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.

Another Boone Blunder Dooms Yanks vs. Jays

Just when you thought it was safe to trust Aaron Boone with pitching decisions...

Game 1 of the American League Division Series was played yesterday, at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, against those pesky Toronto Blue Jays. Despite a lot of big AL Eastern Division games over the last 40 years, this was the 1st Playoff game between the 2 teams.

Boone started Luis Gil, who is a good pitcher. He allowed a home run to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the 1st inning. He allowed a home run to Alejandro Kirk in the 2nd inning. It was 2-0 Jays in the bottom of the 3rd. Gil got the 1st 2 outs. Then Vlad came up again, and hit a single off Gil.

Gil had thrown 75 pitches. There were 2 outs in the inning. He was not injured. There was absolutely no reason to take him out at that point. There was a good reason to keep him in: Fewer pitches thrown by Yankee relievers.

Boone took Gil out. He replaced Gil with Tim Hill. Hill got out of the inning. But those of us who watch the Yankees already knew full well that there was no way in hell that Boone was going to get away with doing something so damned stupid.

Hill pitched a perfect 4th. Camilo Doval pitched a perfect 5th. It was still only 2-0 Toronto. In the top of the 6th, batting against Kevin Gausman -- who, in Toronto and before that in Baltimore, has given the Yankees trouble -- the Yankees loaded the bases with nobody out. Here was the chance to redeem Boone's stupid move.

But Aaron Judge struck out. Cody Bellinger drew a walk to force home a run. But Ben Rice popped up, and Giancarlo Stanton struck out. For the 2nd time in 4 games, the Yankees had a bases-loaded-nobody-out situation and failed to take sufficient advantage.

Still, a 2-1 deficit, with 3 innings to go, and with the Yankees' lineup, shouldn't have been too much to overcome. Especially when Doval pitched a perfect 6th.

Ryan McMahon singled with 1 out in the 7th, but the Yankees couldn't bring him home. And then Boone made another stupid decision. Not bringing in a new reliever: Doval was probably done, anyway. No, it was making Luke Weaver that reliever. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Weaver gave up walk, single, RBI single.

That was the minimum 3 batters. Boone took him out, and replaced him with Fernando Cruz. Here's what he allowed: Sacrifice bunt, walk, 2-RBI double, sacrifice fly. Now, it was 6-1.

Judge doubled with 1 out in the 8th. The Yankees couldn't get him home. Paul Blackburn pitched the 8th. No reason to bring in somebody to relieve him: This game is already lost, so don't waste any additional pitchers and compromise their availability for Game 2. Blackburn gave up 4 runs on 6 hits, including Kirk's 2nd homer of the game. The Yankees went down meekly in the 9th. Blue Jays 10, Yankees 1.

Just 2 days after their most satisfying win of the season, the Yankees had their dumbest loss of the season. If Boone had left Gil in, the Yankees still would have lost, given their inability to get runs home, but it probably wouldn't have been as bad as 10-1.

I was in full "Fire him before they even leave the building" mode.

Elsewhere in Division Series Game 1 action yesterday: Detroit Tigers 3, Seattle Mariners 2 in 11 innings; Los Angeles Dodgers 5, Philadelphia Phillies 3; and Milwaukee Brewers 9, Chicago Cubs 3.

Game 2 is this afternoon. Max Fried, the ace due to Gerrit Cole's season-long injury, starts against Trey Yesavage, a 22-year-old righthander from Boyertown, Pennsylvania, making his 4th major league appearance and start.

A pitcher the Yankees have never seen before? In a game broadcast on Fox? Oh, Lord, take me now.

Maybe it won't be so bad, because it'll be on FS1, not main Fox. Maybe the Yankees will hit. Maybe Boone will make good pitching decisions.

Maybe I'll flap my arms and fly to the Moon.

Yanks Wash Sox Behind Brilliant Cam

In a span of just 48 hours, the Yankees went from postseason desperation to their most satisfying win of the year.

Because of their failure to win the American League Eastern Division title, they were set up in the AL Wild Card Series with their most hated enemy, the Boston Red Sox.

Starting with Game 4 of the 2004 AL Championship Series, the Sox had found various ways to cheat, and had beaten the Yankees in the postseason in 2004, 2018 and 2022; and had won the World Series in 2004, 2007, 2013 and 2018. And after Game 1 of this series, despite all games being set for Yankee Stadium II, it looked like they would again.

Max Fried started Game 1 against the other leading contender for this season's AL Cy Young Award, Boston's Garrett Crochet. Fried did his job, going 6 1/3rd innings, allowing 4 hits and 3 walks, striking out 6. When he took the mound to start the top of the 7th, he got a standing ovation.

And after getting a groundout, manager Aaron Boone took him out. Fried had thrown 102 pitches. That's the only reason. Boone got booed when he came out, because the fans knew. But Fried got another standing ovation.

Boone brought in Luke Weaver. He pitched to the minimum 3 batters. He walked Ceddanne Rafaela. Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you. He gave up a double to Nick Sogard. Then he gave up a single to Masataka Yoshida, driving in both runs. 2-0 Boston. Boone took him out, and replaced him with Fernando Cruz, who stopped the bleeding.

Boone had started Amed Rosario at 2nd base, and put him in the 5th spot in the rotation. And he started José Caballero at 3rd base, batting him 9th. Why Rosario instead of Chisholm? Why Caballero instead of Ryan McMahon? Because Crochet is a lefthander who has been very effective against the Yankees, and Chisholm and McMahon are lefthanders, and Rosario and Caballero are righthanders. Boone had also started Paul Goldschmidt at 1st base and Austin Wells at catcher, and not Ben Rice at either position. Goldschmidt went 2-for-4, but, between them, Rosario, Caballero and Wells went 0-for-9.

