Yankees Struggle Against Dodgers

The Yankees began the official, though not numerical, 2nd half of the season by hosting the 2-time defending World Champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers. For a team riddled with injuries, it was not a good combination.

Gerrit Cole started on Friday night, and in 6 innings, he allowed 5 hits, no walks. He was brilliant. But the Yankee bats, depleted by injuries to Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, couldn't hit, either. Jazz Chisholm singled with 2 out in the 2nd. Trent Grisham drew a walk with 2 out in the 3rd. In the 4th, Jasson Domínguez doubled, reached 3rd on an error on the throw to 2nd, and scored on a passed ball with Chisholm up.

In the 6th, Ben Rice singled with 1 out, and Cody Bellinger singled with 2 out. But Domínguez, having giveth a run, now taketh away a chance, by striking out to end the inning. So, through 6 innings, the Yankees were lucky to have a 1-0 lead.

Cole had thrown 92 pitches. That's usually enough for manager Aaron Boone to take a starting pitcher out, possibly on orders from general manager Brian Cashman. This time, he made the opposite mistake: He left Cole in for the top of the 7th. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Cole hadn't walked anybody yet, but he started the inning by walking Mookie Betts. And then Max Muncy hit a home run.

As the great New York sportscaster Warner Wolf would say, "Turn your sets off right there." Three Yankee relievers allowed just 2 baserunners, and it didn't matter. The Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the 7th. They looked like they might have something going in the 8th. Grisham walked with 1 out, and Rice doubled, but Grisham was thrown out at the plate. Paul Goldschmidt was intentionally walked, with Max Schuemann sent as a pinch-runner. Bellinger just got under a pitch, and it didn't quite go out, and Andy Pages caught it in center field. The Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the 9th.

Dodgers 2, Yankees 1. I'd like to say this one is all on Boone, but the Yankees only needed to score 1 more run to at least send this game to extra innings.

The Saturday afternoon game was rained out, forcing a day-night, split-admission doubleheader for yesterday. The opener was a battle of aces. Yoshinobu Yamamoto was up to the task. He allowed a home run to Grisham in the 4th, and a double to Chisholm and an RBI single to Anthony Volpe in the 8th.

Schlittler was not up to it. He gave up 2 runs in the 3rd, including an RBI double by Shohei Ohtani. He gave up 2 more runs in the 5th, and, at 4-1, the game already felt over. In the 8th, Jake Bird allowed a double, 3 singles and a walk, and ended up with 5 runs charged to him. He should not be in the major leagues. The Dodgers won, 8-2.

So the nightcap became a must, to prevent a total humiliation, not quite on the same level as the Dodgers taking 2 out of 3 Yankee Stadium games in the 2024 World Series, but perhaps capable of preventing the Yankees from being taken seriously for the rest of this season.

Boone decided to go for a bullpen game. I shuddered. But Ryan Yarbrough pitched 2 2/3rds innings, Paul Blackburn pitched 2 1/3rd, and Brent Headrick pitched 2, so no runs through 7. With 2 outs in the 1st inning, Goldschmidt doubled and Bellinger singled, giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead.

But Boone brought Fernando Cruz in to pitch the 8th, and he gave up a game-tying leadoff homer to Tommy Edman. After 2 walks, Boone got Cruz out of there, and brought in David Bednar, the closer. He got 5 outs, allowing just 1 walk. And Chisholm hit one out in the bottom of the 8th. Yankees 2, Dodgers 1, to salvage the finale, and restore some pride.

*

And yet, the Yankees actually benefited from their arch-rivals, the Boston Red Sox, being on a hot streak. They swept the Tampa Bay Rays 4 straight at Fenway Park. They have now won 13 straight games, and 18 out of their last 20. So the Rays now lead the American League Eastern Division by a game and a half over the Yankees, with the Sox having gotten back into the race, 6 games back.

That's a little good news. There was also bad news on the injury front: Aaron Judge probably won't be back before August 1, and Max Fried's 1st injury-rehab start, at Class AA Somerset, was a bit shaky. But Clarke Schmidt had his 1st batting-practice session, and it apparently went well.

Tonight, the Yankees begin another 3-game home Interleague series, this one with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Paul Skenes pitched yesterday, so the Yankees won't be facing him. As Bill Murray would say, So we've got that going for us, which is nice.

Yanks End 1st Half With Sweep In Washington

Although 96 games means nearly 60 percent of the regular season is done, the All-Star Break is the official halfway point, and the Yankees closed the official 1st half with a series away to the Washington Nationals.

Ryan Weathers started on Friday night, and allowed 1 run on 6 hits and no walks. He was backed by home runs from Ben Rice in the 1st inning and Jasson Domínguez in the 4th, and left with a 2-1 lead in the 6th. But Tim Hill allowed back-to-back home runs in the 7th, so, in spite of the Nats going with a bullpen game, the Yankees trailed 3-2 with 1 out in the top of the 9th.

But Domínguez singled, and Jazz Chisholm and Austin Wells hit home runs. David Bednar pitched 2 perfect innings for the win. Yankees 5, Nationals 3.

Cam Schlittler started on Saturday afternoon, and allowed home runs to the Nats' 2 best hitters, James Wood and Curtis Mead, in the 1st inning. After that, he was brilliant, lasting into the 7th inning. But, despite the Nats again going with a bullpen game, the Yankees trailed 2-0 with 1 out in the 8th.

Then came a home run by Ryan McMahon, a walk by Rice, a home run by Trent Grisham, and a home run by Paul Goldschmidt, the 387th of his career. That made the Yankees 4-2 winners, and Brent Headrick the winning pitcher.

Will Warren started on Sunday afternoon. RBI singles by Chisholm and Wells in the 5th inning staked him to a 2-1 lead. And he'd only thrown 83 pitches. But Aaron Boone panicked, and brought Hill in, and he blew the lead. It was 3-2 Nats with 2 outs in the top of the 8th.

Then Max Schuemann singled, Grisham drew a walk, and Rice hit a triple to bring them home. They added a run in the 9th, and won, 4-2. Ryan Yarbrough was the winning pitcher.

So the Yankees managed to get a 3-game sweep on the road, even though they trailed late in all 3, and none of their starting pitchers ended up as the winning pitcher.

*

So here's where the Yankees stand at the All-Star Break:

* They are 54-42, for a winning percentage of .563. Over a 162-game span, that works out to a record of 91-71. That should be enough to make the Playoffs, but it probably won't be enough to in the American League Eastern Division.

The Tampa Bay Rays lead the Division by 3 games over the Yankees, 10 over the Boston Red Sox, 11 1/2 over the Baltimore Orioles, and 12 over the Toronto Blue Jays. In the all-important loss column, the Rays lead the Yanks by 4, the Sox by 10, and the O's and the Jays by 12.

* If the current standings hold to the end of the season, the Yankees would be the 4th seed in the AL Playoffs. In other words, they would make the Playoffs, but not win the Division, putting them in a bad position to win the Pennant. In other words, for the Brian Cashman Era, the usual.

