The Yankees won a third straight game for the first time in more than seven weeks with a 14-4 blowout over the Phillies.
Here are 10 thoughts on the Yankees.
1. What a difference 48 hours makes. On Saturday night, the Yankees were down to their final strike against one of the game’s best closers of all time, staring at a four-game losing streak and the possibility of their once-13-game-lead on a playoff spot dropping to a single game. The Yankees won that game, won again on Sunday and then humiliated the league-best Phillies and their Cy Young contender. In just under 48 hours, the Yankees won three straight games to pause the free fall and get the Yankees back on track. It’s the first time they have won three games since June 10-12 in Kansas City.
2. The Yankees haven’t lost since acquiring Jazz Chisholm on Saturday. They beat the Red Sox 11-8 in 10 innings following the announcement of the deal, won 8-2 with him in the lineup on Sunday and then won 14-4 over the Phillies in his second game in the lineup.
In his Yankees debut, Chisholm played center field and went 1-for-5 with a stolen base and a run. In his second game as a Yankee, he went 2-for-4 with two home runs, three RBIs and a walk. He also played third base, something he had never done in his career.
3. On Sunday, when asked about playing third base, Chisholm said, “I feel like I can go and play anywhere and help my team win. Especially a winning team, if they’re asking me to go somewhere and help them win, I’m definitely going to do it.”
A day later he was doing it.
In contrast, when asked about playing third base, Gleyber Torres said, “I’m going to take some grounders at third, just in case [so] I’m just kind of ready for anything. … I’m a second baseman. I play second.”
Torres may literally play the position of second base, but he doesn’t “play” it in the sense of playing it well. On Monday, Torres double clutched on a throw that would have led to an inning-ending double play, and instead, the Phillies scored a run and the inning continued. Later in the game, he booted a routine ground ball hit right at him. The error was his 14th of the season, which leads all second baseman.
4. Despite entering the game with an OPS 1.200 in 16 at-bats against Zack Wheeler, Chisholm batted sixth. Alex Verdugo was given the leadoff spot again, and while he went 1-for-3 with two walks, he still only has a .295 on-base percentage for the season. Aaron Boone said over the weekend he would have Verdugo lead off against righties and Torres against lefties. No and no. I think Juan Soto should lead off with Aaron Judge batting second, but since the Yankees are never going to move the duo out of the 2 and 3 spots, put Chisholm first against righties and any righty not named Torres first against lefties.
I’m still holding out hope that Torres and Verdugo will be moved by 6 p.m. on Tuesday, but as the minutes dwindle, my hope is slowly turning into a fear that they will be Yankees for the rest of the season.
5. Aaron Judge continued his chase of his own American League record of 62 home runs in a season. Judge hit his 38th and 39th home runs in the win, giving him four in his last four games. There are 54 games left for him to hit 25 home runs.
Yankees fans dominated the atmosphere in Philadelphia, chanting “M-V-P” for Judge after his two mammoth home runs and drowning out the locals with each of the Yankees’ 14 that crossed the plate.
“This was the first time that I’ve seen an opposing fanbase take over the stadium,” Nick Castellanos said.
6. After the game Judge was asked about the trade deadline and didn’t hold back.
“Other teams are making moves,” Judge said. “Hopefully we start making moves too.”
That is a rather shocking quote for a player to admit to, especially the captain and leader of the team, considering names in the clubhouse around Judge will likely move as a result of the Yankees making further moves. I’m surprised Judge didn’t give a “That’s up to the front office to decide,” when asked.
“We’ve been hit on the chin a couple of times this year,” Judge said. “But this team didn’t get knocked down.”
Well, they did get knocked down. Losing 24 of 35 is getting knocked down. At least for the moment they have gotten up, which is something they didn’t do last year, and the year before they got up, but just stumbled around before falling for good.
7. Giancarlo Stanton returned to the lineup and was the only starter to not record a hit, which is to be expected. Everyone seemed to be waiting for Stanton to come back and save the season, which was never going to happen, but if the non-Soto and non-Judge bats can just be league average, Stanton can do his thing without the pressure of being viewed as the savior for the rest of the offense.
8. It was good to see Ben Rice hit a home run, his first since his ninth-inning blast in Baltimore in the last game before the All-Star break. After being asked to be the team’s leadoff with only two weeks of major-league experience to his name and having the league adjust to him, Rice has settled in in the bottom half of the order where he can grow as a player. In his last four games, hitting sixth, seventh and eighth, he’s 4-for-13 with two doubles, a home run, three RBIs and a 1.005 OPS.
9. Luis Gil was good (5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, 1 HR), getting tagged for three runs, though it should have only been two if Torres could complete an easy double play. He was able to get into the sixth inning, which Yankees starters are starting to do once again (well, starters not named Marcus Stroman), and oddly, the team is winning again. It’s hard to believe getting good starting pitching translates to wins.
10. The Yankees have a chance for good starting pitching to lead to another win on Tuesday with Gerrit Cole getting the start. As long as the Subway Series version of Cole doesn’t show up. The free fall was paused on Saturday, stabilized on Sunday and held there on Monday. A win on Tuesday and a second straight series win before the schedule softens would go a long way to ending it.
Last modified: Jul 31, 2024
