The 1953 Yankees defeated the 1949 Yankees in their six game series 4-2 to improve their record to 13-5, tied for second in the standings with the 1978 and 1998 Yankees. The 1949 Yankees dropped to 55-95.
The '49 Yankees won the first game 3-1; Joe Dimaggio broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run homer in the 6th. The '53 Yankees won the next four games, scoring 37 runs in the process. Game Three was a back-and-forth battle with the '53 Yankees holding on for a 7-5 victory; the '49 Yankees trailed 2-0 early but took a 3-2 lead on a Tommy Henrich two-run homer, followed by a Johnny Mize solo blast. Gene Woodling walked with the bases loaded for the '53 Yankees in the 7th to tie the game, and they scored four more in the 8th to get the win. Woodling and Mickey Mantle each had four RBI in Game Five’s series-clinching 14-5 win. The '49 Yankees won the final game 10-4 on 13 hits and nine walks.
Hank Bauer leads the '53 Yankees in hitting at .353 with seven homeruns and a 1.158 OPS. Mantle cooled off as his average fell to .292. He hit three more homeruns to give him seven for the season and drove in five RBI to give him 22. Johnny Sain and Ed Lopat are a combined 5-0 on the mound. Sain’s ERA is 2.63 while Lopat’s is 3.68.
Dimaggio is hitting .291 to lead the '49 Yankees with 38 homeruns, 129 RBI, 119 runs scored, and a 1.029 OPS. Henrich is hitting .228 with 35 homeruns, 118 RBI, and 103 runs scored. Yogi Berra is hitting .219 with 24 homeruns and 112 RBI. Vic Raschi picked up his 16th win in this series. The '49 Yankees will play their final series against the 18-6 1928 Yankees.