The Sox scored another run in the top of the 9th, making it 3-0. Here's how the bottom of the 9th began for the Yankees: Former Yankee Aroldis Chapman, known for choking under pressure, was pitching for the Red Sox. Goldschmidt singled to right. Aaron Judge singled to center. Cody Bellinger singled to center. Goldschmidt is not a good runner, and had to hold at 3rd.

Bases loaded, nobody out, against a pitcher known for 2 pitches: A 100-MPH fastball nowhere near the strike zone, and a 100-MPH fastball right over the plate that can be hit for a home run. And the next 3 batters were Giancarlo Stanton, Chisholm (who had replaced Rosario) and Trent Grisham.

Stanton struck out swinging. Chisholm flew out to right. Grisham struck out swinging. Game over. The Yankees became the 1st team in MLB postseason history to load the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the 9th inning and not score any runs.

Now, their backs were to the wall, and they'd already used their best available starting pitcher. Against their arch-enemies.

*

Carlos Rodón started Game 2. He did not do as well was Fried, going 6 innings, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks, striking out 6. This time, though, with the Sox starting righthander Brayan Bello, Boone started Rice at 1st and batting 4th, Chisholm at 2nd and batting 6th, and McMahon at 3rd and batting 9th. And Rice hit a 2-run homer in the 1st inning to stake Rodón to a 2-0 lead.

Judge added an RBI single, but Trevor Story drove in 3 runs with a single and a homer, so it was 3-3 with 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th, and the fans in Yankee Stadium were losing hope. But Chisholm drew a walk, and Wells dropped a hit just inside the right-field line. Chisholm scored all the way from 1st. Wells only got to 1st base.

Scoring all the way from 1st on a single is what made Enos Slaughter of the St. Louis Cardinals, eventually a Yankee, famous in Game 7 of the 1946 World Series -- against the Red Sox, although the player who hit what's remembered as a single, Harry Walker, actually made it to 2nd base. So what Chisholm did is already being called what Slaughter's run has always been called: "The Mad Dash."

Volpe singled, and McMahon walked to load the bases, but Grisham grounded out, so it remained 4-3. But Bednar pitched a 1-2-3 9th, and the series was tied.

*

With their starting rotations besieged by injuries. both teams resorted to rookie for the deciding Game 3. For the Yankees, 24-year-old Cam Schlittler, making his 15th major league appearance. For the Red Sox, 23-year-old Connelly Early, making his 5th.

Early began the season in Class AA, with the Maine-based Portland Sea Dogs, and wasn't called up from the Class AAA Worcester Red Sox until September 9. Schlittler began the 2024 season in Class A, and was called up to the Yankees from the Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders on July 9, when Clarke Schmidt wen down for the season.

It was October 2, the anniversary of the Boston Tie Party, the Bucky Dent Game in 1978. This was the 3rd time they'd brought Dent back to throw out the ceremonial first ball before a win-or-go-home game against the Red Sox. The 1st was Game 7 in 2004. The 2nd was Game 4 in 2018, and I was at that one. The Red Sox won both. So I was nervous.

The game was scoreless going into the bottom of the 4th. Bellinger led off with a double. Stranton drew a walk. Early struck out Rice. But Rosario, starting again because Early is a lefty, repaid Boone's faith (and his apparently already-proven-wrong strategy) but singling Bellinger home. Chisholm singled. Volpe singled Stanton home, leaving the bases loaded. Volpe batted .212 in the regular season, .364 in this series.

Then Wells hit a shot that ricocheted off the glove of Sox 1st baseman Nathaniel Lowe, allowing Rosario and Chisholm to score.. If it wasn't already 2-0, this would be one of those plays that Sox fans would moan about for decades to come. It was now 4-0, and Early was relieved.

The game stayed 4-0 because Schlittler became the 1st pitcher in the history Major League Baseball postseason games to pitch 8 innings, allow no runs, strike out at least 12 batters, and walk none. The 2 biggest standing ovations at Yankee Stadium this season came when Schlittler was allowed to take the mound for the 8th inning, despite having already thrown exactly 100 pitches, and when he got Story to ground out to end that inning.

The 2nd out of that inning was Jarren Duran hitting a foul popup behind 3rd base. McMahon went after it, caught it at the edge of the Red Sox' dugout, and fell over the railing. He was okay. The fans roared for a second, then stopped to see if he was hurt, then, seeing he was okay, roared again.

The play brought up memories of a catch Derek Jeter made against the Oakland Athletics in Game 5 of the 2001 AL Division Series, also a win-or-go-home game. It was also reminiscent of the idea that every no-hitter has at least one spectacular fielding play to save it, to make you think, "If he wasn't going to lose it then, he'd gonna keep it." Schlittler allowed 5 hits, but no walks.

A star has been born, and a Yankee postseason legend as well. Cam had "gone HAM," with the best Yankee pitching performance of the season. And it never would have happened had Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt not both been injured and out for the entire season and the 2nd half of the season, respectively.

Bednar walked Alex Bregman to start the 9th. Uh-oh... No uh-ohs necessary: He got Yoshia to ground into a force play, he struck Raffaela out swinging, and he got Lowe to pop up to McMahon.

As John Sterling would have said, had he not retired from broadcasting: "Ballgame over! American League Wild Card Series over! Boston Red Sox over! Yankees win! Theeeeeeeeeeee Yankees win!"

For the 1st time since 2003 -- 3 rounds, including a 1-9 run of games -- the Yankees had beaten the Red Sox in a postseason round.

So the rest of MLB's postseason looks like this:

* American League Division Series: Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays, with the Jays having home-field advantage, in Games 1, 2, and, if necessary, 5.

* ALDS: Detroit Tigers vs. Seattle Mariners, with the M's having HFA. If the Yankees advance, they would have HFA against the Tigers, but not the M's.

