The pitchers held their own in May, without being overwhelming. The Yankees’ experimentation with an opener – primarily using Chad Green continued and that seems to be going well. Again, let’s look at things in more detail.

New York Yankees 2019 – Pitching – Month – May
Name	GP	CG	GS	GF	IP	H	RA	ER	BB	SO	W	L	Sv	ERA	OBA	WHIP
Ottavino, Adam	14	0	0	1	13.0	6	0	0	7	15	1	0	0	0.00	.143	1.00
Paxton, James	2	0	2	0	7.0	2	1	0	5	8	0	0	0	0.00	.091	1.00
Harvey, Joe	3	0	0	1	3.1	5	1	0	2	3	1	0	0	0.00	.333	2.10
Chapman, Aroldis	12	0	0	11	11.1	5	2	1	3	18	0	0	11	0.79	.128	.71
Britton, Zack	13	0	0	1	13.1	8	2	2	3	12	1	0	1	1.35	.178	.83
Kahnle, Tommy	14	0	0	0	12.1	8	4	2	0	18	1	0	0	1.46	.174	.65
Cessa, Luis	7	0	0	4	12.2	9	3	3	4	15	0	1	0	2.13	.200	1.03
Tanaka, Masahiro	6	0	6	0	35.1	32	12	11	6	35	1	2	0	2.80	.234	1.08
Hale, David	2	0	0	1	8.0	6	3	3	1	5	1	0	1	3.38	.207	.88
Adams, Chance	2	0	0	1	7.0	6	3	3	2	7	1	0	1	3.86	.231	1.14
Sabathia, CC	4	0	4	0	21.0	20	11	10	11	18	2	0	0	4.29	.244	1.48
German, Domingo	5	0	5	0	28.2	29	15	14	7	31	4	0	0	4.40	.252	1.26
Holder, Jonathan	11	0	0	2	11.2	9	6	6	5	12	3	2	0	4.63	.209	1.20
Green, Chad	7	0	3	1	7.2	9	5	4	1	10	0	0	0	4.70	.290	1.30
Cortes jr., Nestor	4	0	0	2	11.0	13	6	6	5	13	0	0	0	4.91	.289	1.64
Happ, J.A.	6	0	6	0	30.2	29	17	17	7	31	4	1	0	4.99	.252	1.17
Tarpley, Stephen	1	0	0	0	1.0	2	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	9.00	.400	3.00
Loaisiga, Jonathan	1	0	1	0	4.0	6	4	4	2	3	0	1	0	9.00	.353	2.00
Barrett, Jake	2	0	0	2	3.2	6	6	6	2	4	0	0	0	14.73	.353	2.18
	116	0	27	27	242.2	210	102	93	74	259	20	7	14	3.45	.229	1.17

Starters

One glance at our table, shows how key James Paxton can be. What it doesn’t reveal is that he was injured for most of the month. Knee inflammation took him to the injured list on the 5th of the month and he did not return to availability until the 29th. He pitched on the 3rd and the 29th. Neither start lasted long enough to qualify him for a win but he didn’t give up an unearned run on either occasion. The number of walks he gave up was elevated but his performances (injury aside) bode well for the rest year if he can stay fit.

Masahiro Tanaka struck out 35 in 35.1 innings and led the qualifying starters in ERA (2.80) and WHIP (1.08). Most of the other starters’ success had as much to do with run support as their own performance. C.C. Sabathia, Domingo German and J.A. Happ all produced ERAs that came in between 4 and 5 on the month but because of the Yankees’ bats, they suffered only 1 loss between them. That one fell to Happ’s record. Chad Green was used as an opener, in middle innings and even pitched in the 9th on one occasion. With his troubled performance of April largely behind him, he fared well, particularly in offering up win opportunities to those coming in as relievers when he opened. 

Relievers

Adam Ottavino and Tommy Kahnle both appeared in 14 games with Ottavino producing the slightly better results. Indeed, there are not many ways to improve on Ottavino’s record in May. A 0.00 ERA lead the whole team. Zack Britton, in his 13 appearances, was just as vital a part of the mix.

Aroldis Chapman, as closer, reaped 11 saves from his 12 appearances and his WHIP was only second to Kahnle amongst the relievers. Among the other regulars was Jonathan Holder who is not faring too well this season. 5 times the decision lay in his hands – 3 losses, 2 wins and a 4.63 ERA.

Luis Cessa, who has been a long-term fixture in the bullpen, continues to do enough to prove useful – especially when the game is not on the line.

Jonathan Loaisiga returned briefly, performed badly and five days later found himself back on the injured list.

The remainder of the relief corps was a mix of players who would probably not be on the roster if it was not for the continuing number of injuries. Jake Barrett, Stephen Tarpley, Nestor Cortes jr., Chance Adams, and Joe Harvey were amongst the players who learned the route back and forth between New York and Scranton well. Amongst these Harvey fared best but both Cortes and Adams are showing promise.

Finally, David Hale who spent a little time in New York in 2018, returned to the club in the later part of the month and did well.

Luis Severino, Dellin Betances, Jordan Montgomery and Ben Heller continue to be unavailable because of long-term injuries.