1. I didn’t feel good at the end of the seventh inning on Thursday night. The Yankees had built a 4-1 lead against the Astros through five-and-a-half innings but gave a run back in the sixth thanks to some of the worst collective umpiring you’ll ever see and then gave up another run in the seventh. The 4-1 lead had become a 4-3 lead and I felt like I was watching the previous night’s game unfold again. On Wednesday, the Yankees watched a 4-1 lead turn into an 8-4 deficit when the combination of their manager and bullpen couldn’t keep the Astros off the board in the fifth, sixth, seven or eighth innings and a nearly identical occurrence was brewing on Thursday.
The Yankees weren’t able to add on to their lead or protect it on Wednesday. On Thursday, they were able to do both.
Ryan McMahon delivered an RBI single that increased the lead from 4-3 to 5-3 in the eighth and Trent Grisham delivered the game-opening blow with a three-run home run to extend the lead to 8-3.
A five-run lead with six outs to go and Fernando Cruz and David Bednar available should be more than enough to coast to the postgame handshake line. But it nearly wasn’t as Bednar went out of his way to give the Astros a chance to shock the Yankees and hand them their latest worst loss of the season. Bednar had pitched just once in a nine-day period (throwing 22 pitches against the White Sox back on August 30) and looked like more like Camilo Doval than himself. He allowed a single, double, lineout, single and walk before finally striking out Carlos Correa (Correa helped him out by swinging at ball 4 on a 3-2 pitch) and Christian Walker to end the game. Had Correa walked, Walker would have come to the plate as the tying run, a scenario which seemed unimaginable with a five-run lead and three outs from a win with a more-than-rested Bednar on the mound.
The Yankees did their job in Houston, winning two of three and keep their place in the standings the same on Thursday with the Blue Jays and Red Sox both idle. They are now 2-1 in this 12-game stretch in which they need to go at least 6-6.
2. Carlos Rodon was very good (6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HR) in the biggest game of the season to date. There were times when it seemed like the game would get away from him (and in the past it definitely would have), but Rodon successfully navigated his way through each jam. If only that version of Rodon would come to pitch in every big game.
3. Cruz’s strikeout of Jose Altuve with two outs and two on in the seventh on a 3-2 pitch was one of the biggest moments of the season. Altuve went into that at-bat hitless in the series and if there was ever a time for him to be due and get yet another last laugh at the Yankees it was there. I kept envisioning him hitting a three-run home run over the left-field wall all the way until he waved through Cruz’s high-and-away splitter. Cruz, Luke Weaver and Bednar are the only relievers I trust in the Yankees’ bullpen and my trust in Weaver is fading.
4. With every Grisham home run — and there have now been 30 of them this season — I can’t help but think about what could have been if he had played over Alex Verdugo last season, especially in the playoffs and World Series. Every Grisham home run seems to come in an enormous moment. He’s either homering to lead off a game, tie a game or give the Yankees a late or extended lead. It’s unlikely the Yankees sign Grisham with Cody Bellinger also a free agent and Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones waiting to inexpensively fill everyday roster spots, but if the Yankees decided to sign Grisham, he has earned it. Whether it’s with the Yankees or not, the Grishams and many generations of them will be taken care of because of this season.
5. What a game for McMahon. He gave the Yankees an early 1-0 lead with an RBI single, homered to give them the lead back at 2-1 and drove in an important run in the eighth to extend the lead from 4-3 to 5-3. He was also the focal point in the bizarre situation that unfolded at third base when he clearly caught a batted ball in the air and then dropped the transfer to throw but was deemed to not have caught the ball all by the entire umpire crew. I don’t think we’ll be seeing anyone from that crew in October.
6. Aaron Judge did what he does against the Astros in the three games, which isn’t much. Three singles, three walks and no extra-base hits for Judge in the series. In the six games against the Astros this season he went 5-for-21 with four walks and all five hits were singles. That’s exactly who Judge has always been against the Astros. Judge also went 2-for-14 with two walks and six strikeouts against the Red Sox in August and 1-for-10 (though the one was a home run) with one walk and four strikeouts against the Blue Jays at the end of July. There’s a reason the Yankees have such an abysmal combined record against the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Tigers and Astros this season and it’s because Judge hasn’t been at his best against those teams. Those are the teams the Yankees will play in the postseason, so if this is Judge foreshadowing what’s to come next month then I’m ready for it since I’m used to it from him.
7. If you remove Anthony Volpe’s 6-for-14 against the White Sox — the worst team in the American League — last weekend, the run he’s on is preposterous. He was 1-for-38 before the 6-for-14 and is 1-for-11 since. If there were consequences for underachieving within the Yankees organization and if either Brian Cashman or Aaron Boone had to fear for their jobs then Volpe wouldn’t be playing every day with a .208/.271/.397 slash line, an 83+ OPS and shaky defense. Unfortunately, the White Sox series is enough to carry him through the rest of the season and into next season as an everyday regular for the Yankees. The Yankees have had three years to do something to improve his play and development and they have scoffed (laughed, really) at every chance and every criticism. Jose Caballero’s sound play and peskiness isn’t enough to get playing time except for occasionally against lefties and as an injury or defensive replacement. George Lombard Jr. remains Yankees fans’ only hope to unseating Volpe as the Yankees’ starting shortstop.
