The New York Yankees find themselves on a remarkable five-game winning streak, sparked by the impressive early contributions of Jasson Dominguez, as they inch closer to reentering the American League wild-card race. Now boasting a winning record for the first time in over three weeks, the Yankees aim to extend their surge to a season-high six consecutive victories as they prepare to host the Detroit Tigers in the series finale, with the prospect of a three-game sweep.
Since Dominguez’s promotion from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre last Friday, the Yankees have gone undefeated, tallying five straight wins. Dominguez made an electrifying debut, hitting a two-run homer in his first career at-bat, and later followed it up with a tiebreaking two-run homer on Sunday. In Wednesday’s game against Detroit, Dominguez continued his hot streak by launching another tiebreaking home run to open the third inning, contributing significantly to New York’s 4-3 triumph.
Dominguez’s impact has been undeniable, as he boasts a batting average of .333 (7-for-21) since joining the Yankees. Remarkably, he becomes only the second player in the team’s history to hit at least three home runs in his first five career games, alongside his Triple-A manager Shelley Duncan, who accomplished the feat in 2007.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone noted Dominguez’s joyful demeanor on the field, saying, “He’s playing with that little grin on his face and enjoying playing baseball right now. Obviously right in the middle of us winning games.”
New York’s resurgence goes beyond Dominguez, as the team has now won 10 of its last 14 games, recovering from a challenging nine-game losing streak in mid-August, the longest since 1982. The Yankees are currently 6 1/2 games behind the AL’s final wild-card spot and are seeking their first six-game winning streak since September 2022 when they won seven straight.
In addition to Dominguez, Aaron Judge has been a key contributor, reaching base in seven of his last nine plate appearances.
On the opposing side, the Detroit Tigers (63-76) hope to avoid their ninth consecutive loss in New York. Despite RBI singles from Kerry Carpenter and Andy Ibanez on Wednesday, the Tigers were struck out 11 times and struggled to contain Dominguez’s home run power.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch acknowledged Dominguez’s impressive start, noting, “He is an exciting young player. I like young players, and when they come up and look immediately comfortable, you pay attention because he certainly looks the part. He’s put the ball in play against us. He’s hit the ball hard. He hit the ball out of the ballpark, so it looks like he’s off to a good start.”
Hinch’s concerns also extend to his pitching staff, which has been heavily used over the past two days. The Tigers were forced to rely on their bullpen heavily, using six pitchers on Tuesday in a scheduled bullpen game and repeating the same strategy on Wednesday due to an unfortunate injury to Matt Manning, who fractured his right foot in the first inning.
In the series finale, the Yankees will send Carlos Rodon (2-4, 5.70 ERA) to the mound for his 10th start with the team. Rodon is coming off a solid performance, allowing two runs on three hits in five innings during a win against Houston. He has been impressive since returning from his third injury this season, boasting a 1-0 record with a 2.87 ERA.
Rodon has a career record of 6-2 with a 4.50 ERA in 11 starts against Detroit. His last matchup with the Tigers was on August 23, 2022, when he struck out 10 batters and allowed just one run in seven innings, leading the San Francisco Giants to a 3-1 victory.
On the other side, Eduardo Rodriguez (10-7, 3.11 ERA) will take the mound for the Tigers. Rodriguez is coming off a strong performance, limiting the Chicago White Sox to one run on six hits in 6 2/3 innings during a 4-2 win.
Since his challenging outing against the Oakland A’s on July 5, where he allowed five runs, Rodriguez has been in impressive form, posting a 6-2 record with a 3.76 ERA in his last nine starts. He has held opponents to two runs or fewer in six of those outings and has completed seven innings twice.
Rodriguez has faced the Yankees 24 times in his career, holding an 8-6 record with a 3.76 ERA. As a Tiger, this will be his second start against them, with his previous encounter taking place on April 20, 2022, when he allowed three runs in six innings during a 5-3 loss.