* National League Division Series: Chicago Cubs vs. Milwaukee Brewers, with the Brew Crew having HFA.

* NLDS: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Philadelphia Phillies, with the Phils having HFA.

For now, we enjoy the hardest-fought series, and the most satisfying individual game, of the season.

Yankees Gotta Keep Going

After a rough 12-game stretch, the Yankees could look forward to a comparatively easy last 13 games of the regular-season, right?

Well, on Tuesday night, they opened a 3-game series against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field in Minneapolis, and calling it a disaster would be too kind. Carlos Rodón pitched well for 6 innings, but in the 7th, Luke Weaver -- Was it really that long ago that we thought he was going to be the new closer? -- allowed double, double, sacrifice bunt, walk, walk, double. Camilo Doval came in, and allowed an RBI single, before getting a double play. That was 5 runs on only 1 out, before that double play.

Meanwhile, Simeon Woods Richardson allowed just 2 hits in 6 innings, striking out 11. All told, the Yankees got just 2 hits and 5 walks, striking out 14 times. No Yankee even reached 3rd base. Twins 7, Yankees 0. An embarrassing loss -- and the Toronto Blue Jays won, pushing the Yankees a further game back in the standings.

The Wednesday game started out great. The Yankees scored 2 runs in the 1st inning, 4 in the 2nd, 3 in the 3rd, 1 in the 4th. They didn't score in the 5th, but it looked like that wouldn't be necessary. That linescore of 24310? That is not a ZIP Code currently in use, but, if it were, it would be in Atkins, in the panhandle of southwest Virginia. Trent Grisham hit a home run, and Ben Rice went 3-for-4 with an RBI.

Cam Schlittler took a 10-1 lead into the bottom of the 5th, the inning a starting pitch must complete to be eligible to be declared the winning pitcher -- and he couldn't finish it. Fernando Cruz had to get the last out in the 5th inning.

Did Aaron Boone leave Cruz in to pitch the 6th? No, he brought Ryan Yarbrough in, and he got smeared, allowing 4 runs while getting only 1 out. David Bednar allowed a home run to Trevor Larnach in the bottom of the 9th, to pull the Twins to within 10-9. Losing this game would have been the embarrassment of the season. Fortunately, Bednar closed it out from there, for the save. Mark Leiter Jr. was credited as the winning pitcher.

The Twins over the last 5 innings were 34001. That's also not a ZIP Code currently in use. If it were, it would be in southwestern Florida, near Fort Myers.

Even last night's game got too close for comfort, for a while. Luis Gil was fine for 4 innings, and 2 home runs by Grisham were part of a 7-2 lead to which Gil was staked. But he couldn't get out of the 5th, and Cruz had to bail him out. He, Devin Williams, Weaver and Doval cruised from there, allowing no runs and only 2 his, no walks over the last 4 innings. The Yankees extended their lead late, including a home run by Cody Bellinger.

Yankees 10, Twins 5. The Yankees took 2 out of 3, on the road, from a bad team.

*

With 10 regular-season games to play, the Yankees are 85-67, 4 games behind the Blue Jays in the American League Eastern Division. They still hold the 4th seed, and thus home-field advantage for the 1st round, in the AL Playoffs.

The rest of the way, they've got 4 games in Baltimore against the awful Orioles, 3 at home to the even worse Chicago White Sox, and 3 at home against the Orioles. It's going to take a lot to overtake the Jays and win the Division, including some slip-ups by the Jays themselves. The Wild Card, particularly the 4th seed, seems much more likely.

Gotta keep going, though.

Disastrous Series vs. Red Sox Ticks Me Off

There's a comedian, originally from Brooklyn, now living not far away from me in New Jersey, named Vic DiBitetto. You may know him as the guy who did the video "They said snow! I gotta get the bread and milk!"

He's a big Yankee Fan, and a big fan of football's New York Giants. Occasionally, as shown in the photo above, he does videos where he puts on a Yankee cap and jersey, and pretend he's the team's "grand poobah" or "head of baseball (or football) operaish" (Italian-American for "operations") and give a nasty, profanity-laden press conference. And that's when they win!

He also does a series called "Ticked Off Vic," in which he sits in his car, so as not to disturb anybody, and says, "A very ticked-off Vic here. You know what ticks me off?" And then he explains what's ticking him off, and it's usually something stupid and/or annoying, something that would tick anybody off.

Lately, the Yankees have been ticking both of us off. Vic is ready to clobber manager Aaron Boone. I tend to blame general manager Brian Cashman. So we disagree on that. 

(We've talked online, but never actually met, despite living only 10 miles apart. Aside from being a raving lunatic, he's a decent guy, and I hope he'd say the same thing about me. That, aside from being a raving lunatic, I'm a decent guy.)

The Yankees losing to the Boston Red Sox: That's what ticks me off!

*

Like we did on Thursday night, the start of a 4-game series at Yankee Stadium II. Keep in mind, both teams went in as potential Playoff teams. Luis Gil allowed 2 runs over 5 innings. But he needed 93 pitches to do it. So, instead of letting a starting pitcher continue to do a good job, Aaron Boone followed his stupid pitch limit, and brought in Camilo Doval, who blew a 3-1 lead that included a home run by Ben Rice. Luke Weaver also allowed a run, and ended up as the losing pitcher.

From the 6th inning onward, the Yankees got only 2 baserunners: A single by Aaron Judge in the 6th, and a triple by Rice in the 7th. By the time Yerry De los Santos allowed 2 runs in the 9th, it was pointless. Red Sox 6, Yankees 3. A game that should have been won was lost.

Boone did it again on Friday night. Max Fried was back to his 1st-half-of-the-season self, allowing no runs on 4 hits and 3 walks, striking out 7, over 6 innings. He had thrown 99 pitches. A real manager would have let him pitch the 7th inning. But Boone is not the real manager, Cashman is, and Boone took Fried out. This time, it was Mark Leiter who allowed a run.