8. It will be interesting to see what lineup Boone comes up with against Kevin Gausman on Friday. I would have to think Jazz Chisholm (0-for-10 against Gausman) will be held out after leaving Thursday’s game early (but not before he unnecessarily wasted an at-bat and an important out). McMahon is 5-for-14 with a home run and 1.186 OPS against Gausman, Jose Caballero is 5-for-7 with a 1.714 OPS and Amed Rosario is 4-for-14 with two home runs and a 1.047 OPS. Those three have to play. Giancarlo Stanton is 8-for-27 with three home runs and a 1.034 OPS against Gausman and Paul Goldschmidt is 10-for-19 with a home run and 1.362. Cody Bellinger is only 2-for-19 and Trent Grisham is 5-for-21 against him, but you can’t not play those two. None of Volpe, Dominguez, Austin Wells or Ben Rice have even respectable numbers against him. Here is what I would do:
1. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
2. Aaron Judge, DH
3. Cody Bellinger, LF
4. Giancarlo Stanton, RF
5. Ryan McMahon, 3B
6. Amed Rosario, 2B/SS
7. Trent Grisham, CF
8. Jose Caballero, 2B/SS
9. Austin Wells, C
Play Caballero or Rosario at short and the other at second. Keep Rice on the bench to hit for someone later. That lineup keeps the overall balance for once Gausman is out of the game, while making sure those with impressive career numbers against him get to face him at least two times. Will Boone do any of that? No. Don’t be surprised to see Volpe in there and one of Caballero or Rosario on the bench.
9. It’s possible the lineup and offense won’t need to do much with Cam Schlittler on the mound. In nine starts, Schlittler has allowed three runs or fewer every time. He hasn’t allowed multiple runs in a start since August 8 and has allowed just one run total over this last three starts. The Blue Jays have seen him once in his second start back on July 22 and he pitched well in that game (5 IP, 2 ER) despite it being his second start and going 13 days between starts. Schlittler is much more comfortable now having been in the majors for two months and has looked better each time out, which seems odds to say for someone with 54 strikeouts in 48 1/3 innings and a 2.61 ERA.
That’s not to say Schlittler may not overthrow on Friday night. It’s going to be a loud crowd at the Stadium for the series opener with nice weather expected, the Blue Jays in town and the division on the line. If Schlittler stays composed and throws strikes, he will be just fine and the Yankees will be just fine.
9. I don’t expect any easy, blowout, or lopsided wins this weekend because how can you ever expect those, especially in what will be postseason-like games in September. Close games means Boone is heavily involved. Schlittler has only given the Yankees more than six innings in one start, so six innings is about all you can ask from him. That means the Yankees need to plan to get at least nine outs from the bullpen (and possibly more). At this point in the season the bullpen budget and the “can’t pitch three days in a row” bullshit needs to be thrown out the window. If Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is up in a big spot on Friday, it can’t be Camilo Doval or Devin Williams facing him just because others pitched on Wednesday and Thursday. If the Yankees manage like that this weekend then the division is already over before any of the game are played. These are the most important games of the season, and with the two teams meeting, the Red Sox will gain or lose ground on one of the two every day this weekend. I don’t care what Cruz or Weaver had to do the last two days in Houston. If the situation calls for it, they need to be used.
10. I don’t trust Boone to manage like that because I wouldn’t trust Boone to tell me what day of the week it is. We have eight years of games proving when given the opportunity to manage with urgency he won’t . Whether it’s Opening Day, a game in the middle of July or an elimination game in the World Series, Boone will always make the unfavorable decision that doesn’t put his team in the best possible position to succeed. It’s who he is and there’s no changing that. The only way the Yankees overcome their own manager is to outhit him (which is going to be hard against the Blue Jays or in the postseason) or for the relievers he calls on to get outs (which is going to be even harder since the bullpen is full of bums). Schlittler could be awesome on Friday, the offense could do enough against Gausman and the Yankees could still lose because of Boone and his bullpen management, just like they did on Wednesday in Houston.
The Yankees have to win at least two of three this weekend to have a chance at the division and likely need to win all three. If they win two, they will still be three games back because of the head-to-head tiebreaker, and even if they sweep, they will be in second place because of the tiebreaker. By late Sunday afternoon Yankees fans will know if the AL East and a bye to the ALDS are a real possibility again or if Yankees fans should start planning for the team’s first appearance in the best-of-3, wild-card series.
Last modified: Sep 5, 2025
