Yankees Again Prove They Can Beat Up Bums

The Yankees just missed a perfect 7-0 week because they dropped the finale Sunday to the White Sox. Still, it was a great week beating up on terrible teams and they have jumped right back into the race for the AL East while also strengthening their position at the top of the wildcard race. Lets get to it.

The Yankees did exactly what they needed to do last week. They were playing two of the worst teams in MLB, the Nationals and White Sox, and the only way they were going to give themselves a legitimate chance of getting back into the hunt for the AL East division title was to dominate these two schlub teams. And they did. Boy, did they ever.

They won six of the seven games by a cumulative score of 53-20, and perfection was ruined - as well as their seven-game winning streak - when Tim Hill gave up a tiebreaking eighth-inning homer to Chicago’s Lenyn Sosa Sunday which enabled the putrid White Sox to avoid a four-game sweep.

The seven-game winning streak has gotten the Yankees to 76-61, so they’re almost back to their highest point of the year - 17 games over .500 which is where they were perched at the close of business on June 12 following a three-game sweep in Kansas City.

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There has been a whole lot of shitty baseball between then and now when you consider that on Aug. 23 when they lost their third straight in that horrid series against the Red Sox they were eight games below .500 since June 12. Now they’re nearly back to playing .500 since that date (34-36) and thanks to a ho-hum August from the previously scorching hot Blue Jays, the Yankees are within three games of first place with a month to go.

But now we’ve reached another critical inflection point in the schedule. The last time we had one of these was a couple weeks ago after the Yankees manhandled the middling Twins, Cardinals and Rays. Going 7-1 against three non-playoff contenders was nice, but they had to prove their mettle in a huge four-game series against Boston and they failed by losing three of four.

Now, after going 6-1 against the Nationals and White Sox, they are facing a much more difficult schedule segment because they are staring at two weeks worth of games against four teams that will likely be playing October baseball.

It starts Tuesday with three games in Houston against the perennial pain in the ass AL West-leading Astros, then shifts to Yankee Stadium for a huge three-game showdown against the Blue Jays followed by three against the AL Central-leading Tigers. At the end, there’s three games at Fenway against a Boston team who they are 2-8 against this year.

“The feeling is good. We’re obviously enjoying it,” Cody Bellinger said of the recent hot streak that has seen the Yankees win 14 of their last 19. “This is definitely better than the other way. But we all understand that there’s more games to play. We can’t focus on other people. We just focus on the guys in this locker room.”

If they kick some ass in these upcoming 12 games, the Yankees will bolster their position in the wildcard race and they could possibly move back into first place in the division. At the bare minimum, if they can at least tread water and not lose the ground they just made up, they will have a chance to wreak some havoc in the final two weeks when they play three each against the Twins and White Sox, and six against the Orioles, all teams who are playing out the string and can’t get wait for the season to end.

Meanwhile, Toronto closes with seven games against the always pesky Rays and three each against two playoff contenders, the Royals and Red Sox, while Boston finishes with three each against the A’s, Rays, and playoff-bound Blue Jays and Tigers. On paper and in theory, which is all it is because the games still need to be played, the schedule in the last two weeks clearly favors the Yankees, but first things first. If they don’t do some good work in the upcoming two weeks, those last two weeks might not matter in terms of the division.

“It’s coming down to the wire,” Aaron Judge said. “We want to play the best teams, especially getting down the stretch here into the postseason. That’s what it’s all about, to see what we’re made of. We got to show up every single day and prove it. It doesn’t matter what we did the past road trip, doesn’t matter good or bad, we got to show up every single day here and we got something to prove - more to ourselves than anybody else. We got a special team here and guys know the opportunity we got ahead of us. The boys are fired up, we’re ready to go.”

Aug. 28: Yankees 10, White Sox 4

➤ As we look at Anthony Volpe’s night, good for him that he had two hits, reached on an error, stole a base, scored once and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. We’d take that every night. Oh, but wait, he made yet another unbelievable error on as routine a ground ball as there could be, and that eventually led to four unearned runs which tied the game in the second inning. So, even on a night when he showed a pulse on offense, ending his 1-for-38 slide, he wound up a minus-two in terms of runs he helped produced compared to runs against that could be directly attributed to him.

➤ Thankfully, Volpe’s Little League muff didn’t end up mattering because the White Sox are awful and the Yankees eventually put them back in their place by scoring the game’s final six runs for their fifth straight victory. But my God, why do we continue to see Volpe in the starting lineup?

➤ Will Warren was his own worst enemy in that inning because after the error he walked a batter and hit another, and then, when there should already have been three outs, he served up a grand slam to Miguel Vargas. Otherwise, he was fine as he went five innings and allowed five hits and two walks, though he struck out only three and induced just seven swinging strikes on 93 pitches.

➤ Bellinger continued his outstanding season. A two-run homer in the first after Judge drew a two-out walk, double in the fifth, nearly a two-run homer in the seventh, and a single and run scored in the ninth.

➤ Ben Rice had two hits including a home run, Trent Grisham and Jazz Chisholm each homered again and the Yankees scored runs in five different innings.

➤ As for the bullpen, this was a great night. It was 12 up, 12 down with seven strikeouts for Fernando Cruz, Luke Weaver, Devin Williams (struck out the side), and Mark Leiter.