So, what's the big deal? One run? One run is a big deal when you score none. Here's the Yankee baserunners in that game: A single by Rice with 1 out in the 1st, stranded; a walk by Jasson Domínguez with 1 out in the 2nd, stranded; a single by Trent Grisham with 1 out in the 3rd, eliminated when Rice grounded into a double play; and a single by Austin Wells in the 6th, eliminated when Grisham lined a shot to short that was turned into a double play. That's it: 4 baserunners, none after the 6th, none even got to 2nd base. Red Sox 1, Yankees 0. A game that should have been won was lost.

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, it did. The Saturday game might have been the worst of the season. Atrocious Pun Alert: Garrett Crochet started for the Red Sox, and the Yankees couldn't hit hard enough for Red Sox manager Alex Cora -- a former Houston Astro, a cheater hired by a team known for cheating -- to give Crochet the hook. Aside from a home run by Garrett Crochet in the 4th, they only got 3 runners as far as 2nd base, and 1 of those was due to a Boston error.

Will Warren started, and allowed 5 runs in 4 innings. Trying to give the bullpen a break, Boone brought Tim Hill in for the 5th, but he ran into trouble in the 6th, and Paul Blackburn pitched the rest of the way. Again, to give everybody else a rest, Boone left Blackburn in until he finally got the 3rd out in the top of the 9th. That meant allowing 7 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks. Cliché Alert: He really took one for the team. Red Sox 12, Yankees 1.

So the Yankees had dropped the 1st 3 games. Even if they could salvage the 4th and last, this series would have been a disaster. Boone made one significant change: Benching shortstop Anthony Volpe, whose fielding isn't good enough to justify his .208 batting average and .274 on-base percentage, and replacing him with recent acquisition José Caballero. He went 0-for-3, but had an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

Carlos Rodón started last night's game with 5 shutout innings. He wasn't brilliant, but he was tough. Jazz Chisholm hit a home run, and Trent Grisham hit 2, staking him to a 5-0 lead.

Rodón ran into trouble in the top of the 6th, but Weaver was able to stop the bleeding. He pitched a scoreless 7th, and Devin Williams pitched a scoreless 8th. The Yankees got 2 more runs in the 8th, including Chisholm's 2nd homer of the game. Doval got into a little trouble in the 9th, but finished it off. Yankees 7, Red Sox 2.

It should have been 3 out of 4 won. Instead, it was 3 out of 4 lost. To The Scum.

*

There are 32 games left in the regular season. The Yankees are 70-60, 5 1/2 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Eastern Division. If the current standings hold to the end of the season, they will be the 5th seed in the Playoffs -- and their opponent, the 4th seed, with home-field advantage, would be the Red Sox.

That possibility, and what it would likely lead to, a 1st-round exit at the hands of our hated rivals, for the 3rd time in 8 seasons, leading to a 16th consecutive season without a World Series win: That's what ticks me off!

Tonight, the Yankees start a home series with the Washington Nationals. Hopefully, it won't tick me off.

Yanks Shuffle Cards In St. Louis

The team with the most World Series won is the New York Yankees, with 27. Next on the list, and first among National League teams, is the St. Louis Cardinals, with 11. The last was in 2011, so, now, they're in roughly the position the Yankees are in: Perennial postseason appearances, but, by their standards, they've waited a while for a title.

Cardinal fans like to claim that they're the best in baseball, and that St. Louis is America's best baseball city. Bitch, please: It's the Yankees, and it's New York. This series didn't prove that. It did, however, show that the Cardinals, who came into it at exactly .500, and not exactly in Playoff contention, were sloppy; and that the Yankees, at the very least, were good enough to take advantage of this.

*

Luis Gil started on Friday night, and, over the 1st 5 innings, allowed 1 run on 2 hits, although 3 walks. The Yankees staked him (or should that be "stook him"?) to a 4-0 lead, thanks in part to a home run by Jazz Chisholm in the 1st inning.

But after getting the 1st out in the bottom of the 6th, Gil gave up back-to-back doubles. Aaron Boone took him out, and brought in Mark Leiter Jr. After giving up a walk, Leiter got a double play to end the threat, and it was 4-1. Camilo Doval was shaky in the 7th, and Boone had to bring in Luke Weaver. He got out of it, and David Bednar pitched a perfect 9th. Yankees 4, Cardinals 3.

*

I don't know what's happened to Max Fried. In the 1st half of the season, he pitched like 1965 Sandy Koufax. In the 2nd half, he's pitched like 2025 Sandy Koufax. (Koufax is still alive, but he's 89 years old.) Control wasn't the issue: He struck out 6 and walked only 1. Command was the issue: He went 5 innings, and allowed 7 runs on 8 hits.

Maybe it was the Fox Effect: The Yankees frequently struggle when they're on the Fox Saturday Game of the Week.

Fortunately, the bullpen was good. Devin Williams was called on to pitch the 6th inning, and, without the pressure of the 9th inning, he struck out the side. Yerry De los Santos pitched the 7th and the 8th, and allowed just 1 hit.

Aaron Judge hit a home run in the 3rd inning, Ben Rice hit one in the 4th, and Ryan McMahon hit his 1st as a Yankee in the 7th. Rice had a bases-clearing double in the 6th. Overall, Rice went 3-for-5 with a career-best-tying 7 RBIs.

Leiter got in trouble in the 9th, and Bednar got the last out. The Yankees won, 12-8.

*

Just as the Yankees often struggle on Fox Saturdays, even when they win, they often struggle on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. Will Warren didn't get out of the 5th inning, having allowed just 3 runs, only 1 earned, but thrown 95 pitches. Doval allowed a run in the 6th, to put the Yankees down, 4-3. Fortunately, the rest of the bullpen came through, allowing, between them, no runs, no hits, and 2 walks: Williams, Tim Hill, and Luke Weaver, who was called upon to get 5 outs.

