1. The Yankees were about to waste another Cam Schlittler gem. If Austin Wells’ ground ball doesn’t get through the right side of the infield with two outs in the 10th, the Yankees would have wasted an eight-inning, two-hit, one-run masterpiece from their ace. Because even though the score may have still been tied if Wells had gotten out there, we all know how the bottom of the 10th inning would have played out. (Michael Kay said the Yankees “haven’t had much luck” in extra innings on the road even though their abysmal record has nothing to do with luck.) But instead of adding to their humiliating extra-inning road record since the implementation of the automatic runner, the Yankees scored five runs in the 10th and pulled out a 6-3 win in Anaheim.
2. The Rays lost to the Mets and the Red Sox lost to the Mariners, so the Yankees improved in both the division and wild-card standings. They are now 3 1/2 games in back of the Rays (four in the loss column) and five games up on the Red Sox (six when you factor in the head-to-head tiebreaker). It was an all-around positive late night heading into Thursday’s day off.
3. Schlittler became the first Yankee in franchise history to have 19 starts of one run or fewer, a preposterous stat. The only two hits he allowed over eight innings were both to Vaughn Grissom: a single and a solo home run. He picked up nine strikeouts and lowered his American League-leading ERA to 2.04.
4. Schlittler’s only competition for the AL Cy Young Award is Dylan Cease and I don’t think it’s much of a competition. Schlittler has started three more games than Cease and has him beat in the majority of pitching categories, including the most important ones.
Schlittler: WAR, ERA, WHIP, ERA+, starts, innings, walks and walks per nine innings
Cease: Strikeouts, FIP, hits per nine, home runs per nine and strikeouts per nine
5. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep if the Yankees had lost to the Angels for the fourth time in seven games this season and wasted Schlittler’s effort on a night the Rays lost, considering the Yankees have already wasted and lost these starts from Schlittler this season:
6 IP, 0 ER
6 IP, 2 ER
5 IP, 0 ER
6.1 IP, 1 ER
7 IP, 1 ER
5.1 IP, 1 ER
6. Paul Goldschmidt went 2-for-3 in the leadoff spot and would have been 3-for-3 if not for a dazzling play by former Yankee Oswald Peraza at third base. It’s safe to say Goldschmidt will be leading off against any lefty for the rest of the season, including the postseason. Cody Bellinger went 3-for-5 in the game and 8-for-14 in the series. Heliot Ramos went 0-for-3 (but hit into some bad luck with a line-drive double play). Ben Rice went 2-for-4 and Amed Rosario went 1-for-5. Spencer Jones had a rare bad night going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts as Reid Detmers was able to get Jones to chase breaking pitches away and go after high fastballs. Jose Caballero went 1-for-4. Jazz Chisholm and Ali Sanchez combined to go 0-for-5. Wells went 2-for-2 after entering as a pinch hitter, Trent Grisham went 1-for-2 with a single in the 10th and Luis Garcia went 0-for-2 after entering as a pinch hitter. Garcia would have shouldered a lot of blame for a loss because of his at-bat with the bases loaded in the 10th, if Wells hadn’t picked him up.
7. Wells is a surprising 6-for-14 with two home runs and nine RBIs in his last five games. In those five games, Wells has produced 32 percent of his RBIs for the season. His overall stats for the year are a lost cause, but if he can just be bad and not historically awful for the rest of 2026, it will make a huge difference in the lineup. The Yankees have started to lessen the number of automatic outs in the lineup, and getting Wells to do something productive every once in a while instead of going weeks without reaching base will make the offense that much deeper.
8. I would expect George Lombard Jr. to be back in the lineup on Friday, and if he is, the only missing player will then be Aaron Judge. The Yankees are so close to having their expected position players for the postseason (not including Giancarlo Stanton since it’s hard to envision him being available again this season). The rotation is as good as it’s going to be health-wise since Ryan Weathers will only return as a reliever (if he returns) and Clarke Schmidt is preparing to come back as a reliever. It’s unfortunate the Yankees never had their entire expected roster for a single day in 2026. It’s annoying to think about what their record would be and how many games up in the division they would be if injuries hadn’t impacted Judge, Stanton, Cody Bellinger, Max Fried, Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon and Ryan Weathers throughout the year. (Rice and Lombard Jr. also missed games without going on the IL, while Caballero, Grisham, Wells and McMahon all went on the IL at some point.)
9. As long as the Yankees are within four games (which they are now) in the loss column when they play the Rays four times from September 22 to September 24, they will have a chance at the division. Ideally, the Yankees would be closer than four games, so they don’t need to sweep the four games in three days, and they have a chance to be closer given the Rays’ upcoming schedule: four at Texas, three at Atlanta and three against Houston. The Rangers are two games back in the West and 1 1/2 games back of the last wild card. The Braves have a four-game lead on the Phillies and are tied in the loss column with the Dodgers for a first-round bye. The Astros have a two-game division lead and would be out of the wild-card race. All three teams are playing for their postseason lives and will give the Rays everything they have.
10. The Yankees head to San Diego where they need to avenge what went on last weekend when the Padres blew two late leads to the Rays. (If not for those meltdowns, the Yankees would be two games back in the loss column.) After the weekend in San Diego, the Yankees have nine games against the Rockies, Mets and Twins. This is their chance to make sure the deficit when they play the Rays is less than the four games it is now.
Last modified: Sep 3, 2026
