NFL
By: Billy Lewis
The second half of the baseball season is underway! The Cubs beat the Cardinals 9-6 to officially begin Major League Baseball’s second half.
The New York Yankees will begin the second half against the crosstown rival, New York Mets. It’ll be the second act of the 2018 Subway Series. The Yankees won two of the three games against the Mets at Citi Field back in June.
The Yankees will send Domingo German to the hill against Noah Syndergaard to kick off the Subway Series. The pitching matchup favors the Mets, but the Yankees just have to work Syndergaard and get to the Mets bullpen.
Including the Subway Series, the Yankees schedule is favorable to begin the second half. The Yankees will travel to Tampa for a brief three-game road trip against the Rays. The Yankees were swept by the Rays in late June and will look to return the favor.
The Bronx Bombers return home after the Rays series to host the Kansas City Royals. The Royals sit in last place in the AL Central at 27-68. The Yankees will host another last-place team after the Royals, the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles sit at 28-69 but are 5-5 against the Yankees.
Dog Days of August
The Yankees will only play two games against the Orioles and will then be shipping up to Boston to battle the first place Red Sox. The AL East may very well come down to the winner of the Yankees-Red Sox season series, and so these games will be crucial.
After the battle in Boston, the Yankees only play one team currently over .500 in August. They’ll take on the Rays (49-47) August 14-16 in the Bronx. Outside of those two series against the Rays and Red Sox, the Yankees will exclusively play teams under .500.
It seems like the Red Sox finished the first half winning every day. They were able to build a 4.5 game lead over the Yankees in the AL East. Looking ahead to August the Yankees have a chance to go on a similar run. They are getting back Gary Sanchez and will look for Sanchez and Greg Bird to take off and carry the offense in the second half.