The Yankees tied the game in the 7th. The top of the 9th was the kind of inning where, if the Cardinals miss the Playoffs by one game, they will remember. Trade-deadline acquisition José Caballero led off with a grounder to 2nd base, where Thomas Saggese made a bad throw, and he got to 2nd base. He got to 3rd on a passed ball by catcher Yohel Pozo, who had homered earlier. Trent Grisham grounded out, and Caballero had to hold. But Giancarlo Stanton drew a walk, with Anthony Volpe pinch-running for him. Judge was walked intentionally, to set up the double play.

Cody Bellinger grounded to 2nd, and Saggese made another error, allowing Caballero and Volpe to score. Chisholm grounded to 2nd. Saggese fielded this one okay, but it still allowed Judge to score. Chisholm stole 2nd, and Paul Goldschmidt doubled him home. That made the final score Yankees 8, Cardinals 4.

Over the 3 games, the Cardinals were charged with 3 errors, and made at least twice that many fielding mistakes that weren't so charged. Which is weird, since, along with pitching and speed, one of the things the Cardinals have historically been known for is good fielding.

*

That sweep helped. Whether it "righted the ship" remains to be seen, but it better be righted. The Yankees have 38 games left in the regular season. They are 5 1/2 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for 1st place in the American League Eastern Division, 5 in the All-Important Loss Column. The Boston Red Sox are half a game ahead of the Yankees. Both the Yanks and the Sox have an Elimination Number, a "Tragic Number," of 33. That's for the Division title.

If the current standings hold to the end of the season, the Yankees would have the 6th and final seed in the Playoffs, and, in the 1st Round, would have to face the Division winner with the worst record. For the moment, that's the Houston Astros, who've had the Yankees' number since 2015.

In other words, while it would be incredibly satisfying to beat the Astros in the postseason, the Yankees' best chance at going all the way would probably mean not facing the Astros at all -- beyond the already-scheduled 3 regular-season games in Houston in early September.

The Yankees have today off, then head to Tampa for 2 games against the Devil Rays at Steinbrenner Field. Then, they come home, for 4 against the Red Sox, a series which looked, earlier in the season, like it would be for little more than pride, but now has postseason implications.

Really? You'd never know it, it looks fine to me. (Old joke.)

Yanks Barely Survive Series With Phils

The Philadelphia Phillies are battling the Mets for the National League Eastern Division title. So it wasn't surprising that they gave the Yankees all they could handle this past weekend.

Still, they could have crossed The Bronx to Belmont, the Italian neighborhood around Arthur Avenue, and they still wouldn't have been served as many meatballs as the Yankee pitchers served them.

Will Warren started on Friday night. After 4 innings, the Yankees led, 2-0, on solo home runs by Cody Bellinger and Austin Wells. They led 3-2 after 6, thanks to a solo homer by Giancarlo Stanton. But Luke Weaver, who has been awful lately, began a bullpen meltdown that would also involve Ian Hamilton and Scott Effross. Over the last 4 innings, the Phillies' linescore was 20424. That's a ZIP Code in Washington, D.C. Despite an additional home run from Anthony Volpe, the Yankees lost, 12-5.

Marcus Stroman didn't get out of the 4th inning on Saturday, but it was only 4-1 Phillies after 5 innings. The bullpen fell apart again, as Alan Winans again showed that he does not belong in the major leagues. Despite another Stanton homer, this game ended Phillies 9, Yankees 4.

That's 21 runs in 2 days. When you score 9 runs in 2 days, you should expect to win at least 1 of the games. On May 28, the Yankees led the American League Eastern Division by 7 games. They had since gone 20-28, and trailed the Toronto Blue Jays by 6 1/2 games.

And a lot of Phillies fans took the train up, or drove up the New Jersey Turnpike. There were "Let's go, Phillies!" chants inside Yankee Stadium. During the 9th inning, the visiting fans even saluted their defending Super Bowl Champions, chanting, "E-A-G-L-E-S, Eagles!"

The only plus for the Yankees was the Pinstriped debut of infielder Ryan McMahon, who went 1-for-3 with a walk. He is best known for his fielding, and saved a run with a stop that would have made Phil Rizzuto say, "Holy cow!"

McMahon was obtained from the Colorado Rockies for a pair of prospects who will probably never pan out. He was brought in as a hopeful solution to the 3rd base problem, caused when Jazz Chisholm had to be moved to 2nd base, as a hopeful solution to the 2nd base problem, caused when Brian Cashman finally lost patience with his beloved Gleyber Torres (who made the All-Star Game as a Detroit Tiger) and DJ LeMahieu finally broke down.

On Sunday, came dreadful news: Aaron Judge had to go on the Injured List. Fortunately, it's only the 10-day version.

Carlos Rodón started, and gave up 3 home runs, 2 to Otto Kemp. No, I'd never heard of him, either. This time, though, the bullpen allowed just 1 hit and no walks over the last 4 2/3rds innings. McMahon went 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs, and was key to a 4-3 Yankee win.

*

The Yankees now trail those pesky Blue Jays by 5 1/2 games. Here's the OPS+'s, keeping in mind that 100 is exactly average, and the higher, the better: Ryan McMahon (over 2 games) 263, Aaron Judge 218, Giancarlo Stanton 141, Cody Bellinger 132, Jazz Chisholm 131, Trent Grisham 126, Ben Rice 115, Paul Goldschmidt 114, Jasson Domínguez 104, Austin Wells 96, Anthony Volpe 90, J.C. Escarra 78, Jorbit Vivas 48, Oswald Peraza (the starting 3rd baseman between Chisholm and McMahon) 27.