* They have achieved this despite the usual rotten luck with injuries. At no time this season have they had 3 of their planned 5 starting pitchers available: They began the season with Gerrit Cole, Clarke Schmidt and Carlos Rodón on the Injured List; and they go into the All-Star Break with Schmidt, Rodón and Max Fried on it. Hitting-wise, they began the season with Domínguez, Anthony Volpe and Oswaldo Cabrera on it; now, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are on it; and, in addition to the preceding, Goldschmidt and Wells have spent significant time on it.

* Rice, Judge, Goldschmidt, Grisham, Cody Bellinger have been productive. McMahon, Max Schuemann, Amed Rosario, José Caballero have been nice surprises.

* On the other hand, Stanton has barely played. Volpe, Domínguez, Wells and, so far, highly-touted prospect Spencer Jones have been letdowns.

* Schlittler is 9-5, with a 2.05 ERA and a 0.944 WHIP, both of which lead the AL. Before getting hurt, Fried was 4-3, 3.21 and 1.005; Rodón was 4-2, 3.30 and 1.252. Filling holes in the rotation, Warren is 7-4, 4.03 and 1.363; and Weathers is 3-7, 4.15 and 1.239. So Warren has a good record, while Weathers has a good WHIP.

* On the other hand, both Warren and Weathers are too high in ERA, and Weathers has a bad record. Cole came back too soon: He's 3-4 and 4.04, although his WHIP is 1.204.

* The bullpen has been a mixed bag. Bednar has 18 saves, Yarbrough 2, and 1 each for Fernando Cruz, Camilo Doval and Paul Blackburn. ERAs for relievers with at least 30 innings pitched: Headrick 1.55, Blackburn 2.22, Cruz 2.25, Bednar 2.70, Yarbrough 4.14, Hill 4.50, Jake Bird 4.50, Doval 4.58. WHIPs: Blackburn 1.089, Bednar 1.100, Hill 1.111, Headrick 1.187, Yarbrough 1.216, Cruz 1.225, Doval 1.358, Bird 1.367.

Hill is typical of this. He has a great WHIP, but a horrible ERA for a reliever. He has given up 7 home runs, more than any Yankee pitcher except Weathers, Warren, Schlittler and Cole, all starters. And he has hit 4 batters, more than any Yankee pitcher except Bird, with 5. And if you count hit batsmen as baserunners for which he's responsible, his WHIP rises to 1.222, which is very good for a starter, not so much for a reliever.

* Injury updates: Fried threw live batting practice on Saturday, and will make a rehab start on Friday, so he should be back before July ends. Rodón threw today, and is set to throw every day this week, which is encouraging. Stanton has resumed running, and is expected to return later in the month. Schmidt is having bullpen sessions, and is expected to begin facing hitters this month, which suggests an August return. Judge is set for a re-imaging during the Break, so we still don't know when he's coming back. This is also true of Luis Gil.

The All-Star Game will be tomorrow night, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Judge was elected as a starter, but isn't playing. Rice, who will be in tonight's stupid Home Run Derby, Bellinger and Schlittler were named as reserves.

In case anyone cares, the only Met on the National League team is Juan Soto, who was elected as a starter. As always, every team, no matter how bad, is entitled to at least 1 player on their League's team, although if that 1 player is injured, a replacement from the same team can be chosen. And, although it usually works out so that every player gets used, that is not required: Only that starting pitchers go at least 2 innings, and starting hitters at least 3, with exceptions, of course, for injury.

Yankees Sweep Guardians, On to Jays

"Why aren't you writing about the Knicks?" I will -- when it's over. As Yogi Berra taught us, It ain't over 'til it's over.

The Yankees went to Cleveland and played the Guardians, formerly the Indians, and the Naps, and the Bronchos, and the Blues, at Progressive Field, formerly Jacobs Field.

Will Warren started on Monday night. Having gotten off to a really good start to the season, this was the 2nd straight time he'd pitched as poorly as I feared he would while "filling a hole in the starting rotation." He didn't make it out of the 5th inning, allowing 3 runs, 2 of them earned. Before the 6th inning had ended, Brent Headrick and Paul Blackburn had each added another.

Paul Goldschmidt hit a home run in the 1st inning, the 380th of his career, surpassing Orlando Cepeda and Tony Pérez, and tying the still-active Manny Machado. A month ago, I thought he was done. He wasn't. He'd previously surpassed the still-active Bryce Harper, who has 378; and the still-active Freddie Freeman, with 377. At this rate, he may pass the injured Aaron Judge, with 385.

But the Guardians took a 5-4 lead into the top of the 8th. Trent Grisham led off with a single, and he went to 3rd on a single by Ben Rice. Goldschmidt grounded into a force play that allowed Grisham to score the tying run.

The game went to extra innings, with Ali Sánchez as the Yankees' "ghost runner." A 29-year-old Venezuelan, he's a typical backup catcher, having bounced around the majors for 7 seasons, starting with the 2020 Mets, peaking at 96 plate appearances with the 2024 Miami Marlins, and batting .175 for his career. But with Austin Wells on the injured list, ol' Number 39 was necessary.

Grisham began the inning by flying out. But, Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you. In order to set up the inning-ending double play, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt ordered Rice intentionally walked, bringing the light-hitting (but defensively strong and versatile) Max Schuemann to the plate. Big mistake: He drew an unintentional walk to load the bases, and Cody Bellinger singled Grisham and Rice home. David Bednar pitched the 9th and the 10th for the win: Yankees 7, Guardians 5.

But, sometimes, the great pitchers don't pitch well, either. And we have to remember that Gerrit Cole is still coming off a long layoff. On Tuesday night, he only went 4 innings, throwing 83 pitches. He allowed 2 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks, striking out 4. Regardless of the game's result, the starting pitcher is disqualified from being named the winning pitcher unless he goes 5 full innings (presuming the game goes the full 9).

But Spencer Jones hit his 1st major league home run. Jazz Chisholm hit one, too -- using a bat loaned to him by Judge. Both went over 440 feet. I guess they didn't need a "little league ballpark." Chisholm's homer gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead in the 8th, and that would be the final. Since Camilo Doval was the current Yankee pitcher when Chisholm homered, it was Doval who was named the winning pitcher. Despite his 5.47 ERA, he is 2-0.

Carlos Rodón was okay in the Wednesday afternoon "getaway day" game, going 6 innings, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks, striking out 7. The Yankees took the lead in the top of the 6th, on José Caballero's sacrifice fly. Every Yankee starting hitter got at least 1 hit. Yankees 8, Guardians 4, for the sweep.

The Yankees are 41-26, on a pace to go 99-63. They are tied for 1st place in the American League Eastern Division with the Tampa Bay Rays, who have 2 games in hand, and are thus 1 game ahead in, Cliché Alert, the All-Important Loss Column.

Tonight, the Yankees continue their roadtrip, playing those pesky Toronto Blue Jays.

Yankees Blow Citi Series; Happy 80th, Reggie

The Yankees should have swept this Citi Series at Citi Field. At the very least, taken 2 out of 3. After all, the Mets are the worst team in baseball.

That's right: "Citi Series." It's not a "Subway Series" unless it's a World Series. If you had been around in 1957, and had called a regular-season series between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers a "Subway Series," they would have agreed on 3 things: New York is the greatest city in the world, they hate the Yankees, and you're nuts.

