Pheelin' Good in Philly: Yankees Crush MLB's Best Team

Who is this team in the road gray uniforms the past three nights? Wow, after playing some of the worst baseball we’ve seen the Yankees play in recent memory, their offense has suddenly regained its mojo and they kicked the crap out of the best team in baseball Monday night, their third win in a row. And down in Box Score Briefs, the Jays and the Rays are selling, and the White Sox keep losing. Lets get to it.

July 29: Yankees 14, Phillies 4

What the hell happened Monday night in Philadelphia? I’m still trying to wrap my head around the Yankees putting up 14 runs on a night when the Phillies sent ace Zack Wheeler to the mound to start the night.

Aaron Judge got the rout started with a solo homer in the first, Jazz Chisholm and Ben Rice hit solo homers in the second, and Wheeler never recovered from that shocking assault, ultimately allowing seven earned runs in five terrible innings, his second-worst yield of the season behind an eight-run bombing administered by the Orioles on June 16.

And still, his ERA is 2.94, that’s how good he is. Wheeler had allowed four homers in that game against Baltimore, and three Monday night. Other than that, he has given up just seven in his other 19 starts.

“A guy like him, you've got to try to get him early or else he’s going to be out there for 110 pitches all the way into the eighth or the ninth,” Judge said. “We took some good swings early.”

By the time the carnage was complete, the Yankees hit six homers as Judge had two, Jazz Chisholm had two, and Anthony Volpe had the other. The Yankees had five innings where they scored at least two runs as they finished with 14 hits and five walks. They even went 3-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

The Phillies have the best record in baseball at 65-41, but the Yankees are catching them at the right time because this was their ninth loss in their last 13 games. We know this, every team goes through a slump and the Phillies are in one right now, so the Yankees have to capitalize and win this series.

Here are my observations:

➤ The big news before the game was Boone inserting Chisholm at third base, a position he has never played as a pro. This was exactly what I said needed to happen when they made the trade. If he wasn’t going to play third, I’m not sure what the fit was going to be because they weren’t going to just bench Gleyber Torres, especially since he’s been hitting better lately. And now that Giancarlo Stanton is back, Aaron Judge goes back to center and Trent Grisham thankfully goes to the bench. Third base was the glaring hole, and if one game was a measure, Chisholm looked perfectly comfortable there.

➤ He made a slick play on the first grounder he saw and started a 5-4-3 double play on the speedy Trea Turner in the first inning; he handled another chance in the second; he started what should have been another DP in the third but Torres messed up the relay and they only got one out; and he snared a low liner in the seventh. And at the plate, he hit two home runs - though the second one (using Judge’s bat which he proudly showed off) came off a position player in the ninth, catcher Garrett Stubbs - and had three RBI while also drawing a walk. So far, so good with him.

➤ Stanton’s return was predictably quiet as he was the only starter who didn’t get a hit. He was 0-for-4 before drawing a walk in the ninth off Stubbs and this will be interesting to watch. Naturally, Boone thought he had good at bats, because of course he would say that. Stanton was having a nice season before he got hurt, but can he pick up where he left off? The last two years when he came back from his annual injury, he was mostly terrible.

➤ Juan Soto had a three-hit, three-RBI night, the big blow a clutch bases-loaded two-run double in the fifth off Wheeler when the score was just 3-2. Austin Wells then tacked on a two-run triple that capped a four-run rally and blew the game open. All the homers were fun, but those two at bats by Soto and Wells were the biggest ones of the night.

➤ Luis Gil wasn’t great, but he was also facing a very good lineup. He went 5.1 innings and gave up three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out eight across 92 pitches. He should have escaped a bases-loaded jam in the third but Torres couldn’t complete the double play. He gave up a long homer to Brandon Marsh in the fourth and then Marsh got him again for an RBI single in the fifth.

➤ Boone went to Michael Tonkin and he got JT Realmuto to ground into a double play which kept the score at 7-3. That was another big moment in the game. Tonkin stayed in and was a little shaky in the seventh as he gifted the Phillies a run with a single, a walk and two wild pitches. And then Yoendrys Gomez mopped things up by covering the final two innings, allowing Boone to rest all of his primary relievers.

➤ Judge now has 99 RBI and we haven’t even reached August. “I told him I had 96 one year, and he passed that in July,” said Boone. “It’s amazing what he’s doing in this hitting climate. You add what he and Juan are doing together; I hope everyone is enjoying it.”

⚾ The Blue Jays, who will be coming to the Bronx this weekend, did the Yankees a bit of a favor as they managed to split a doubleheader with the Orioles at Camden Yards. They got bombed 11-5 in the first game but won the nightcap 8-4, so that means the Yankees are just a half-game back in the division, one in the loss column.

Toronto also did the Yankees another favor when they traded lefty Yusei Kikuchi to the Astros for three players. I say that, but Kikuchi going to Houston may not be great because he will help the Astros as they try to win the AL West, and who knows, the Yankees could see their arch nemesis in the postseason. And Kikuchi being there wouldn’t be great because he has owned the Yankees in his six-year MLB career.

He has started more games against New York than any other team (13) and he has pitched to a 3.38 ERA and the Yankees have batted .224 with a .682 OPS against him. For whatever reason, they just don’t hit him well. So, it’s good that he’s no longer with the Jays and they’ll see him much less, but let’s hope he doesn’t bite them with the Astros.

The Jays, who sit in last place, are selling at the deadline. They sent aging DH Justin Turner to the Mariners, catcher Danny Jansen (another guy who has been a pain in the ass to the Yankees) to the Red Sox so that’s not ideal, and reliever Nate Pearson to the Cubs, and we still have another half day before the 6 p.m. deadline.

⚾ But the Jays can’t compete with the level of sell-off the Rays are undertaking. The most annoying team on planet earth is trading everyone who makes a little money or has an expiring contract, and they’re collecting a pile of prospects who you know damn well will become future gnats against the Yankees because that’s what all Rays players become once they take up residence at the Trop.

Since the start of July they have traded third baseman Isaac Paredes to the Cubs, IF/OF Amed Rosario to the Dodgers, reliever Jason Adam to the Padres, starter Zach Eflin to the Orioles, supreme Yankee-killer Randy Arozarena to the Mariners, reliever Phil Maton to the Mets, and starter Aaron Civale in the Brewers. Despite all that, they’re 54-52 and only 3.5 games out of the final wild-card spot.

⚾ The Red Sox took out some frustration following their series loss to the Yankees with a 14-7 blowout over Seattle. They are just one game behind the Royals who currently hold the third wild-card spot, and just like the Rays, I don’t want the Red Sox anywhere near the playoff race because they’re dangerous.

⚾ Then again, the Royals are a decent team and they have one of the best players in MLB, Bobby Witt Jr., who is having a monster season. He hit a go-ahead grand slam in the eighth and Kansas City beat the White Sox 8-5, extending Chicago’s losing streak t0 15 games which is a new franchise record. They’ve been playing on the South Side since 1901, so yeah, that’s quite an accomplishment.

How good has Witt been in July? Hall of Fame level. In 21 games he’s slashing .488/.506/.857 for an OPS of 1.363 with eight doubles, a triple, seven homers and 21 RBI. Simply incredible player, the kind of player who could carry a team in the postseason by himself.