After struggling to start the season, the Yankees have picked up the pace as of late. New York has won six of its last seven games to improve to 14-9 on the season.
One of the team's biggest weaknesses through the first few weeks of the year was the offense. However the Yankees have outscored their opponents 43-10 during the team's current five-game winning streak.
"Look, [we have> too good of hitters to stay down for very long, and we feel like we're starting to gain some traction," Yankees manager Aaron Boone told Carlin, Maggie, and Bart on Wednesday. "Obviously a lot of guys are swinging the bat incredibly well. We're still trying to get some guys on track. But all in all, we feel like we're moving in the right direction.
"The weather is getting a little better. We're excited where we're at offensively."
A puzzling development of the 2018 season is the poor performance of relief pitcher Dellin Betances. The 30-year-old has been one of Major League Baseball's most talented relievers over the last few years, but he has not been able to keep runs off the board this season.
Through nine innings this year, Betances has allowed six earned runs on 12 hits with five walks and 16 strikeouts to earn himself a 6.00 ERA and 1.89 WHIP.
Despite his struggles, Boone doesn't think Betances is that far from returning to his status as an elite reliever.
"I think he was actually building some momentum before [Tuesday night>," said the Yankees manager. "I felt like he was in a pretty good place with his delivery and had a string of successful outings. I really don't think he's far off.
"[Tuesday night> he was definitely a little off mechanically with his devliery, and it showed with his command. But hopefully we can get him back out there very soon because I really don't think it's far off. If we're going to be the club we expect to be, I really believe Dellin Betances plays a big role in that because if we can get him right, the stuff is still so elite that he can still dominate hitters."