The Yankees got off to the right start on Friday night, as Cam Schlittler allowed just 1 run on 2 hits and 2 walks through 6 2/3rds innings, striking out 9. He was backed by a home run from Ben Rice. Rice and Jazz Chisholm each got 3 hits, and Chisholm had 2 RBIs.

There was kind of a worrying moment in the 9th, when the Yankees' alleged closer, David Bednar, allowed a run. But it was still Yankees 5, Mets 2, about what we expected.

But the Saturday night game did not go well. Carlos Rodón was clearly taken off the Injured List too soon, as he didn't get out of the 4th inning. And each of the next 3 Yankee pitchers -- Jake Bird, Brent Headrick and Tim Hill -- allowed a run.

Getting hits wasn't the problem: The Yankees got 9 of them, plus 3 walks. The problem was getting hits with runners on base. Trent Grisham singled Chisholm home in the 2nd inning, and Anthony Volpe walked to put 2 men on. But Austin Wells, who is really struggling, struck out to end the inning. Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt singled in the 3rd, but were stranded when Chisholm struck out.

Goldschmidt singled Rice home in the 5th, moving Cody Bellinger to 2nd base, but, again, Chisholm struck out to end it. Amed Rosario led off the 6th with a double, and Volpe walked again to put a 2nd man on with 1 out, but they couldn't be brought around.

Judge led off the 7th with a double, and Bellinger brought him home with a long fly that Met right fielder Carson Benge botched. Goldschmidt was hit with a pitch, and Chisholm bunted his way on, loading the bases with nobody out. This should have been a humiliating inning for the Mets.

Instead, it was a humiliating inning for the Yankees. Met manager Carlos Mendoza brought in Luke Weaver, a reliever who had washed out with the Yankees. He struck Rosario out. He struck Grisham out. He got Volpe to ground into a force play. Bases loaded, nobody out, and the Yankee were held scoreless -- by Luke Weaver.

Wells led off the 8th with a single, but Rice grounded into a double play. And another reliever not good enough for the Yankees, Devin Williams, sent them down 1-2-3 in the 9th. Mets 6, Yankees 3. A disgraceful last 3 innings.

Yesterday afternoon was looking pretty good for a while. Rice hit another homer. Elmer Rodriguez had allowed just 1 run over the 1st 4 innings. But he started the bottom of the 5th by hitting Benge with a pitch. He then got Bo Bichette out. He had only thrown 64 pitches. So the right thing to do would have been to let him keep pitching.

Aaron Boone did not do the right thing. He brought in Ryan Yarbrough, who finished the inning with no runs. The Yankees scored 4 runs in the top of the 6th, with the Mets helping them with 2 walks, a hit-by-pitch and an error. But Yarbrough gave 2 runs back in the bottom of the 6th. Volpe walked with the bases loaded in the 7th, making it 6-3 Yankees.

Bednar took the mound for the bottom of the 9th. All he had to do was get 3 outs while allowing 2 or fewer runs. But he gave up singles to Benge and Bichette. When Juan Soto and his $800 million (or whatever the amount turns out to be) grounded into a fielder's choice, and Mark Vientos struck out, it looked like we were worrying for nothing.

But Bednar served one up to Tyrone Taylor. It screamed down the left field line, just fair, a game-tying home run. For the rest of their lives, Met fans will talk about The Tyrone Taylor Game, a rare highlight in a miserable season. It will be on SNY's Mets Classics before long.

Even with the "ghost runner," the Yankees couldn't score in the top of the 10th, with Wells grounding into a double play. And then Boone brought Tim Hill in. Hill allowed a bunt single to A.J. Ewing, and hit Luis Torrens with a pitch. The bases were loaded with nobody out. Boone brought the infield in, to get the play at the plate. Benge grounded deep to short. Volpe was able to get to it, but he was now too far back to make the play anywhere. Ghost runner Marcus Semien scored the winning run.

Don't tell me Derek Jeter would have gotten the job done: He would have gotten to the ball, and he might have gotten a throw off, but, at best, he would have gotten the force at 2nd, and the winning run still would have scored.

Mets 7, Yankees 6. The Other Team took the series. Sure, they were at home, and the Yankees have injury issues, so the Mets should have taken the series. On the other hand, the Mets also have injury issues, and they're the Mets, and we're the Yankees, so the Yankees should have taken the series.

*

The Yankees lost 7 of 9 on the roadtrip. Save your Star Trek jokes. They are now 28-19, a pace for 96-66. They are 3 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Eastern Division, 4 in (Cliché Alert) the All-Important Loss Column.

Rodón is not ready. Luis Gil is not ready, and is back in the minor leagues. Max Fried is now on the Injured List. Gerrit Cole is still not back. Giancarlo Stanton is on the Injured List, and we don't know when he's coming back.

Ryan McMahon has an on-base percentage of .258; Wells, .292; Grisham, .293; Rosario, .310; Chisholm, .312. Remember, those are on-base percentages, not batting averages.

Bullpen WHIPs: Paul Blackburn 1.554, Bednar 1.550, Fernando Cruz 1.368, Bird 1.364, Headrick 1.286, Yarbrough 1.140, Doval 1.038, Hill 0.857. Those last 3 look pretty good, but I don't trust any of them.

Tonight, the Yankees begin a home series with those pesky Toronto Blue Jays. They had better do some winning.

If not for me, then for Reggie Jackson. It is the Yankee Legend's 80th Birthday.

A recent photo of Reggie, with Giants quarterback

Russell Wilson and his wife, singer Ciara

I want him to see one more Yankee World Series win. Hell, I want every Yankee Fan to see one more. This isn't about me: I've seen 7, but there's a whole generation of Yankee Fans who aren't old enough to remember one.

Yanks Swept In Milwaukee

One worthwhile criticism of this year's Yankees is that they haven't done well against teams over .500.

Of course, one good reason why those teams they have beaten are under .500 is that they've played the Yankees.

The Yankees played the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field (formerly Miller Park) this weekend. The Brewers have won the last 3 National League Central Division titles, and made the Playoffs in 7 of the last 8 seasons. They are a Playoff contender again.

While there were hopeful signs for the Yankees, it was a bad series. On Friday night, highly-touted prospect Spencer Jones, an outfielder who bats and throws lefthanded, about to turn 25 and from the San Diego area, made his major league debut. Wearing Number 78, he started as the designated hitter, and went 0-for-2 with a walk.

Max Fried and the Brewers' Jacob Misiorowski both pitched 6 innings. Fried was roughed up for 5 runs. "The Miz," still only 24 years old, allowed 2 hits and 2 walks, and struck out 11. Shane Drohan finished the 3rd-hit shutout. The Yankees never even got a runner to 3rd base. Brewers 6, Yankees 0.

On Saturday, Cam Schlittler pitched 6 shutout innings, and Paul Goldschmidt went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs, including his 375th career home run, allowing him to pass Rocky Colavito on the all-time list, and tie the still-active Manny Machado. But the rest of the Yankees combined only got 4 hits, and the game went to extra innings.

