The Colorado Rockies have the worst record in the National League, 2nd-worst in all of Major League Baseball behind the Los Angeles Angels. They came into Yankee Stadium II on Tuesday, and it seemed like a good time for the Yankee bats to get going again.
Cam Schlittler started the opener, and was brilliant, again: 7 innings, 1 run, 3 hits, no walks, 10 strikeouts. For the season, he is now 13-6, with an ERA of 2.01 and a WHIP of 0.918. If he doesn't receive the American League's Cy Young Award, it will be a travesty.
Aaron Judge returned from injury. He went 0-for-3, including 2 strikeouts, before being replaced in right field for cautionary reasons, but Heliot Ramos. The Yankees scored an unearned run due to an outfield error in the 1st inning, got an RBI double from Ryan McMahon in the 5th, and a 3-run home run from Ramos in the 8th. Tim Hill made it interesting by allowing a 2-run homer in the 9th, but the Yankees held on, and won, 5-3.
Will Warren started on Wednesday night, and he was strong as well: 6 innings, 1 run, 4 hits, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts. The bullpen allowed just 1 hit and 1 walk. The Yankees won, 6-1. Judge went 2-for-4, and the Yankees got home runs from Luis García Jr., George Lombard Jr. and Cody Bellinger. Two "Juniors" and the son of an ex-major leaguer. But not Jazz Chisholm Jr.: He was put on the Injured List, and Anthony Volpe was recalled, with the idea that, instead of shortstop, he would play 2nd base.
Manager Aaron Boone -- almost certainly, under orders from general manager Brian Cashman -- was careful with Max Fried again last night, only allowing him to throw 80 pitches. That got him through 3 1/3rd innings, so even though he allowed just 1 run on 1 hit and 2 walks, striking out 7, it felt like a "bullpen game." Michael Fulmer finished the 4th, John Schreiber got the next 4 outs, Ryan Yarbrough the next 4, Brent Headrick the last out in the 7th, and the returning Luis Gil pitched the 7th and the 8th.
García homered again, in the 1st. Two runs scored in the 2nd, 1 on a single by Volpe. The Rockies closed to within 4-2 in the top of the 7th, but the Yankees made them pay for that in the bottom of the 7th. Bellinger led off with a double, Jasson Domínguez walked, García moved the runners over with a groundout, and Spencer Jones singled them home.
Lombard popped up, but McMahon and Austin Wells walked, and then Volpe hit an opposite-field home run, getting the fans back on his side. The Yankees won, 10-3, completing the sweep. Schreiber was credited as the winning pitcher.
The Yankees are 3 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Eastern Division, with 16 games to go. They maintain the 4th seed in the AL Playoffs. Judge, Bellinger, Volpe, Cole, Fried and Gil are all back. Chisholm and Ryan Weathers could be back by September 22. Clarke Schmidt might come back to contribute in the regular season. Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham are less likely to return.
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Today marks the 25th Anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001. There were about 3,000 people who died that day, and another 5,000 are estimated to have died due to subsequent health issues caused by the toxic air at the site. Osama bin Laden did eventually pay for that, and al-Qaeda is no longer a serious threat to anyone.
A ceremony was held at the site of the original World Trade Center. Four Mayors attended: Incumbent Zohran Mamdani, Bill de Blasio, Michael Bloomberg and Rudy Giuliani. Eric Adams, though still alive, did not attend.
The contrast between the young Mamdani and the aged Giuliani was staggering -- as was the bigotry of Giuliani, who said Mamdani shouldn't be there because he's a Muslim. Staggering, but, giving Giuliani's past, not surprising.
Also in attendance were former Presidents and First Ladies Bill and Hillary Clinton, George W. and Laura Bush, Barack and Michelle Obama, and Joe and Jill Biden. Joe is dealing with cancer, and is older than Giuliani. Bloomberg, as far as I know, is healthy, but is even older than Biden. Both of them looked better than Giuliani.
Donald Trump and whoever he currently considers to be his First Lady were not invited. Everyone else I mentioned, even Giuliani, refused to make the event about themselves. Trump wouldn't do that.
Major League Baseball did the right thing in scheduling the 1st game of a Yankees vs. Mets series for tonight at Yankee Stadium, to commemorate the event. Both teams were exceptional in handling relief efforts after it.
There will be a pregame ceremony tonight, and, presumably, both teams will wear specialized logos on their uniforms.
Sports has helped people to heal many times, and 9/11 might be the greatest example. It can do so again.
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