These are still very early days in the 2022 Major League Baseball season, but the New York Yankees are doing all they can to check out from the rest of the AL East pack. On Monday night, they sit at 26-9, putting them 5.5 games ahead of Tampa in the division. The win on Monday came over traditional punching bag Baltimore as they won 6-2 on the road. Three Bronx Bombers hit long balls, with catcher Jose Trevino’s three-run blast proving to be the big difference-maker in the fourth inning while Luis Severino pitched six solid innings that saw him give up just a single run.

That’s two in a row for the Yanks, seven of their last eight, and eight from their last ten, so if this sort of run continues, they might well wrap up the crown before too deep into summer. Elsewhere, the Chicago White Sox were made to battle for victory on Monday as they overcame the Kansas City Royals 5-3 in 11 innings on the road. Johnny Cueto had made a good debut for the ChiSox, pitching six innings of two-hit ball, but the Royals pegged them back after his departure and stole a potential decision away from him by forcing extras. In the 11th, it was Luis Robert that played the role of hero-or villain depending on your affiliation- as he hit a two-run homer to put them ahead and eventually win it. The White Sox are an even 17-17 at present, but they are just three games off the pace of Minnesota in the AL Central.