In the top of the 10th, with Max Schuemann as the "ghost runner," Ben Rice, returning from a brief injury, struck out. Aaron Judge was walked intentionally to set up the double play. Cody Bellinger flew out. Ryan McMahon singled Schuemann home, but Judge was thrown out at 3rd base. Unwritten Rule of Baseball, or, perhaps, Cliché Alert: Never make the 1st or 3rd out of the inning at 3rd base. 

In the bottom of the 10th, neither Fernando Cruz nor Tim Hill could hold the Brewers: Walk, flyout, single, fielder's choice, sacrifice fly. Brewers 4, Yankees 2.

Yesterday, Carlos Rodón came off the Injured List, and made his 1st start of the season. (We're still waiting on Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt.) He could have used another minor-league rehab start as a warmup: He only went 4 1/3rd innings, allowing 3 runs on 2 hits and 5 walks, striking out 4.

In the 1st inning, Aaron Judge hit his 384th career home run, passing Larry Walker on the all-time list, and tying Harold Baines. In the 2nd, José Caballero, and was singled home for Jones' 1st major league hit, and his 1st major league RBI. It was 2-0 Yankees.

But Rodón got into trouble in the 4th, and the Brewers took a 3-2 lead. Rodón was shaky again in the 5th, and Aaron Boone brought Jake Bird in to bail him out. In the 6th, Judge and Bellinger drew walks, but Judge was caught stealing. Jazz Chisholm doubled Bellinger home, tying the score, but had Judge still been on base, he would have scored, too. This turned out to be a rare mistake by Judge, and a big one.

The Yankee bullpen held the Brewers off until the bottom of the 9th. David Bednar came in, and struck Joey Ortiz out, and struck Jackson Chourio out. But he gave up a home run to Brice Turang. Hell, Aroldis Chapman, Luke Weaver, Clay Holmes or Devin Williams could have done that. Anyway, Brewers 4, Yankees 3, and the Yankees were swept.

We are one-quarter of the way into the regular season. The Yankees are 26-15, a pace to go 103-59. But we're a game, 2 in (Cliché Alert) the All-Important Loss Column, behind the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Eastern Division.

It could be worse: The Mets still have the highest payroll and the worst record in Major League Baseball.

Tonight, the Yankees begin a series away to the Baltimore Orioles.

*

Yankees Mess With Texas, Enter May In 1st Place

The Yankees had to go to Boston to play the Red Sox? Then to Houston to play the Astros? Then to the suburbs of Dallas to play the Texas Rangers? Tough roadtrip.

Well, we took Seven of Nine. For those teams, resistance was futile.

Yes, that was a Star Trek joke in a blog post about the Yankees. It might not have been the logical thing to do, but it was the human thing to do.

On Monday night, the Yankees began that series at Globe Life Field (not to be confused with the Rangers' previous stadium, now named Choctaw Stadium, formerly Globe Life Park, Rangers Ballpark, Ameriquest Field and simply The Ballpark), and turned it, like the do any stadium, into "a little league field." Aaron Judge, Ben Rice and Jazz Chisholm hit home runs, to support 6 shutout innings by Max Fried. The Yankees ended up winning, 4-2.

Tuesday night was a battle between young Yankee sensation Cam Schlittler and former Met "legend" Jacob deGrom, recipient of the two least-earned Cy Young Awards of all time. Cody Bellinger doubled Aaron Judge home in the 1st inning. That would be the only run either man allowed.

In the top of the 7th, with deGrom relieved by Jalen Beeks, Austin Wells hit a home run. Brent Headrick worked in and out of trouble for the Yankees. Fernando Cruz did the same in the 8th. Judge hit a home run in the 9th, the 380th of his career, to surpass Orlando Cepeda and Tony Pérez with 379 on the all-time list. Next up: Albert Belle at 381.

And that "insurance run" turned out to be crucial: David Bednar did his best Aroldis Chapman -- or Boone Logan, or Scott Proctor, or Kyle Farnsworth -- impression in the bottom of the 9th, letting the Rangers get to within 3-2, before he finally slammed the door.

On Wednesday afternoon, Elmer Rodríguez, a 22-year-old righthanded pitcher from Puerto Rico, made his major league debut. Wearing Number 71, he went 4 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks, striking out 3. Presuming neither Gerrit Cole, nor Carlos Rodón, nor Clarke Schmidt comes off the Injured List in the next week (as seems likely), Rodríguez will probably get at least one more start before he gets sent back to Class AAA Scranton. The bullpen did well, allowing just 1 run over the last 5 innings.

But what may well be Brian Cashman's dumbest transaction as Yankee general manager came back to bite him, and us, again: Releasing Nathan Eovaldi after the 2016 season. Eovaldi allowed just 4 hits, and the Yankees never got going, losing to the Rangers, 3-0.

In spite of this last game, not only did the Yankees go 7-2 on the roadtrip, but they took 2 out of 3 in both Houston and the Dallas-Fort Worth "Metroplex." They messed with Texas.

They leave April and enter May 20-11, with the best record in the American League. In the AL Eastern Division, they are a game and a half ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays, 5 ahead of the Baltimore Orioles, 6 ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays, and 8 ahead of the Boston Red Sox.

They had yesterday off, and tonight, they open a homestand with a weekend 3-gamer against the Orioles. Their manager, Craig Albernaz -- a former catcher who never reached the majors, and previously coached for Tampa Bay, San Francisco and Cleveland -- has not yet selected his starters for any of the games. Aaron Boone has selected Will Warren for tonight, first pitch 7:05 PM; Ryan Weathers for tomorrow, at 1:35; and Max Fried for Sunday, at 1:35, with all games to be broadcast on the YES Network.

Meanwhile, on this May 1, with the worst record in baseball, the Mets might want to shout, "Mayday!"

This photo, from their 14-2 loss to the Washington Nationals

on Wednesday night, sums up their season so far.

A Fenway Sweep, Yankees On a 6-Game Streak

The fear: The Yankees would go into their 1st Fenway Park series of the season having scored too many runs in the series right before it that they wouldn't score enough in the little green pinball machine in the Back Bay, and the Red Sox would capitalize on this.

The reality: The Yankees' pitching dominated The Scum, and we got just enough runs.

On Tuesday night, Luis Gil shook off his 1st 2 poor starts of the season coming off the Injured List, and took a 2-hit shutout into the 7th inning. Brent Hendrick finished the 7th, Tim Hill pitched the 8th, and David Bednar pitched the 9th. It shouldn't take 4 men to pitch a 4-hit shutout, not even in Boston. But I'll take it.

I'll also take a 4-0 win, with Giancarlo Stanton hitting a tremendous solo home run in the 2nd inning, and a double off the wall for 2 more in the 6th.

On Wednesday night, Amed Rosario hit a home run to get the Yankees out to a 3-0 lead before the Sox could even come to bat. He drove in another run with a sacrifice fly in the 3rd inning. Max Fried pitched 8 innings of 3-hit shutout ball. Hendrick allowed a run in the 9th. Yankees 4, Red Sox 1.

