Strenuous Stretch Awaits Red-Hot Yankees

The Yankees are about to play 20 games in as many days, including a bunch against contending teams.

The Yankees got to enjoy an off day on Monday after a weekend of beating up on the lowly Cubs. Tuesday, however, marks the start of a grueling stretch for baseball’s best team.

New York’s next 13 games are all against the Rays, Blue Jays and Astros, and the team’s next off day is not until July 4. The Yankees will play 20 consecutive games before Independence Day.

The Rays will be in the Bronx from June 14-16 before the Yankees play three games in Toronto and three in Tampa Bay. Four home games against the Astros follow from June 23-26 before a three-game visit from the last place Athletics provides a soft spot on the docket. Then it’s off to Houston for another game with the Astros, a rescheduled game from April 4 made necessary by the lockout.

The restless period concludes with three games in Cleveland.

“You love playing against other great opponents and we know we'll have our work cut out for us here over those next couple of weeks,” Aaron Boone said over the weekend. “Especially in a stretch where we're playing every single day. So I think our guys really look forward to that. You look forward to playing against the best competition and the teams we're gonna see. They're all teams that are obviously playing really well and a couple of division teams that are fighting for the same thing we are. Those games take on a little bit more meaning too.”

Boone previously said that he could use a six-man rotation during the 20-game stretch.

The Yankees are 44-16 overall. They’ve created a sizeable cushion in the American League East, where the formidable Blue Jays (36-24) and Rays (35-25) are eight and nine games out of first place, respectively. New York is 6-3 against Toronto and 2-2 against Tampa Bay this season.

The Astros, meanwhile, are 37-24 and have a comfortable lead in the AL West. They have yet to play New York this year.

With the Yankees on-pace for 119 wins, no one is intimidating them right now. However, this upcoming slate against competitive teams offers a challenge. It’s one that New York is looking forward to.

“You want to see the best match up against the best and you want to see how this is gonna play out,” the surging Matt Carpenter said Sunday. “I'm obviously confident in this group and what we're capable of, and it'll be good for the rest of baseball to get to see us play teams that are contending for a postseason run.”

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