WHIPs for starting pitchers, keeping in mind that anything under 1.3 is good, and anything over 1.6 is unacceptable: Max Fried 1.037, Carlos Rodón 1.046, Clarke Schmidt 1.093, Will Warren 1.443, Cam Schlittler (in 2 starts) 1.548, Marcus Stroman 1.588.

WHIPs for relief pitchers, where the standard is a little different, and it should be under 1.2: Luke Weaver 0.846 (but he's done poorly lately), Fernando Cruz 1.000 even, Tim Hill 1.007, Devin Williams 1.093, JT Brubaker 1.154, Ryan Yarbrough 1.175, Ian Hamilton 1.210, Jonathan Loáisiga 1.481, Mark Leiter Jr. 1.573, Yerzy de los Santos 1.708, Scott Effross 1.781.

Projected Returns from Injury:

Luis Gil: Needs at least 1 more rehab start in the minor leagues. Probably back in early August.

Aaron Judge: Probably back in early August.

Mark Leiter Jr.: Has been throwing in the bullpen. Probably back in early August.

Fernando Cruz: Could return later in August.

Ryan Yarbrough: Hasn't yet thrown from a mound. Might be a September callup.

Oswaldo Cabrera: Might return this season, but probably won't. It was his ankle injury, not his terrible hitting, that really forced the Ryan McMahon acquisition.

Gerrit Cole: Had Tommy John surgery. Might return for 2026 Spring Training.

Clarke Schmidt: Had Tommy John surgery. Probably out until around the 2026 All-Star Break.

With all of that in mind, the trading deadline is 6:00 PM this Thursday, July 31. The biggest offensive need, a 3rd baseman, was filled. Pitching is key, especially with Cole and Schmidt both out for the season.

Tonight, the Tampa Bay Rays come into Yankee Stadium for a 4-game series, then, it's off to Florida to play an Interleague series with the Miami Marlins.

Yanks Turn Hopeless Series vs. Braves Around

The Yankees began the official, if not numerical, 2nd half of the regular season with a 3-game Interleague series against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park in suburban Cumberland, Georgia.

For the 1st 14 innings, it was a disaster.

Starting pitchers Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt are out for the season. Luis Gil is only now making rehab appearances in the minor leagues.

General manager Brian Cashman hasn't seen fit to acquire a new starter, or to promote one from the minor leagues. And field manager Aaron Boone refused to accept that Will Warrem was on 4 days' rest, and Max Fried was on 5.

Put it all together, and the Friday night game was planned as a "bullpen game." And it was awful. Ian Hamilton allowed 3 runs in the 1st innings. Rico Garcia, 31 years old and newly selected off waivers from the Mets, made his Yankee debut, and allowed 3 runs in less than 2 innings.

A 7th-inning comeback was woefully sufficient, and the Braves won, 7-3.

The Saturday afternoon game began worse. Will Warren was okay for 3 innings, then fell apart. And nobody in the bullpen seemed to ha e anything, either. It was 5-0 Atlanta after 4 innings, and 7-2 after 5.

Then the Yankees once again proved that they can turn any stadium into a "little league field." Anthony Volpe hit 2 home runs, and homers were also hit by Cody Bellinger and, as a grand slam in the 9th, Trent Grisham. Yankees 12, Braves 9. Luke Weaver pitched a scorless inning and 2/3rds for the win.

Yesterday, Marcus Stroman had his best start of the season so far, allowing just 1 run over 6 innings. Aaron Judge hit his 36th home runs of the season, and the Yankees won, 4-2, to take a series that looked hopeless and make it 2 out of 3 on the road.

Judge's home run was the 351st of his career. That ties him for 6th on the Yankees' all-time list:

1. Babe Ruth 659

2. Mickey Mantle 536

3. Lou Gehrig 493

4. Joe DiMaggio 361

5. Yogi Berra 359

6. Aaron Judge 351

T. Alex Rodriguez 351

As broadcaster Michael Kay would say, Those are not just big names, those are iconic names.

*

The Yankees now head to Canada to play the Toronto Blue Jays, who lead them by 3 games in the American League Eastern Division, with 63 games to play. Here are the projected starting pitchers for the series, with all games having a scheduled starting time of 7:07 PM:

* Tonight: Carlos Rodón vs. Kevin Gausman.

* Tomorrow: Cam Schlittler (in his 2nd major league game) vs. Mark Scherzer (in his 472nd).

* Wednesday: Max Fried vs. Chris Bassitt.

Thursday will be an off day, and then the Yankees come home to face the Philadelphia Phillies, who are leading the National League East by a game over the Mets. So it doesn't get any easier.

Yankees Survive Ugly Series vs. Mets

The Yankees came awfully close to getting swept by the Mets at Citi Field this weekend. It was ugly.

How ugly was it? Almost as ugly as Trump's Big Ugly Bill.

Friday was the 4th of July, a day game in New York after a night game in Toronto. Marcus Stroman, a Yankee-turned-Met-turned-Yankee-again, came off the Injured List, and allowed 3 runs over 5 innings. Jasson Domínguez hit 2 home runs, and Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger each added 1. The Yankees led 5-3 going to the bottom of the 6th inning.

But Ian Hamilton allowed a run in that inning. And Luke Weaver allowed a 2-run homer to Jeff McNeil in the 7th. For a while, Weaver looked like he might be the next Yankee closer. But, lately, he has looked terrible. This time, he cost the Yankees the game. The Mets won, 6-5.

Carlos Rodón had nothing on Saturday afternoon, allowing 7 runs in 5 innings. Scott Effross, another back-from-injury guy, allowed 2 runs in the 7th. Jayvien Sandridge, making his Yankee debut, allowed 2 more in the 7th. JT Brubaker allowed a run in the 8th.

