What to make of Yankees following sweep of lowly A's

The Yankees swept the A’s in a three-game series that ended Wednesday, outscoring lowly Oakland, 28-10. New York's bats came alive and its pitching proved dominant against the A's (8-30), who could threaten the modern MLB (post-World War II) record for fewest wins in a season. (The 1962 Mets hold that ignominious record with 40.)

Here are three takeaways from the series: 

The starters had their best series of the season

The starting rotation is still without three starters. It's uncertain if two-time All-Star Carlos Rodon (back) and Frankie Montas (shoulder surgery) will pitch this season. Luis Severino (lat) is expected to return in late May but recently expressed frustration about the Yankees delaying his return, per the New York Post. 

The injuries put pressure on the pitching depth, but those players stepped up this week.

The starters against Oakland -- Nestor Cortes Jr., Clarke Schmidt and Jhony Brito -- gave up two earned runs.

Cortes struck out four in five innings Monday, and Schmidt earned his first victory of the season Tuesday. The right-hander threw six innings, giving up two runs and striking out seven.

Aaron Judge is back

Judge was activated off the injured list (hip) before Tuesday’s game, and it did not take long for the 2022 AL MVP to regain form. 

Judge went hitless Tuesday but had two RBI and scored a run. During Wednesday’s 11-3 romp of the A’s, Judge went 3-for-4 and scored two runs.

Judge is off to a slow start by his standards. The Yankees captain ranks 31st in OPS (.880), 47th in average (.273) and is tied for 49th in home runs (six) and tied for 98th in RBI (16).

With Giancarlo Stanton (strained left hamstring) on the IL and the bottom of the lineup struggling, the Yankees need Judge to quickly return to his 2022 form. New York (21-17) resides in the AL East cellar, eight games behind Tampa Bay.

Harrison Bader’s bat is for real

In 2022, the center fielder endeared himself to Yankees fans by hitting .333 with five bombs in the postseason.

Bader missed the first 30 games of the season with an oblique injury but has been hot since his return. He went 5-for-10 against Oakland and is hitting .429 with three HRs through eight games in 2023.

It seemed as if Bader were due for a regression after his absurd 2022 postseason. If his start to 2023 is any indication, that may not happen.

Next up for the Yankees is a four-game set against Tampa Bay, which should be a better indicator of where New York stands in the American League.