1. There were six homegrown Yankees in the lineup on Thursday for the series finale against the Rockies, and a seventh on the bench in Aaron Judge. The six who played led the Yankees to a 10-3 win behind a three-hit night from Spencer Jones and a three-hit night from Anthony Volpe.
2. Here is what I wrote about Volpe last week:
Anthony Volpe will be back. He will most likely be back as the team’s second baseman next season, and I would actually be OK with that. At second base, I would be OK with him being given a chance there. I wouldn’t be OK with him being given years or even a year there. I would treat him like every other player in team history has been treated other than him: perform and you will play. I would be extremely quick to pull the plug if it’s not working out after two months. I have no doubts he can field the position with the shorter throw to first, but he has to improve his hitting to league average.
Well, we didn’t have to wait until next season. After more than a month in Triple-A, Volpe was back in the bigs on Thursday, playing second base and batting ninth: two places he should have been all along. Volpe went 3-for-4 with a home run and five RBIs. The home run (a grand slam) was just his second of the season, as he accumulated 21 percent of his RBIs in 2026 in one night.
3. The home run was his ninth in his last 18 games between Triple-A and the majors. An insane run for a player with limited offensive ability, let alone power. When Jasson Dominguez said earlier this week that Volpe had turned into Barry Bonds, he wasn’t wrong. (Let’s just hope he’s Pirates Bonds and not Giants Bonds.)
4. I wasn’t too happy when Thursday’s lineup was posted without Judge’s name, but I guess 15 innings was too much for someone who needs as much playing time as he can possibly accumulate over the next two-plus weeks. I was mostly upset that Judge wasn’t playing on a day in which the Rays had already lost to cut the division deficit to three games. But the Rockies are so bad (a .377 winning percentage) that they couldn’t stop Volpe and the Judge-less Yankees.
5. “I wanted to get a lot out of it,” Volpe said of being sent down to Triple-A. “You have a game every night to try out different stuff and feel what works. You feel like it’s going to translate in case an opportunity like this comes. So there was just a lot of trial and error.”
Now imagine if the Yankees had sent Volpe down much earlier in his career instead of forcing him to play a position he couldn’t handle and continuing to have him try to hit pitching he couldn’t hit. Again, this was one game. One game against the worst team in baseball. (Let’s see how he looks against the Mets’ starters this weekend.) And it was three hits, two of which got through the infield and the other of which would have also been a home run only in Houston. There are four years and more than 2,000 plate appearances suggesting Volpe didn’t have the light bulb go off in a couple weeks of Triple-A play, but here’s to wishing he did so the Yankees can have a second baseman of the future to go along with their shortstop and center fielder of the future.
6. Max Fried was shaky, lacked control and threw too many pitches with a limited pitch count, only lasting 3 1/3 innings. Fried needed 80 pitches to get 10 outs against a Rockies lineup that made Will Warren look like Cam Schlittler on Wednesday. Fried has three starts left to get completely built up and figure things out before he starts either Game 3 of the Wild Card Series (if necessary) or Game 3 of the ALDS.
7. Michael Fulmer, John Schreiber, Ryan Yarbrough, Brent Headrick (the game was close at one point) and Luis Gil combined for 5 2/3 scoreless innings. With each scoreless appearance from Fulmer and Schreiber, it’s becoming more and more likely the duo will be a part of the bullpen for the postseason. It’s also becoming more and more likely Gil won’t be a part of it.
8.. Next up is the second half of the Subway Series with the Yankee Stadium portion. The Mets’ season has been a disaster, but they are playing much better of late and are currently riding a four-game winning streak. This is all the Mets have left in 2026. This is their postseason and their World Series. Once this weekend ends, the Mets will go back to counting down the games and days and outs left in their miserable year. Not only is it the Mets’ postseason, but their rotation is lined up as if it were with their three best starters going this weekend. It will be Nolan McLean against Carlos Rodon, Zac Thornton against Gerrit Cole and Christian Scott against Cam Schlittler.
9. The door for the division is still open thanks to the Rays’ loss on Thursday, and three games back with 16 to play is doable, simply because of the four head-to-head games remaining. While the Subway Series is played in the Bronx, the Rays will be hosting the Astros in Tampa. The Astros have a three-game lead in the West and are just a half-game behind the White Sox for a first-round bye. A big weekend against the Mets is a near-guarantee to cutting into the Rays’ lead even more.
10. The Yankees need to erase at least one more game from the deficit over their next nine games against the Mets, Twins and Diamondbacks while the Rays are playing the Astros, Athletics and Red Sox. At minimum, take one more off during those three series and the deficit will be two when the teams meet in the Bronx in less than two weeks. It starts with reminding the Mets just how bad their season has been.
Last modified: Sep 11, 2026