You know who was just barely good enough? Frankie Montas. A lousy pitcher for the Yankees in 2022, he held the Yankees off just enough to be the winning pitcher in this game. Despite home runs by Jazz Chisholm, Austin Wells and Anthony Volpe, the Yankees lost, 12-6.

The Yankees had scored 11 runs in 2 games, and lost them both. They had lost 6 in a row, and 16 out of 22, falling out of 1st place in the American League Eastern Division.

The Yankees needed Max Fried to put up the kind of performance he had been putting up. It wasn't quite that good: 3 runs in 5 innings. This time, though, the bullpen was solid, allowing 1 run over the last 4. Judge and Wells hit home runs. A key play came in the bottom of the 7th inning. Mark Leiter Jr. began the inning by hitting Francisco Lindor with a pitch. Juan Soto, who left the Yankees and their various benefits for the Mets and Steve Cohen's money, hit a line shot to left field. Bellinger made a shoestring catch, then threw back to the infield, doubling off Lindor, who has been the Mets' best hitter since arriving in 2021, and has received "MVP!" chants from Met fans the last 4 seasons. No Met has ever been named the National League's Most Valuable Player.

Bellinger's double play was crucial, and the Yankees won, 6-4, to salvage the finale.

The Yankees are 49-41. They trail the Toronto Blue Jays by 3 1/2 games. Tonight, they begin a home series against the Seattle Mariners. This will be followed by an Interleague home series with the Chicago Cubs, and then the All-Star Break.

Yankees Take 2 of 3 vs. Guardians

After coming back from their disappointing series in Los Angeles, the Yankees came home to face the Cleveland Guardians, and the rotten news that their closer, Luke Weaver, will be on the Injured List, probably until the All-Star Break.

Carlos Rodón started on Tuesday night. He pitched like he didn't trust a Weaver-less bullpen, going 7 innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits and 1 walk. DJ LeMahieu singled a run home in the 5th inning, and the 7th inning began with home runs by Jazz Chisholm and Anthony Volpe. Mark Leither Jr. pitched a scoreless 8th.

So Aaron Boone handed the ball, and a 3-1 lead, to Devin Williams for the 9th. He got the 1st out. Then he allowed a double. Then he got a strikeout. Then he allowed an RBI double. It was 3-2, and I'm having Aroldis Chapman, Boone Longa, Kyle Farnsworth and Scott Proctor flashbacks. But Williams got the last out. Yankees 3, Guardians 2.

Clarke Schmidt started on Wednesday night, and didn't have much. He also didn't get much. Aaron Judge and Ben Rice each had 2 hits, Cody Bellinger 1, and that was it. Guardians 4, Yankees 0.

So Wednesday night's game felt like a must-win. Max Fried sure pitched like it: He bounced back from his one bad start of the season so far with 6 shutout innings, allowing 1 hit and 2 walks, with 7 strikeouts.

Bellinger hit a 2-run home run in the 4th inning. He also singled home a run in the 8th, followed by an RBI single by Chisholm. Leiter got into trouble in the 7th, but Tim Hill got out of it, and pitched a perfect 8th. Jonathan Loáisiga pitched a perfect 9th. Yankees 4, Guardians 0.

The Yankees lead the American League Eastern Division, over the Tampa Bay Rays and the Toronto Blue Jays by 5 1/2 games, the Boston Red Sox by 9 1/2, and the Baltimore Orioles by 13.

Now, the hated Red Sox come in to Yankee Stadium II for a 3-game weekend series. Then, the Yankees go on the road, first to play the Kansas City Royals, then to Boston to play the Red Sox. So, 6 of the next 9 are against the ancient rivals.

Here are the times, TV coverage, and listed pitching matchups for the Yanks-Sox series that begins tonight:

* Tonight, 1st pitch at 7:05, on YES: Will Warren vs. Walker Buehler.

* Tomorrow, 7:35, on Fox: Ryan Yarbrough vs. Garret Crochet.

* Sunday, 7:10, on ESPN: Carlos Rodón vs. Hunter Dobbins.

Come on you Pinstripes! Beat The Scum!

Yankees Mess With Texas by Long Ball, Good Pitching

The Yankees followed up their 2-out-of-3 with The Other Team with a 3-game home series with the Texas Rangers. On Tuesday night, Will Warren took a 5-hit, 1-walk, 10-strikeout shutout into the 6th inning. But, because he'd thrown 101 pitches, and Aaron Boone uses a chart to handle pitchers, instead of, you know, common sense like a normal manager, he took Warren out. Fortunately for him, Mark Leiter Jr. finished the 6th and pitched the 7th, and Devin Williams pitched the 8th, without allowing a run.

For the Rangers, Patrick Corbin, who had given the Yankees trouble before, would not be so lucky this time. Ben Rice hit a home run in the 2nd inning, and he added an RBI with a sacrifice fly in the 4th. Anthony Volpe doubled home a run in the 6th. Trent Grisham singled to lead off the 8th, and Aaron Judge hit a home run to make it 5-0. Ian Hamilton ran into trouble in the 9th, and Boone had to bring Luke Weaver in to close it out, 5-2.

Ryan Yarbrough was permitted to throw only 81 pitches on Wednesday night. He went 5 full innings, allowing 1 run on 3 his and (I love typing these words for a Yankee pitcher) no walks, striking out 8. But 2 home runs by Jake Berger put the Yankees in a 3-1 hole going into the bottom of the 7th.

Time for the long ball again. Cody Bellinger hit one out in the 7th, Judge singled home a run in the 8th, and Jasson Domínguez won it with a long home run in the bottom of the 9th: Yankees 4, Rangers 3. Having pitched a perfect top of the 9th, Weaver was the winning pitcher.

Then came the dreaded DGANG: Day Game After a Night Game. After the night before, not an easy win, all signs pointed to a struggle for the Yankees.