Of course, the New York media wasn't talking about the Yankees shutting their arch-rivals down in their little Back Bay bandbox. They were talking first about the Mets having a 12-game losing streak, their worst in 24 years; then, on this night, breaking it by beating the Minnesota Twins at Citi Field.

Last night, Sox starter Payton Tolle struck out the 1st 5 Yankee batters. Not a good sign. And the Sox took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 2nd. It turned out to be a sign of nothing: Jazz Chisholm led off the top of the 5th with his 1st home run of the season. The Sox took the lead back in the bottom of the 5th, but in the 7th, the Yankees got singles from Trent Grisham, Chisholm, José Caballero, Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge -- his only RBI of the series, surprisingly -- to tak a 4-2 lead.

Cam Schlittler, a native of Weymouth, Massachusetts and a graduate of Boston University, showed where his loyalties lie by pitching 8 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and 1 walk, striking out 5. Bednar pitched a perfect 9th. Yankees 4, Red Sox 2.

A sweep of The Scum at Fenway, and a 6-game winning streak. The Yankees lead the American League Eastern Division by 2 1/2 games over the Tampa Bay Rays, 4 over the Baltimore Orioles, 5 1/2 over the Toronto Blue Jays, and 7 over the Sox.

On to Houston, to play the Astros, the Chicken Fried Cheats, the Red Sox South. Bring 'em on. We'll muss 'em up. We'll show those idiot Met fans what "a little league park" really looks like.

Well, maybe not. We only scored 12 runs in 3 games at Fenway. But it was enough.

Yanks Split Slugfest Series with Angels; Garret Anderson, 1972-2026

The Yankees played 4 games at home against the Los Angeles Angels. The Monday night game was a wild one, the kind of game that tends to make people think, "If we can win this game, nobody's going to stop us."

The Yankees took a 4-0 lead on home runs Aaron Judge and José Caballero. But just as Caballero giveth, he tooketh away, making an error at shortstop to start the top of the 4th inning. Will Warren then got a groundout, but followed that by allowing a double, then getting a strikeout. Then, between them, he and Fernando Cruz gave up 2 singles and 3 walks, for 4 unearned runs and a tie game.

Trent Grisham hit a home run in the 5th. Mike Trout and Aaron Judge traded long home runs in the 6th. Trout hit another bomb in the 8th, and that gave the Angels a 10-8 lead. It was only the 2nd time in MLB history that 2 players who had each already won 3 Most Valuable Player awards had both hit 2 home runs in the same game. The 1st one was in 1956: Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals, and Roy Campanella of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Jazz Chisholm led off the bottom of the 9th with a single, and Grisham hit another home run. Caballero made up for his error with a double, Austin Wells drew a walk, and the runners moved up on defensive indifference. The moment was set for the terribly struggling Ryan McMahon to be the hero, but the chance was taken away from him when Angel reliever Jordan Romano threw a wild pitch, to let Caballero home. Yankees 11, Angels 10. Paul Blackburn ended up as the winning pitcher.

*

But there was no momentum. The Tuesday night game was lousy, as Ryan Weathers had another bad start, including Trout starting a streak of 3 straight home runs in the 1st inning. And Angel starter Reid Detmers just stopped the Yankees cold. Their only run came in the bottom of the 8th, on a Randal Grichuk double, a Wells single, and a Ben Rice sacrifice fly. Other than that, they only had 3 baserunners, all singles. Angels 7, Yankees 1.

Luis Gil started on Wednesday night, and, clearly, he still isn't ready, allowing 4 runs in 5 innings. Judge and Trout each hit another home run. The Angels led 4-3 with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th. Then Chisholm singled, Wells walked, and Caballero doubled them home. Yankees 5, Angels 4. Winning pitcher: David Bednar.

Because the Angels needed a getaway day, the Yankees played yesterday in the afternoon, and it was hot in The Bronx, reaching a high of 96 degrees. But Max Fried had nothing, and the bullpen was worse. Judge, Rice and Giancarlo Stanton all homered, but Trout hit another, and the Angels won, 11-4, to gain a split.

Career home runs: Stanton, Yankees, 455; Trout, Angels, 411; Judge, Yankees, 376; Paul Goldschmidt, Yankees, 373.

The Yankees started the season 7-1. They are now 10-9, and they need to get their act back in gear. They start a 3-game home series with the Kansas City Royals tonight.

*

But the Angels and their fans got some bad news today: Garret Anderson died today, at age 53, after what's currently being described as "a medical emergency" at his home outside Los Angeles.

The left fielder played 15 seasons for the Angels, then 1 more each for the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He batted .293, collected 2,529 hits including 287 home runs, had 4 straight seasons of at least 100 RBIs, made 3 All-Star Games, and helped the Angels make the postseason 5 times, including winning the 2002 World Series. He is a member of their team Hall of Fame.

I Wouldn't Mind It If...

I wouldn't mind the Yankees being 8-7 if they hadn't started the season 7-1. But they've lost 5 straight, by a combined 7 runs, and fallen into a tie for 1st place in the American League Eastern Division.

Last Tuesday, they started a home series with the Sacramento Athletics. Cam Schlittler started, and had the worst start of his career, allowing 3 runs over 5 innings. Fortunately, Amed Rosario hit 2 home runs, including a 3-run shot in the 8th, and the Yankees won, 5-3. Fernando Cruz was the winning pitcher.

Since then, though, the Yankees' hits and runs have been few and far between. Will Warren started against former Yankee Luis Severino on Wednesday night, and neither of them got past the 5th inning. The Yankees got 2 runs in the 1st, and that was it: The rest of the way, the got just 1 hit and 5 walks. The A's tied the game in the 4th, and in the 9th, David Bednar allowed a single, a double, and a sacrifice fly, and the Yankees lost 3-2.

The Thursday afternoon game was even more frustrating. Ryan Weathers, who has thus far been little more than a plug in a hole in the rotation, pitched his best game as a Yankee, going 8 innings, allowing 1 run on 7 hits and no walks, striking out 7. But A's starter Jeffrey Springs didn't allow a hit until Ben Rice singled in the 7th. The Yankees lost, 1-0.

Online, Met fans were joking about the Yankees losing 2 out of 3 at home to the "homeless" A's, who left Oakland and are playing the 2nd of what they hope will be 3 seasons in Sacramento, in the hope that their dome in Las Vegas will be ready in 2028. Then the A's went across town to Citi Field, and swept the Mets in 3 straight: 4-0, 11-6 and 1-0.

Not so easy, is it, you Flushing morons?

*

Then the Yankees went down to play the Tampa Bay Rays, at the restored dome of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, after a year of repairs while they played at the Yankees' Spring Training home in Tampa, Steinbrenner Field.

Luis Gil came off the Injured List to make his 1st start of the season. He wasn't ready, going 4 innings, and allowing 3 runs on 3 hits. Rice hit a home run, but the Yankees only got 4 other hits, and lost, 5-3.

Max Fried started on Saturday night. He went 8 innings, so it should have been enough to save the bullpen. Except the Yankees struggled again, with Austin Wells hitting a home run, but getting only 3 other hits in the 1st 7 innings.

