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Yankees aren't doing anything special, except winning every day

By Danny Knobler | Baseball Insider
The Yankees have won eight in a row despite hitting just .253 during that span. (Getty Images)

WASHINGTON -- The Yankees don't do things quietly.

They can't. It's not always their fault, but they can't.

So is it possible that they've quietly won eight games in a row?

Must be, because they have. They've won eight in a row, anyway.

Did you notice? Maybe not, because they've won eight in a row, and it doesn't feel like they've done anything extraordinary. They've won eight in a row, while hitting just .253 as a team during that span.

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They've won eight in a row because they've pitched well, but it's not like they're throwing shutouts every day, either.

This isn't the Rangers, who won eight in a row in April while hitting .350 and scoring eight runs a game. We were all ready to call them the best team in baseball back then.

Now the Yankees have a better record than the Rangers, a better record than anyone in the American League, after Saturday's 5-3, 14-inning win over the Nationals.

"We've been playing well," said Andy Pettitte, who pitched well again, a day after his 40th birthday. "I feel like we've pitched extremely well."

They've pitched well enough to go 18-4 in their last 22 games, and well enough that this week, people aren't talking as much about the great need to add a starter through trade. They've pitched well enough that when Cory Wade allowed Ian Desmond's game-tying home run in the eighth inning Saturday, it was just the fourth blown save by a Yankee reliever this year (and one of those belonged to Mariano Rivera on opening day).

They've pitched, but they haven't hit the way they're expected to. And perhaps why this eight-game winning streak (and that longer 18-4 stretch) should be scary for the rest of the AL East.

The Yankees may not keep pitching like this. But you wouldn't think they'll keep hitting like this, either.

They have an eight-game winning streak, and catcher Russell Martin has hit .143 in the eight games. They have an eight-game winning streak, and Mark Teixeira (who had the game-winning hit Saturday) has hit .233 in the eight games.

"I think offensively, we haven't hit our stride," Eric Chavez said. "We hope it's coming."

It may be, but they've already won eight in a row. The Yankees haven't had a longer winning streak than this since early in the 2009 season.

The Yankees and quiet don't go together, as anyone who saw (and heard) the crowds this week at Turner Field and Nationals Park could tell you.

The crowds were loud. The winning streak wasn't.

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