1. I couldn’t believe Wednesday’s Yankees-Orioles game wasn’t stopped after Trent Grisham’s leadoff single in the first inning. How could the moment not be celebrated and commemorated? No in-game speech and award presentation? It was the first time since July 3 that Grisham led off a game with a hit and it should have been recognized.
Not only did Grisham lead off the game with a hit, but Ben Rice followed with a single as well. The Yankees had runners on first and second and no outs and a chance to score a first-inning run for the first time since July 29. But they did not. Luis Garcia grounded into a double play and Heliot Ramos grounded out to end the inning.
2. The Orioles did score a first-inning run though and didn’t even need a hit to do so. Will Warren, who was removed from the rotation for a few minutes on Monday, allowed a pair of walks and eventually the Orioles pulled off a double steal of second and home to take an early lead. Austin Wells’ decision to throw down to second with a runner on third wasn’t as inexplicable as Ali Sanchez’s decision to attempt a pickoff at third against the White Sox at the end of July, but it was up there in terms of low Baseball IQ plays.
The Yankees answered back in the second with a Jazz Chisholm walk, Spencer Jones single, Ryan McMahon single and George Lombard Jr. sacrifice fly to take a 2-1 lead. McMahon was injured on his single, while idiotically trying to stretch it into a double. He jammed his hand on second base and was eventually removed from the game because of the injury.
3. The Yankees added a third run in the third inning when Ben Rice hit a 447-foot home run to make it 3-1, but Pete Alonso cut the Yankees’ lead in half in the second with a solo home run of his own. (Alonso would later hit what appeared to be a go-ahead home run off Brent Headrick, but it was called foul on the field and the call stood after review despite replay angles showing it looked fair. I guess it evens out the call against Judge at Steinbrenner Field last year.) The game remained 3-2 Yankees until the sixth when Fernando Cruz allowed a game-tying solo home run to Dylan Beavers.
Tied at 3 in the eighth, the Yankees loaded the bases with two outs for Lombard Jr. The rookie put the ball in play with a slow roller to third for an infield single to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead. Following a Yennier Cano wild pitch, the Yankees lead increased to 5-3. Paul Blackburn pitched around a couple of baserunners in the eighth and David Bednar pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to close out a 5-3 win.
4. All I asked of the Yankees on Wednesday was for them to “just suck” and score four runs per game. Doing that would allow them to win enough to get the first wild card and possibly even win the division. Four runs would have been enough on Wednesday, but they provided five, which was more than enough. The Yankees are now 55-16 when scoring four runs.
5. The Yankees went 10-for-33 with three walks and 10 strikeouts against six Orioles pitchers. Grisham went 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout. Rice went 2-for-5 with a home run and two strikeouts. Garcia went 1-for-5 with a strikeout. Ramos went 1-for-3 with a strikeout. Chisholm went 1-for-2 with two walks. Jones went 1-for-4 with three strikeouts. McMahon went 1-for-3 with a strikeout. Lombard Jr. went 2-for-3 with a sacrifice fly and strikeout. Austin Wells went 0-for-4.
6. Warren was bad yet again. He needed 90 pitches to get through four innings and allowed two earned runs. The Yankees’ rotation currently lines up in a way that is not great for the four-game series against the Red Sox next weekend. If the Yankees keep the rotation in its current order, the Red Sox will miss Cam Schlittler. That can’t happen. The Yankees will need to keep Warren in the rotation for now and I would even use a spot starter against the Blue Jays or Astros to ensure the best possible rotation against the Red Sox. Something like this:
Thursday: Cole
Friday: Schlittler
Saturday: Weathers
Sunday: Rodon
Monday OFF
Tuesday: Cole
Wednesday: Warren
Thursday: Spot starter
Friday: Schlittler
Saturday: Weathers
Saturday: Rodon
Sunday: Cole
7. A schedule like that gives Schlittler, Carlos Rodon and Ryan Weathers each two extra days of rest before the Red Sox series, and with Schlittler and Weathers having set new single-season highs for innings and Rodon having just returned from the injured list, they could all use the extra rest. When the Red Sox series ends, there will be 25 games left. That series is going to decide where the Wild Card Series is played and having the best four available starters all pitch in it is imperative.
8. The win was the Yankees’ third straight and combined with a Red Sox loss, they are up four games in the loss column again on the first wild card. The Rays also won though, so the division deficit remains five games.
In order to defy the math and win the the division, the Yankees will need something like this to happen:
The Yankees are 71-55.
The Rays are 76-50.
The Yankees go 2-2 against the Orioles and Blue Jays. 73-57.
The Rays go 1-3 against the Blue Jays and Orioles. 77-53.
Four games back.
The Yankees go 4-3 against the Astros and Red Sox. 77-60.
The Rays go 3-3 against the Tigers and Padres. 80-56.
3 1/2 games back.
The Yankees go 4-2 against the Angels and Padres. 81-62.
The Rays go 3-4 against the Mets and Rangers. 83-60.
Two games back.
The Yankees go 4-2 against the Rockies and Mets. 85-64.
The Rays go 3-3 against the Braves and Astros. 86-63.
One game back.
The Yankees go 4-2 against the Twins and Diamondbacks. 89-66.
The Rays go 3-3 against the Athletics and Red Sox. 89-66.
Tied.
The Yankees go 2-2 against the Rays. 91-68.
The Rays go 2-2 against the Yankees. 91-66.
One game back due to the Rays winning the head-to-head tiebreaker.
The Yankees go 2-1 against the Orioles. 93-69.
The Rays go 1-2 against the Phillies. 92-70.
The Yankees win the division by one game.
It’s crazy, but not impossible. That path is asking the Yankees to go 22-14 and the Rays to go 16-20. The Yankees missed a massive opportunity since Friday with the Rays losing four of their last six and the Yankees only going 3-2 during that time.
9. The Rays had a 7-13 stretch from June 1 to June 23 and another bad stretch from July 4 through July 19 when they went 4-9. From June 1 through July 19, the Rays went 20-22, but the problem is the Yankees actually lost a half-game to the Rays during that time. That was the time for the Yankees to pass the Rays and create separation and they failed to do so. The Yankees haven’t led the division since June 26.
The Rays have had two different runs where they were several games under .500 and the last six days suggest they may be experiencing that again after a nine-game winning streak. The Yankees started the season 25-11 and are currently on a 21-13 run, so they have had similar records to the 22-14 run needed above, but given the state of their offense where three-run performances feel like outbursts, I don’t know if the pitching staff can continue to perform this well or if the offense can hit enough.
10. It will be Cole against Ryan Bradish in the series finale. The Yankees struggled against Shane Baz and left a lot of men on against Chris Bassitt, which doesn’t bode well against Bradish, who is the Orioles’ best starter. The Yankees have an opportunity to sweep a series for the first time since the last series before the All-Star break and for just the second time since June 8-10. I expect Cole will do his part in giving the Yankees a chance to pull off the sweep. It’s the offense I don’t trust. But if the offense can “just suck” and score four runs on Thursday, I like the Yankees’ chances at the sweeping their third series since the end of May.
Last modified: Aug 20, 2026