The game went to extra innings. José Caballero singled home "ghost runner" Randal Grichuk in the top of the 10th. In the bottom of the 10th, Bednar blew it again, allowing single, single, intentional walk, getting a strikeout, and a fielder's choice allowed the winning run: Rays 5, Yankees 4.

Schlittler started again on Sunday, allowing 3 runs on 5 innings. But the Yankees got only 1 hit in the 1st 6 innings. Aaron Judge hit a home run in the 9th, but it wasn't enough: Again, Rays 5, Yankees 4.

*

As of this writing, the Yankees, the Rays, and the Baltimore Orioles are all tied atop the AL East at 8-7. The Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays are both 6-9, 2 games back. The Yankees' great start has been wiped out.

On the other hand, there have been times since Title 27 in 2009 when an 8-7 start would have been considered a big improvement. So I can't complain that much. But the Yankees currently have a team batting average of .202, an on-base percentage of .308, a slugging percentage of .345, and an average of 4.3 runs scored per game. That's not only unacceptable, it's ridiculous. Aristophanes-level ridiculous. So I can complain.

Tonight, they are back home, to start a 4-game series against the Los Angeles Angels, followed by 3 at home against the Kansas City Royals. Then it's off to Boston to face The Scum.

The Real Yankee Bullpen Has Shown Up

This past Saturday night, at home to the Miami Marlins, the Yankees allowed as many runs as they did in the 1st 7 games combined... and they still won!

Ryan Weathers started, and he had nothing, allowing 3 runs in less than 4 innings. Paul Blackburn allowed another run before ending the top of the 4th. Fortunately, in the bottom of the 5th, Aaron Judge singled (yes, he gets hits that are not home runs), and Cody Bellinger hit a home run, to make it 4-2.

Tim Hill pitched a scoreless top of the 6th. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Paul Goldschmidt led off the bottom of the 6th with a walk. José Caballero was hit with a pitch. Ryan McMahon struck out, but Trent Grisham singled Goldschmidt home, Judge singled Caballero home, and Bellinger's sacrifice fly scored Grisham. The Yankees added a run on a passed ball in the 7th, and it was 6-4 Yankees.

But Camilo Doval couldn't hold the lead in the top of the 8th, and it was 6-6. Fortunately, again, walks, including a leadoff walk, worked in the Yankees' favor. McMahon led off the bottom of the 8th with a walk. Grisham flew out. Judge walked. Bellinger flew out. Ben Rice walked to load the bases. Giancarlo Stanton singled McMahon and Judge home. Another passed ball brought Chisholm home.

That made Brent Headrick the pitcher of record. But David Bednar allowed 3 singles and a walk to make it 9-7. Finally, he shut the door for the save.

Half the pitching staff injured, starting shortstop injured, starting 3rd baseman a genuine hole in the batting order, superstar still not hitting great, and the Yankees were still 7-1 -- and it really should have been 8-0.

*

And then, yesterday, after a long rain delay to start, the real Yankee bullpen finally showed up. A 3-run Rice homer in the 1st, and a fielder's choice with Rice up in the 3rd, made it 4-3 Yankees. Max Fried ran out of gas in the 7th, and Fernando Cruz had to finish the inning. But he walked a batter with 1 out in the top of the 8th. Aaron Boone brought Jake Bird in, and he allowed a walk, hit a batter, and gave up a lead-switching double. Ryan Yarbrough came in, and allowed a 2-run single before ending the mess. It was 7-4 Marlins.

With 1 out in the bottom of the 9th, the Yanks mounted a comeback. Bellinger and Rice drew walks. Stanton struck out. Chisholm doubled home both runners, and was thus the tying run. Austin Wells was intentionally walked to set up the play at any base. J.C. Escarra was sent up to pinch-hit for Caballero, and struck out to end it. Marlins 7, Yankees 6.

In other words: 1st 7 games, 7 runs; last 2 games, 14 runs. The bullpen, my biggest concern coming into the season, was bad for 2 games, and the Yankees only got away with it once.

*

So at the end of the 1st full week of play, here's where we stand:

* The Yankees are 7-2. They are tied with the defending World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in baseball. In the American League Eastern Division, they are 3 games ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays and the Tampa Bay Rays, 4 ahead of the Baltimore Orioles, and 5 ahead of the Boston Red Sox.

* Starting pitchers are 5-0 with a 1.78 ERA.

* Good OPS+'s: Rice, 299; Stanton, 184; Goldschmidt, 176; Bellinger, 162; Judge, 146.

So there is plenty of reason to to be encouraged. But also reason for worry:

* Relief pitchers are 2-2 with 3.52.

* Bad OPS+'s: Grisham, 92; Chisholm, 51; Wells, 36; McMahon, 11; Caballero, 0; Amed Rosario, -9 in 7 plate appearances; Escarra, -100 in 6 appearances; and Randal Grichuk, -100 in 2 appearances.

The Yankees have the night off. Tomorrow, they begin a home series with the Sacramento Athletics.

Yankees Start Season With Sweep of Giants

Barring inclement weather, or a more drastic reason for postponement, today will be the last Sunday without Yankee baseball until at least October 4. (That day could have a postseason game.) That gives me plenty of time to summarize the season-opening series away to the San Francisco Giants.

This past Wednesday, the Yankees opened the 2026 season at Oracle Park in San Francisco, and beat the Giants, 7-0. After a day off on Thursday, Cam Schlittler started. Through 5 1/3rd innings, he had allowed just 1 baserunner, a double by Heliot Ramos in the 2nd inning.

Aaron Judge continued to strike out, but he also hit his 369th career home run, tying him with Ralph Kiner, Todd Helton, and the still-active Manny Machado on the all-time list. And Giancarlo Stanton hit his 454th home run. He is Major League Baseball's active leader.

These homers gave Schlittler a 3-0 lead. He had thrown only 68 pitches, 49 of them for strikes. There was absolutely no good reason to take him out.

Boone took him out, and brought in Fernando Cruz. He walked a batter, but allowed no more baserunners. Tim Hill pitched a perfect 7th, Doval a perfect 8th, and David Bednar survived a leadoff walk and ended the game. So, how many Yankees does it take to pitch a one-hit shutout? This time, 5.

It was the 1st time the Yankees had opened the season with back-to-back shutout wins since 1967. But that wasn't a good sign: The Yankees finished 9th out of 10 teams in the single-division American League that year.

Nevertheless: 18 innings, no runs, 4 hits, 4 walks. Pretty snazzy pitching.

*

And then last night was the Fox Saturday Game of the Week. With Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt unavailable, and 2024 American League Rookie of the Year Luis Gil apparently no longer trusted by Yankee management to be a starter, Will Warren was given the start. Between the game being on Fox, and the Yankees having a pitcher named Warren -- Adam Warren was even worse -- I was not optimistic.

In the top of the 5th, Judge hit his 370th home run, surpassing Kiner, Helton and Machado, and tying Gil Hodges. So far, this season, he is 2-for-13, a batting average of .154, an on-base percentage that is also .154, and 7 strikeouts. But both of those hits are home runs, so he has 3 RBIs, his slugging percentage is .615, and his OPS+ is 122.