Sometimes, you win the struggle.

Despite the weekday, a 12:35 PM start, and rainy weather, a crowd officially listed as 43,450 came out to the big ballyard in The Bronx. They saw a dandy of a pitching dule, between current Yankee Carlos Rodón and former Yankee Nathan Eovaldi. Rodón went 6 innings, allowing no runs on 2 hits and 2 walks, striking out 8. He was permitted to throw 105 pitches.

But the Yankees struggled against Eovaldi. Of course they did. They always do. He also went 6 innings, allowing only 1 run on 5 hits and 1 walk. But that 1 run was the 1st major league home run by Jorbit Vivas, off a 101-MPH fastball from Eovaldi to lead off the bottom of the 5th.

All right, you primitive screwheads, listen up! If Jorbit Vivas can hit a home run off a 101-MPH fastball, I don't want to hear one more damn word about how Babe Ruth wouldn't be able to hit today's pitchers! He would make physical therapy for whiplash more common than Tommy John surgery.

Anyway, the bullpen held up: Leiter pitched a scoreless 7th, Williams a perfect 8th, and Weaver a perfect 9th. Yankees 1, Rangers 0. The Yankees not only messed with Texas, they swept 'em. Yee ha.

The Yankees are now 30-19, on a pace for 99 wins. They lead the American League Eastern Division by 5 games over the Toronto Blue Jays, 6 over the Boston Red Sox, 7 over the Tampa Bay Rays, and 13 1/2 over the Baltimore Orioles.

This is despite not having one single appearance for Gerrit Cole (and they won't, all year), Luis Gil (might return to the starting rotation in mid-June), or Giancarlo Stanton (might be back in early June). Oswaldo Cabrera is likely out for the season. Jazz Chisholm Jr. might be back in early June. When Marcus Stroman will be available again is anybody's guess.

Tonight, the Yankees begin a roadtrip, in Denver to face the Colorado Rockies. As bad as the Chicago White Sox were last season, going 3-22 to start the season and 41-121 for the season -- setting a new AL record for losses in a season, and surpassing the 1962 Mets for the most since 1899 -- the Rockies have been even worse: They are 8-42, on a pace for 26-136 -- which would surpass the 1899 Cleveland Spiders for the most losses, if not quite the worst winning percentage, in major league history.

And the Yankees will be hitting in Coors Field, at altitude.

Then again, last year, the White Sox did win 1 of their 6 games against the Yankees, so, you never know.

Yankees Ride the Devin Williams Rollercoaster

The Yankees began a home Interleague series with the San Diego Padres on Monday night. Carlos Rodón started, and took a 3-hit shutout into the 7th inning. Fernando Cruz finished the inning, and the Yankees had a 3-0 lead, including a home run by Trent Grisham.

Manager Aaron Boone has stopped trusting Devin Williams as the closer. In this game, he trusted Williams to hold a 3-run lead in the 8th inning. He couldn't, putting the tying runs on base, before Luke Weaver, who appears to now be the closer, actually allowed the runs. The Padres won, 4-3.

Williams' ERA went up to 10.03.

The Tuesday game looked similar. Clarke Schmidt, injured to start the season, pitched 6 innings, allowing 2 runs. But Tim Hill allowed a run in the 7th, and the Padres led, 3-2, including a home run by Aaron Judge.

The Yankees scored 10 runs in the bottom of the 7th. This included a grand slam and an RBI single by Austin Wells (that's 5 RBIs in 1 inning), a 2-RBI double by Ben Rice, RBI singles by Cody Bellinger and Anthony Volpe, and a bases-loaded walk by Grisham.

Of those 10 runs, 6 were allowed by former Yankee Wandy Peralta. Boy, am I glad he's a former Yankee.

The Yankees won, 12-3, with Cruz as the winning pitcher.

The Yankees' story the last few years has been winning when they score a lot of runs, and losing when they don't. Could they win on Wednesday night without scoring 12? Could they win without scoring 5?

At first, it looked like the answer would be, "No." New acquisition Max Fried was terrific again, going 7 innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits and no walks, striking out 8. But the Yankees went into the 7th-inning stretch trailing, 1-0. That's when Bellinger hit a home run to tie it. In the 8th, Ian Hamilton and then Weaver were both a bit shaky, and it was 3-1 Padres.

Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety. Oswaldo Cabrera was walked to lead off the bottom of the 8th, and Grisham hit a game-tying home run.

The game went to extra innings, and Boone trusted Williams to pitch the 10th. That's with the stupid rule authorizing the "ghost runner": Tie game, man on 2nd, nobody out. Gulp. And he walked a batter, and hit another, loading the bases with 2 out, before he got out of it.

In the bottom of the 10th, Cabrera bunted ghost runner Jasson Domínguez over to 3rd, and J.C. Escarra hit a sacrifice fly to left field, bringing Domínguez home. Yankees 4, Padres 3.

Winning pitcher: Devin Williams. Like Aroldis Chapman before him, the man is a rollercoaster.

Going into this weekend, the Yankees lead the American League Eastern Division by 2 games over the Boston Red Sox, 4 over the Toronto Blue Jays, 5 over the Tampa Bay Rays, and 7 1/2 over the Baltimore Orioles. In the loss column, it's 3 over the Sox, 4 over the Jays, 5 over the Rays, and 7 over the O's.

Tonight, the Yankees will do something they have never done before: Play a regular-season game in Sacramento, California. Well, actually, Sutter Health Park is across the river from downtown, in West Sacramento. They will play 3 against the team now known officially as "The Athletics," formerly in Philadelphia (1901-1954), Kansas City (1955-1967) and Oakland (1968-2024), temporarily as an official Sacramento team, and, they hope, in Las Vegas starting in 2028.