1. No one beats up on bad pitching like the Bronx Bullies and when A.J. Hinch decided to use Sawyer Gipson-Long as his bulk reliever in a bullpen game on Thursday, the actual game became a formality as the Yankees blew out the Tigers 9-3 after getting blown out themselves on Tuesday and Wednesday.
2. Aaron Judge went 3-for-4 with two home runs, Giancarlo Stanton homered, Ben Rice had two doubles, Jazz Chisholm, Paul Goldschmidt and Jose Caballero each had a pair of hits and Austin Slater and Cody Bellinger each added a hit as well. Nine runs on 14 hits and five walks with seven of the runs coming in 2 1/3 innings against Gipson-Long.
3. Once Gipson-Long was removed the game, the Yankees didn’t score again. That’s unsurprising because after Gipson-Long was removed, Hinch went to his actual major-league-quality relievers as they all needed work because they weren’t needed in the first two games of the series. So nine runs against a bad, left-handed opener and an even worse bulk reliever, and then no runs over 5 2/3 innings against actual major-league-relievers.
4. Cam Schlittler bounced back from his career-worst start last Friday against the Blue Jays by holding the Tigers to one run over six innings with seven strikeouts. Max Fried and Carlos Rodon will undoubtedly be the Game 1 and 2 starters for the Yankees in the playoffs, but I would have to think Schlittler would be in line for Game 3. I get that Luis Gil has more experience, but Schlittler has been better than him this season and until Gil gets his walk issue under control, he can’t be used in a postseason setting unless a fourth starter is needed, and even then, it’s uncertain if he would be the fourth option.
5. I don’t know what to make of the Anthony Volpe labrum and cortisone shot news. I think it’s convenient for all of this to leak and then be announced by the Yankees after the leak considering it’s obvious Volpe is no longer the starting shortstop for the 2025 Yankees. It’s possible the injury has led to a third straight bad season to open Volpe’s career, but he was exactly as bad in 2023 and 2024 as he has been in 2025, so it’s hard to pin his awful 2025 on just this. It’s not like he was an All-Star the last two years and drastically regressed and therefore a labrum tear that grew worse could be the reason why. He’s always been bad, but now the Yankees have a real excuse for why he’s bad. Expect the Yankees to tell you about the labrum and cortisone shot with every opportunity they get to speak about Volpe from now through end of this season and throughout the offseason and in spring training and through next season. Caballero will be the starting shortstop for as long as this season goes, and then come 2026, It will be right back to Volpe with no competition or accountability needed.
6. I thought the Yankees needed to go 6-6 in these 12 games against the Astros, Blue Jays, Tigers and Red Sox and so far they are 5-4 with three to go. The three to go will be the hardest of the 12 given the setting, the opposing starting pitchers (at least on Saturday and Sunday) and what’s at stake.
7. This weekend will be the fourth and final time the Yankees and Red Sox play this season. Here is how the two teams spent the day before the start of each series against each other this season.
Thursday, June 5 (day before three-game series at Yankee Stadium)
Yankees play night game in New York
Red Sox have day off after finishing home series on Wednesday
Thursday, June 12 (day before three-game series at Fenway Park)
Yankees play night game in Kansas City
Red Sox have day off after finishing home series on Wednesday
Wednesday, August 20 (day before four-game series at Yankees Stadium)
Yankees play night game in Tampa
Red Sox have day off after finishing home series on Tuesday
Thursday, Sept. 11 (day before three-game series at Fenway Park)
Yankees play night game in New York
Red Sox have day off after finishing West Coast trip on Wednesday
So for all four Yankees-Red Sox series this season, the Yankees played a game the day before playing the Red Sox, and not just a game but a night game in all four instances, while the Red Sox had the day completely off all four times.
That’s not an excuse for why the Yankees are 2-8 against the Red Sox this season, it’s just an observation. The Red Sox have been able to rest and reset their bullpen for crucial games against the team they are fighting for postseason position against, while the Yankees have had roughly 20 hours between the end of their most recent game and the first game of each series against the Red Sox.
8. My path to winning the division from August 30 is still on track and this weekend presents the last difficult challenge for the Yankees to pulling it off: three games against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. Not just three games to keep them in the division race, but three games to potentially decide where the best-of-3 wild-card series will be played if the Yankees don’t pull off the division win. And two of the three games will be started by Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello and the Red Sox are 5-0 in games started by that duo against the Yankees this season.
9. When I first put together a path to the division for the Yankees two weeks ago, I said they needed to go at least 6-6 against the Astros, Blue Jays, Tigers and Red Sox, and so far they are 5-4. But I also said the Blue Jays had to go 4-5 against the Reds, Astros and Orioles, and so far they have gone 4-2. It’s highly unlikely the Orioles sweep the Blue Jays this weekend, so if the Blue Jays go 2-1 against them, the Yankees need to go no worse than 2-1 against the Red Sox. The Yankees can’t lose a game in the standings this weekend. They either need to stay where they or pick up ground. If the Yankees manage to come out of this weekend two games back in the loss column (which would really be three games back because of the tiebreaker) then I believe they will win the division. If they come out of the weekend still three back in the loss column, it will be very hard for them to win the division and if they come out four or more games back then the division is over.
10. It’s never been more “right in of them” for the Yankees this season than it is now. They could do to the Red Sox what the Red Sox have done to them all season and put themselves in a commanding lead for the first wild card while also putting immense pressure on the Blue Jays for the division, or they could play the way they have all year against the Red Sox and piss away the first wild card and eliminate themselves from the division. This weekend is the most important of the season and by the end of it we will likely know which round of the playoffs the Yankees will open in.
Last modified: Sep 12, 2025