Warren got through 4 1/3rd innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits and 2 walks, the 2nd of those walks having just happened when Boone relieved him. Headrick finished the 5th inning with no damage. Bird pitched the 6th and most of the 7th, Hill pitched the rest of the 7th and all of the 8th, and Bednar allowed a hit and a walk in the 9th, bringing the winning run to the plate, but induced a double play to end it. Yankees 3, Giants 1. Bird was credited with the win.

So: 27 innings, 1 run, 13 hits, 7 walks. Cliché Alert: They say pitching is 75 percent of baseball. If so, then that's a very good reason why the Yankees are 3-0.

*

Next up on the all-time home run list: For Stanton, the next names are José Canseco and Adam Dunn, each with 462; for Judge, his own Yankee teammate, Paul Goldschmidt, with 372, followed by Rocky Colavito, with 374.

This day begans with the Los Angeles Dodgers also 3-0; while the Mets, the Atlanta Braves, the Miami Marlins, the Milwaukee Brewers, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Toronto Blue Jays have started 2-0.

The Yankees head up the coast to face the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. The Monday and Tuesday games start at 9:40 PM Eastern Time (6:40 Pacific/local), while the Wednesday game is at 4:10 PM (1:10 local). Then, after a day off, on Friday, at 1;35 PM, we have the home opener, against the Miami Marlins.

Let's see how far the Yankees can take this season-opening streak, and this season.

There Is No Easy Part of the Schedule

The Yankees got through 12 games against 4 potential Playoff teams with a 7-5 record. And we were told that their last 13 games of the season were going to be the easy part of their schedule. 

Let's get something straight: There is no easy part of the schedule. Not with the Yankees' tendency to stop hitting one game and let the bullpen blow it the next.

Last Thursday night, the Yankees began a 4-game series against the Baltimore Orioles, at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Max Fried pitched 7 innings, allowing 3 hits and 1 walk, striking out 13. Paul Blackburn went the rest of the way, completing a 3-hit, 2-walk, 15-strikeout shutout. The Yankees scored 2 runs in the 1st inning, 1 in the 5th, and 4 in the 7th. Final score Yankees 7, Orioles 0. So far, so good.

But the Friday night game would be so frustrating. Will Warren didn't pitch badly over the 1st 5 innings, giving up a home run, a double, a single, and a walk, but that was it. But Orioles starter Trevor Rogers only allowed 2 walks and a hit batsman over the 1st 5. But he mishandled a grounder to start the 6th, and it led to 2 runs.

That's not what cost the Yankees the game, though. In the 7th, Austin Slater -- who is 32, an outfielder, which we already have plenty of, and was batting .236 for the awful Chicago White Sox, but Brian Cashman thought him worth acquiring, anyway -- singled, and Jazz Chisholm hit a home run. Outside of that, despite playing in Camden Yards, which we only had 2 singles, 3 walks and a hit batsman. Orioles 4, Yankees 2.

Fortunately, the Yankees have 2 aces. Well, 3, but Gerrit Cole missed the entire season due to injury. Well, 2, because if Cole hadn't missed the entire season due to injury, Fried never would have been acquired. Carlos Rodón started on Saturday night, and allowed just 1 run over 7 innings.

The Yankees staked him -- stook him? -- to a 3-run lead in the 1st inning, thanks to Giancarlo Stanton hitting his 450th career home run. Yankees 6, Orioles 1.

Is Stanton going to the Hall of Fame? Here's a list of all the players eligible for the Hall, but not yet in, with at least 450 home runs, and no credible steroid suspicion: Carlos Delgado, with 473; and Adam Dunn, with 462. That's it. That's the list. And Stanton beats Dunn in most career categories, and isn't far behind Delgado in most. If Stanton gets to 473 -- and, unless he gets seriously hurt, which he has before, he should get there in the 1st half of next season -- then he deserves to get in.

The Sunday afternoon game looks to the untrained eye like it was easy. It wasn't. Cam Schlittler pitched into the 6th inning, and the Yankee bullpen was mostly rested. But over the 1st 9 innings, the Yankees got just 1 run, on a Ben Rice single in the 6th. But the Yankees stranded runners on 1st and 2nd in the 6th, 1st and 3rd in the 7th, and 1st and 2nd in the 8th.

So we got extra innings -- or, as Yankee broadcaster Michael Kay likes to call them, both "free baseball" and "bonus cantos." This time, the stupid "ghost runner" rule worked in our favor. Starting the top of the 10th with Trent Grisham on 2nd, Aaron Judge drew a walk. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Cody Bellinger singled. The bases were loaded and nobody was out. And Rice hit a grand slam. A grand salami with rice. 5-1 Yankees.

Austin Slater struck out. Chisholm hit another home run. 6-1. José Caballero doubled. Paul Goldschmidt walked. Anthony Volpe singled Caballero home. 7-1. That would be the final, making a winning pitcher out of David Bednar.

The Yankees had taken 3 out of 4, all 3 by blowout. But looks can be deceiving: 1 more Oriole run on Sunday, and it would have been an embarrassing split for the Bronx Bombers.

*

The Yankees go into the last week of the regular season at 88-68. With 6 games to play, they are 2 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Eastern Division -- although it's really 3 games. In the old days, had the teams finished in a tie, there would have been a Playoff, as in 1978 with the Boston Red Sox, the Boston Tie Party, the Bucky Dent Game. But with the expansion of the Playoffs, the rules have been changed: Now, if 2 teams are tied for a Division's lead at the end, the 1st tiebreaker is not a head-to-head game to come, it's the head-to-head games already played, and the Jays have that tiebreaker.

The Yankees have the best record of any of the Wild Card teams, and their "Magic Number" to clinch a Playoff berth is 3. As things currently stand, they would have the 4th seed, and, in the Wild Card Round, home-field advantage against the 5th seed, the Red Sox. Then again, the Cleveland Guardian have been surging, and the Detroit Tigers collapsing, so the AL Central is still up for grabs. As is the AL West, with the Seattle Mariners having taken over the lead from the Houston Astros. So it's those 7 teams going for 6 slots. Actually, the Jays have already clinched at least a Playoff berth, so it's really 6 teams going after 5 slots.

Here's the Yankees' 6 remaining games, all at home, with what are currently presumed to be the starting pitchers, with all games on the YES Network unless otherwise stated:

* Tonight, starting a series against the White Sox, 7:05: Luis Gil.

* Tomorrow, 7:05: Fried.

* Thursday, 7:05: To be determined. It's Warren's place in the rotation, but I wouldn't start him. But then, I don't make that decision. Nor does Aaron Boone. Cashman does.

* Friday, starting a series against the Orioles, 7:05: TBD. It's Rodón's place in the rotation.

* Saturday, 1:05: TBD. It's Schlittler's place in the rotation.

* Sunday, the regular-season finale, 3:05: TBD. 

And, while were at it... Ha, ha, ha, another Mets choke.

Take That, Astros!

The Yankees started their toughest stretch of the season, 12 straight games against potential Playoff opponents, on Tuesdau night, at Daikin Park, formerly Minute Maid Park, formerly Enron Field, formerly The Ballpark at Union Station, in Houston. This began a 3-game series against the Houston Astros, formerly the Houston Colt .45s, also know as the Houston Asstros, the Houston Asshats, the Houston Asterisks, the Red Sox South, and the Chicken Fried Cheats.

