The Trent Grisham Game as he Beats Rays With Bat and Glove

Trent Grisham played the role of the unlikely hero, both at the plate and in the field, as the desperate Yankees beat the Rays at the Trop. And this victory came on a night when the Orioles lost again to the Cubs so the Yankees pulled within two games of first place, and the Red Sox lost to the A’s so they dropped a game further behind in the race for second in the AL East. Lets get to it.

July 10: Yankees 2, Rays 1

Well, the Yankees won, so there’s your headline news today in the newsletter. For just the seventh time in their last 24 games, they found a way to score more runs than the opponent, though it certainly wasn’t much more as they were on the ropes all night at Tropicana Field and somehow didn’t blow this game.

And a big reason for that - I can’t believe I’m typing this - was Trent Grisham, which goes to prove that everyone can have a day in the big leagues because they are, after all, big league players.

Sometimes we have wondered whether that was true about Grisham this season because for the most part, while he plays great defense, he’s been an automatic out at the plate in a lineup that can’t afford those.

But Grisham was the man of the match as they say in the soccer world. He got the Yankees’ miniscule offense started when he followed Anthony Volpe’s single in the second inning with a line drive down the left-field line that missed being a home run by about two feet but nonetheless chased Volpe home.

And then in the fourth, Gleyber Torres singled and later took third on a throwing error by Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz who was trying to nail him at second base to complete a double play on a ball hit by Volpe. That put Torres in position to score when Grisham lined out to left and that proved to be the winning run.

Grisham is hitting a team-low .172, but he has been a little better lately. Since the start of June he’s hitting .258 with four homers and 14 RBI which, for arguably the worst hitter on the team, isn’t bad.

“Really kind of the same,” Grisham said of the two balls he put in play against Zach Eflin, the Rays’ starter. “Just trying to be ready early, be relaxed. He’s around the zone and doesn’t walk that many people.”

Grisham wasn’t done, though. He can’t hit, but he’s a terrific center fielder, a two-time Gold Glove winner when he was with the Padres, and he saved the night for the Yankees in the bottom of the eighth with a tremendous catch in right-center on a ball smoked by Diaz, another in a long line of guys who routinely tortures the Yankees.

Tommy Kahnle retired the first two men but then allowed a single to ex-Yankee Ben Rortvedt and a walk to Taylor Walls, two poor hitters who combined for four hits and a walk in this game. Clay Holmes came on to try for a four-out save and nearly blew it as he threw a terrible slider in the middle of the plate and was damn lucky Diaz didn’t hit it to Jacksonville. Grisham got a tremendous jump and flagged it down in the gap to save two runs that would have given the Rays the lead.

“Again just kind of the same thing, being relaxed and ready,” said Grisham. “He hit it a lot better than I thought so I had to adjust course and get to it.”

Not a whole lot was solved in this game. The offense was still terrible and the pitching wasn’t great, either, as the Rays had 10 hits and drew five walks, but a win is a win and the Yankees aren’t going to quibble about style points these days.

Here are my observations:

➤ I heard John Flaherty say that he thought Marcus Stroman pitched well. Sorry, but recording only 13 outs and allowing seven hits and two walks with only two strikeouts on 84 pitches doesn’t strike me as pitching well. Stroman has been a rollercoaster ride all season, up and down, up and down, but unlike Carlos Rodon, Stroman limits the damage - he gave up just one run - and he at least gives the Yankees a chance to win, so I’ll give him credit for that.

➤ How about Tim Hill, a castoff from the White Sox, who came up huge in the fifth inning? He took over for Stroman after he allowed his lone run and left with the bases loaded, and Hill struck out Josh Lowe and got Randy Arozarena to line out to right to preserve the 2-1 lead. Then, after Hill gave up back-to-back singles to start the sixth, Luke Weaver came on with one out and on his first pitch he got Walls to act like a Yankee and hit into a soul-crushing double play. “Getting that double play ball on one pitch was huge,” Aaron Boone said. “He didn’t back down, didn’t flinch, and did what he’s been doing all year.”

➤ Of course, the Rays didn’t stop threatening. Weaver walked two in the seventh but got out of his own mess, and then Tommy Kahnle put two men on base with two outs in the eighth which brought Holmes in to put out that fire, though it looked like he was using a garden hose with that pitch to Diaz. He was much better in a 1-2-3 ninth. “I think it’s big to win a game like that - just really nitty-gritty,” Grisham said. “Well-fought the whole way and close the whole way. For our pitchers to come up big in all those situations, I think that’s going to do a lot for us going forward.”

➤ This was Holmes’ first save since June 9 against the Dodgers which is simply amazing. Almost as amazing as the fact that he didn’t allow a baserunner, a rarity for him. In all, the bullpen got 14 outs and held on to a tenuous one-run lead throughout.

➤ The Rays went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left 12 men on base. Not that the Yankees did much of anything as they went 0-for-3 with RISP and left five on base as this offense continues to stink.

⚾ As surprising as it was to see the Yankees win, it was equally surprising to see the Red Sox lose, especially since they did so against the A’s. They have ex-Yankee JP Sears to thank for that as the Oakland starter allowed just one run into the sixth inning against one of the hottest offenses in the sport. For Boston, Nick Pivetta struck out eight straight men at one point, tying a team record previously held by Roger Clemens in his 20-strikeout game against the Mariners in 1986, and tied by Pivetta less than a month ago, so that’s quite a thing for Pivetta.

⚾ In Baltimore, the Orioles dropped a second straight game to the Cubs, which is pretty hard to do. Chicago has been one of the most disappointing teams in MLB, one that many felt would win the NL Central but currently sits in last place. Tuesday, the Cubs lit up Dean Kremer in a 9-2 victory, and then Wednesday, Shota Imanaga was great as he pitched six shutout innings, then turned it over to a weak bullpen that surprisingly completed the shutout against this scary Orioles offense.

⚾ In San Francisco, the Blue Jays put a 10-6 spanking on the Giants as Rochester’s own Ernie Clement hit a three-run homer. Obviously I can’t stand the Blue Jays, but I do love that Clement is getting a chance there. He struggled to find his way with the Guardians and A’s since his MLB debut in 2021 and spent more time in the minors than the majors, but he already has a career-high 183 plate appearances in 2024 and he’s hitting .261 with six homers, 21 RBI and an OPS of .708.

⚾ The Phillies and Dodgers are playing a heavyweight series in the NL this week in Philadelphia and the home team won the first two games, starting with a 10-1 laugher on Tuesday as Trea Turner hit a grand slam and Brandon Marsh and Brendan Stott also homers.

In that game, both Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber returned after missing about two weeks with injuries, Schwarber a groin, Harper a hamstring. Why is it that it takes Yankees players double or triple the time to return from similar injuries? I’m not trying to be a jerk here, and obviously I don’t know the severity levels, but Giancarlo Stanton was jogging when he tweaked his hamstring and he’s going to miss at least a month; Harper was busting it down the line when he got hurt, but he’s already back.

Wednesday, the Phillies earned a tight 4-3 victory with Schwarber leading off the game with a home run, and reliever Matt Strahm saving the night for the Phillies in the seventh when he struck out Shohei Ohtani with two men on base to end a big threat. The Dodgers have lost three in a row and are now 5.5 games worse than the Phillies in the battle for the best record in the NL.

⚾ Ya gotta love the Reds. They came into the Bronx last week and swept the Yankees and since then? They got swept last weekend by the Tigers and after winning two against the awful Rockies, they lost 6-5 on Wednesday. They are now 44-49, yet they rolled the Yankees three straight. That was such a terrible three nights and days for the Yankees, you just shake your head.