Orioles.
Weathers Fighting for His Rotation Spot
Coming into Sunday’s outing, Weathers was carrying a 4.29 ERA. His season’s been all over the place so far.
When he’s on, Weathers looks like a legitimate rotation piece. But when hitters pick up his patterns, things can get ugly fast. Take his last start against the Angels – he surrendered four home runs and five earned runs in five innings. That’s the kind of inconsistency that’ll get you sent to the bullpen.
Then again, he also threw eight innings of one-run ball against Texas not too long ago.
The inconsistency is what’s putting his rotation spot in jeopardy. Once Carlos Rodon and Gerrit Cole return from their respective ailments, someone’s getting bumped. The competition’s likely between Weathers and Luis Gil for that final rotation slot.
Max Fried, Cam Schlittler and Will Warren seem like locks at this point. But if Weathers can string together more performances like Sunday’s, he’ll make Aaron Boone’s decision a lot tougher.
The way I see it, Weathers has the stuff to stick in the rotation. It’s just a matter of whether he can find that consistency before the Yankees’ rotation gets healthy again. Sunday was a step in the right direction, but he’ll need to build on it during this upcoming road trip.
What makes this different is the Yankees’ starting pitching has been surprisingly solid this season. Their starters lead the AL with a 2.98 ERA, which gives the organization some luxury when making these roster decisions.
All things considered, Weathers bought himself some time with Sunday’s effort. Now he needs to prove it wasn’t just a one-off performance.
