1. It may not have been the most exciting series of the season and we all know it wasn’t the most well-played series of the season, but in terms of importance, this past weekend in Atlanta was the most important series of the season to date. In terms of importance, it will be immediately replaced by the upcoming series in Toronto. Before the Yankees could think about their last three games of the season north of the border, they had to think and deal with a bad Braves team clinging to life for their season.
2. On Friday, the Yankees opened the “second half” of the season with an opener. The thing about using an opener is that it only works if the opener doesn’t suck. Unfortunately, Ian Hamilton sucks, and the Braves tagged him for three runs in the first inning, going single, double, double to open the game. It was disheartening the Yankees thought using Hamilton to face the few good hitters in the Braves lineup to open the game put them in the best possible position to win. I understand Cam Schlittler was supposed to start the game and was pushed back due to biceps soreness, but how is a plan of Hamilton then recently-signed Rico Garcia, Scott Effross and JT Brubaker the best course of action? If the Yankees feel going with a bullpen game with those names gives them a better chance than Allan Winans or Carlos Carrasco, then why even have them in the organization?
The Braves led 3-0 after the first, 6-0 after the third and 7-0 after the seventh. The Yankees scored three runs in the seventh for one of their patented do-just-enough-to-get-the-manager-to-say-we-showed-fight fake comebacks and lost 7-3. While the Yankees were losing to the Braves, the Blue Jays were busy beating up on the Giants to extend their division lead to three games.
3. On Saturday, the thoughts of being swept by the under-.500 Braves became a real thought. The left-handed Joey Wentz and his 6.32 ERA and 1.703 WHIP shut out the Yankees for four innings, and in the meantime, Will Warren was getting blasted. Warren allowed a long solo home run to Michael Harris and his .550 OPS in the third and then gave up four runs — all with two outs — in the fourth to put the Yankees behind 5-0. Earlier this season, YES liked to opine “If you remove Warren’s start against the Dodgers, he’s been great.” Then it was “If you remove his starts against the Dodgers and Blue Jays … .” I guess now you just need to remove his starts against the Dodgers, Blue Jays and Braves and you have yourself a good, young pitcher you can trust.
After scoring in just one of the first 13 innings of the series, the Yankees scored twice in the fifth to make it a 5-2 game. But Effross and Tim Hill gave those two runs right back in the bottom of the inning and the Braves led 7-2 through five.
4. The Yankees scored four more times in the sixth to make it a 7-6 game, but Jonathan Loaisiga immediately gave one of them back to make it an 8-6 game. Since June 24, Loaisiga has allowed 19 baserunners, nine earned runs and three home runs in 8 1/3 innings. In his best season (2021), he allowed three home runs all season (70 2/3 innings). That best season was a long time ago. Four years in baseball years can be measured in dog years. Loaisiga was OK in 2022, missed nearly all of 2023 and 2024 due to Tommy John surgery and has been bad in 2025. Maybe Loaisiga just stinks now? Maybe a career marred by injuries and the surgery caught up to him? The Yankees are going to have to find out because they are paying him $5 million for this season (with a $5 million team option for 2026) and there is no one else right now. The only two trustworthy relievers in the bullpen are Luke Weaver and Devin Williams. Loaisiga, by default, is the next most-trusted arm? Then Hill? Then no one between Brubaker, Effross, Hamilton and Winans? The Yankees have given an abundance of relievers a chance to be major leaguers and to win important roles and each one of them has sucked. Not just Brubaker, Effross, Hamilton and Winans, but Garcia, Brent Headrick, Yoendrys Gomez, Tyler Matzek, Clayton Beeter and Geoff Hartlieb. (I leave Javien Sandridge out since his chance was sabotaged by Aaron Boone having him face Juan Soto and Pete Alonso as his first two hitters in the majors.) I guess all of those guys just really like living in Scranton and taking bus rides everywhere.
5. The Yankees desperately miss Fernando Cruz, Mark Leiter Jr. and Ryan Yarbrough They even miss Yerry De los Santos. If those four were healthy then Brubaker, Effross, Hamilton and Winans aren’t on the 26-man roster and the bullpen looks so much different and better. The team looks so much different and better.
6. Loaisiga’ latest disappointing effort put another obstacle in the way of a Yankees comeback, but they added a run in the seventh to make it 8-7 and tied the game at 8 in the eighth with Anthony Volpe’s second home run of the game. It was Volpe’s first multi-home run game of his career. It was his first multi-hit game since June 23 and his second multi-hit game since June 13. The two-home run game guarantees he will never come out of the lineup (not that he was ever going to anyway). If Boone was willing to tell Meredith Marakovits that Volpe “is fucking elite” last week, like Michael Kay reported, then he probably thinks he’s a Hall of Famer now after hitting two home runs in a game. But good for Volpe to help the Yankees win a game for the first time since … I don’t know? All season?
7. The game remained tied at 8 into the ninth. With the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the ninth, I feared the game would find its way to extra innings and the Yankees would endure yet another road extra-inning loss to add to their majors-worst record since the automatic runner was implemented in 2020. Trent Grisham put those fears to rest when he hit a go-ahead grand slam off Braves closer Raisel Iglesias to give the Yankees a 12-8 lead. They would go on to win 12-9.
8. Grisham batted in the leadoff spot on Friday and then sixth on Saturday. I figured his two-hit, five-RBI night would have him back in the leadoff spot on Sunday. Instead, he wasn’t even in the lineup. Never change, Boone and the Yankees. Never change. Saturday’s win was so important to keep pace with the Blue Jays (who won again), but also important because with Marcus Stroman going on Sunday it wasn’t unrealistic to expect the Yankees to lose. But Stroman didn’t suck, and the Yankees didn’t lose. Stroman pitched six innings of one-run ball and the Yankees won 4-2.
Here are Stroman’s first three starts of the season in March and April:
9.1 IP, 12 H, 12 R, 12 ER, 7 BB, 7 K, 2 HR, 11.57 ERA, 2.036 WHIP
Here are Stroman’s four starts in June and July since coming off the injured list:
21 IP, 21 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 5 BB, 12 K, 3 HR, 3.00 ERA, 1.238 WHIP
9. The best possible scenario is occurring with Stroman for the Yankees. He missed too much time to have his 2026 salary clause automatically kick in, as long as four of Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Luis Gil, Will Warren, Ryan Yarbrough, Cam Schlittler or any starter the Yankees trade for are healthy in October then Stroman won’t be needed in the postseason and he’s giving the Yankees winnable starts now at a time when they need him and need him to be good the most. It couldn’t have worked out better.
This four-start run doesn’t mean anyone should feel good when Stroman gets the ball and everyone should be concerned with him scheduled to start against the Phillies at Yankee Stadium next weekend, but for now, Stroman is doing exactly what the Yankees need him to do.
10. The next three games are the most important of the season to date. Three games in Toronto with three games separating the Yankees and Blue Jays in the division. The Yankees have their pitching set up with Rodon, Fried and Schlittler, and all of their rostered position players healthy and available. The bullpen is an enormous weak spot and could potentially ruin this series, but here’s to hoping it doesn’t come to that. How about eight from Rodon to Weaver on Monday and then eight from Fried to Weaver on Tuesday and then six from Schlittler to Hill, Weaver and Williams on Wednesday? Keep everyone else in the bullpen and as far away from the mound as possible and keep Boone’s decision-making to a minimum. That seems like a good plan to me. Let’s go with that plan.
Last modified: Jul 22, 2025