Given the fact that the Astros have eliminated the Yankees from the Playoffs in 4 of the last 10 seasons coming into this one, and another Playoff matchup against them this season is possible, we had to send those  cheating bastards a message. We have to take at least 2 out of the 3. Anything less than that would have been unacceptable.

*

Max Fried started on Tuesday night, and he continued his resurgence after a difficult slump to start the 2nd half of the season. He went 7 innings, allowing just 1 run. Paul Blackburn went the rest of the way. That took a lot of pressure off the bullpen.

Jazz Chisholm made the difference all by himself, going 3-for-4 with 2 home runs and 3 RBIs. Trent Grisham went 2-for-4 with a grand slam. Yankees 7, Astros 1. A huge win, and a big statement made to the Chicken Fried Cheats in their bandbox

*

But Wednesday night was the kind of game that will loom large in our memories if the Yankees don't win the American League Eastern Division, especially if we can't go on from a Wild Card position to win the World Series.

It didn't start out that way. Will Warren allowed just 1 run in 5 innings. Giancarlo Stanton hit a home run in the 2nd inning, Austin Wells hit one in the 4th, and Ryan McMahon drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the 6th.

To lead off the bottom of the 6th, Jeremy Peña hit a home run. The Yankees still led, 4-2. Warren had thrown only 67 pitches, 46 of them for strikes. There was no reason to take him out and play musical chairs with the bullpen. But Aaron Boone did that. Fernando Cruz allowed another run in the 6th. And Luke Weaver allowed the Astros to tie the game in the 7th.

Then came the bottom of the 8th. Devin Williams may be the single most disappointing acquisition of the Brian Cashman era. Based on what he'd done with the Milwaukee Brewers -- who have the best record in baseball by 4 1/2 games without him -- he was expected to be the reliable closer that the Yankees haven't had since Mariano Rivera retired. Instead, he's been bad in the 9th inning and later, but good in innings 6, 7 and 8.

Not this time: He gave up a double and a walk, got a strikeout, gave up another walk to load the bases, got another strikeout to give us hope of getting out of the inning okay, then forced in a run with a walk.

Boone had seen enough: He took Williams out, and brought in new acquisition Camilo Doval. He allowed an RBI single, then forced runners home on a balk and a walk pitch, before he finally got a groundout to end the inning with 4 runs on 2 hits, 3 walks, a balk and a wild pitch. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, although they're not the only thing that can. In this case, the other things wouldn't have without the walks.

Pardon my French, but DeFuque? Boone could have left Warren in, saved 3 bullpen slots, and, in practical term, it wouldn't have been any worse than this. Cruz threw 16 pitches, Weaver 22. Add those to Warren's 67, and you've got 105 pitches. That's not too many. Williams with 34 and Doval with 9 needed 43 pitches to end the bottom of the 8th.

What's worse, the Yankees mounted a comeback in the 9th, but it wasn't enough. With 1 out, McMahon singled. Grisham struck out, but Aaron Judge singled McMahon over to 3rd base. Judge took 2nd on defensive indifference. Cody Bellinger hit a home run, to make it 8-7.

But Chisholm was called out on strikes, on a pitch outside the strike zone, by home plate umpire Brian Walsh, to end it. There's no guarantee the Yankees would have gone on to tie the game had Walsh correctly given Chisholm ball 4. Still, it was a bad ending to a bad game.

The Astros won the game, a game in which Walsh had 21 missed calls. Walsh has admitted on Facebook to being a "Loyal Dodgers fan." After the game, someone found a picture of Walsh and an unidentified acquantaince wearing Boston Red Sox gear. Gee, you think he might have it in for the Yankees? Already, he's being called Boston Brian.

Walsh on the right. The guy on the left has not been identified.

*

So the Thursday night game became very important for both teams, but especially for the Yankees. They needed a good start from Carlos Rodón. They got one, as he went 6 innings, allowing only 2 runs. McMahon singled a run home in the 2nd inning, then hit a home run in the 5th. This was followed by 3 singles and 2 walks, and the Yankees left it up 4-1. Rodón left winning 4-2.

But Weaver began the 7th by allowing a home run to make it 4-3. He got 2 strikeouts, but also put runners on 1st and 2nd. Boone took him out, and brought in Cruz, to face the dangerous, cheating, diminutive, insufferable Jose Altuve. Cruz struck his cheating ass out, and the traveling Yankee Fans could be heard cheering over the the home fans.

The Yankees took this big lift into the top of the 8th, and scored 4 runs, including a screamer down the right-field line by Grisham, ending up in the 2nd deck. It was 8-3. If you want to argue that Cal Raleigh deserves the AL's Most Valuable Player award more than Judge, Grisham is your best argument: He might be more valuable to the Yankees than Judge is.

Cruz allowed a single to start the bottom of the 8th, then retired the next 3. David Bednar was brought in to pitch the bottom of the 9th. He was shaky: He began the inning with a single and a double. That double was hit by former Yankee Taylor Trammell. Afterward, Boone told the umpires to look at his bat. He thought there was something wrong with it. Trammell's double was allowed to stand, but the umpires confiscated the bat. We shall see if this is yet another example of the Astros' cheating.

There was a line-shot that shortstop Anthony Volpe caught. Apparently, Boone still thinks his defense is worth keeping his .208 batting average and his .271 on-base percentage in the lineup, although he did get a hit in this game.

Bednar allowed an RBI single to make it 8-4, then gave up a walk, loading the bases. The tying run was at the plate, with just 1 out. But he struck Carlos Correa out, and then he struck Christian Walker out to end it -- in each case, swinging, not on a disputable call. Yankees 8, Astros 4. Take that, Astros, you cheating bastards!

For the series, Altuve, the single most-hated Yankee opponent since fellow cheating bastard David Ortiz, went 0-for-11, with 2 walks, an RBI on a groundout, and 3 strikeouts.

One troubling note, though: Chisholm had to leave last night's game with contusions on both legs. Will he be able to play in the Toronto series?

*

So the Yankees not only survived their 1st big test of September, they took 2 out of 3 in Houston. They messed with Texas.

They are 78-62. They are 3 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Eastern Division, with 22 left to play, and the next 3 are at home, at Yankee Stadium II, against those pesky Blue Jays. If the current standings hold to the end of the season, then, despite both teams having a better record than the AL West-leading Astros, the Yankees would have the 4th seed in the AL Playoffs, and the Boston Red Sox would have the 5th seed, and the Yanks and Sox would play each other, with the Yanks having home-field advantage.

Here are the projected pitching matchups for the Toronto series, with all 3 games on YES:

* Tonight, 7:05: Cam Schlittler vs. Kyle Gausman.

* Tomorrow, 1:05: Luis Gil, last season's AL Rookie of the Year, vs. Max Scherzer, a probable future Hall-of-Famer.

* Sunday, 1:35: Max Fried vs. Chris Bassitt.

This could decide the Division title. Come on you Pinstripes!