Nothing helps the Yankees more than a three-game series against the Royals at home. They finished a three-game sweep of the Royals with a 9-3 victory Thursday afternoon before a sellout crowd. In the series, the Yankees rediscovered their offense. They scored 30 runs and walked 20 times. Teams with awful pitching staffs will find that's how their series will go against the Yankees. Kansas City hasn't won in New York since 2002.
Randy Johnson, Thursday's winner, pitched just five innings and left the game with what was later revealed to be shoulder stiffness. Gothamist isn't concerned--yet. Johnson has looked sharper than he did at the start of last year, and with a thin pitching staff that seems a little too eager for the return of Carl Pavano, the Yankees can't afford a serious Johnson injury. Yankee fans should expect more of the same the rest of the year: blowouts against the league's worst but close games that turn on the Yankees' bullpen rather than their lineup against the better foes. From what Gothamist has seen so far, the bullpen better shape up.