What they said in Thursday’s clubhouse

• Chisholm: “We want to win the division. We don’t just want to get to the wild-card spot. So right now, it’s just like, we’re going to go out there and win that, and then we’re going to go win the World Series.”

• Bellinger: “We’re playing good baseball. Talented team, and we’re putting together quality at-bats, getting guys on base and getting big knocks and homers. It’s fun, so we just got to keep it rolling.”

• Warren: “I hate that I give up the grand slam and it’s back to a 0-0 game. But Judgey came over and was like, ‘Hey, we’re going to put up runs.’ I trust that we’re going to do that, and we have the capability of putting up 10 every night.”

Aug. 29: Yankees 10, White Sox 2

➤ Grisham’s season has been nothing short of stunning. This could certainly be an outlier because coming into 2025 he was a career .213 hitter with a .697 OPS and 70 homers in 623 games, but hey, it’s been a hell of an outlier. He has become an everyday player who Aaron Boone can’t take out of the lineup because he has taken over the leadoff spot and is having the season of his life on offense while still playing very good defense in center field.

➤ This was a 1-0 game in the fourth when Grisham belted a two-out grand slam off former Yankee Yoendrys Gomez. It was the only hit of the inning as there was a catchers interference and two walks which loaded the bases.

➤ Later, Volpe continued to show some life as he ripped an RBI single during a three-run sixth that also included RBI singles by Austin Wells and Rice, and Volpe hit a two-run homer in the seventh to close the Yankees scoring.

➤ Carlos Rodon put up another strong start, six innings, one run on seven hits and two walks. The only time he was in trouble was the fifth when he allowed three singles resulting in a run before he got Lenyn Sosa to fly out. The Sox also had two men on with one out in the sixth but Rodon worked out of that jam and turned the game over the bullpen. Cruz and Camilo Doval each worked a scoreless inning, but Tim Hill had a rough eighth as he allowed a run on three hits.

➤ This was the third straight game the Yankees reached reached double digits, the fourth in the last five games, and the 22nd time overall this season.

What they said in Friday’s clubhouse

• Grisham on his season: “It’s what I’ve always dreamed about and thought I was capable of. To do it is a whole other thing. But no, it does not surprise me.”

• Boone on Grisham: “The fact that he’s sitting here as our leadoff guy, over a .350 on-base, 28 homers now, I would have signed up for that in a heartbeat. But he’s taken the opportunity and completely run with it and put together a real career year for himself.”

• Rodon on the run support: “It’s been pretty incredible. They’ve made it really on us to go out and fill up the zone and attack and let the defense make plays.”

Aug. 30: Yankees 5, White Sox 3 (11)

➤ Wow, it’s amazing how close the Yankees came to losing this game three times in the 10th inning, but when things are going your way, you survive close calls like this. Meanwhile, when you’re the White Sox, rarely do things go your way.

➤ The Yankees failed to score in the top of the 10th which was not surprising given their season-long struggles in extra innings. Volpe wasted an at bat by bunting which was just plain stupid, and then Wells was thrown out trying to score thanks to yet another failed contact play as Ryan McMahon hit a useless ground ball. It just felt like that was going to cost them the game, but then some good fortune shined their way.

➤ In the bottom of the 10th, with David Bednar pitching his second inning, the Sox got their free runner to third with one out and that brought Sosa to the plate for a crazy at bat. On the second pitch he hit a fly down the right-field line that landed foul by a foot; on the fourth pitch, Wells made a great backhanded pick to prevent a walk-off wild pitch; and on the fifth pitch, Sosa hit a grounder to third that was foul by a foot. If any of those things went inches the other way, the Yankees lose, but then he struck out on the sixth pitch and Bednar got the next guy on a fly ball to end the inning. Phew!

➤ In the 11th, the Yankees went to work. Paul Goldschmidt advanced the free runner to third with a fly ball, Judge was walked intentionally, and then a Bellinger RBI single and RBI doubles by Chisholm and Volpe made it 5-2. Doval came in for the bottom half and while he allowed the free runner to score, that was it and the Yankees won a game that a couple weeks ago they probably would have lost.

➤ Earlier, homers by Judge and Wells had the Yankees up 2-1 but Williams promptly gave up the tying run in the seventh after he’d taken over for Cam Schlittler. The rookie was once again excellent as he went six innings giving up just one run on four hits and a walk with eight strikeouts. After Williams blew the kid’s chance for the win, Weaver handled the eighth before Bednar and Doval finished it.

➤ Schlitter has a 1.60 ERA in six August starts. That’s the lowest ERA (minimum five starts) in August by a Yankee since Ron Guidry in 1978 had a 1.34 ERA in six.

What they said in Saturday’s clubhouse

• Wells on Schlittler: “He’s a beast. He just goes out there. It doesn’t matter who’s at the plate; I feel like for him, he’s going to go out there and throw his pitches and give us outs. I think he has three or four really good pitches that, as we’ve seen in every single outing so far, he can throw.”

• Schlittler: “With each start, I’m definitely feeling more comfortable. Not trying to get too comfortable, but just kind of understand that I can go out there and be confident in myself and do what I need to do for hopefully six innings.”

• Boone: “We’re playing well. We got to keep it going. This is a good win to get, this was a gritty one after pulling away in the first two with big numbers. To find a way to get this one done is big, but we’ll enjoy it here for five minutes and it’s another big one (Sunday).”

Aug. 31: White Sox 3, Yankees 2

➤ The Yankees were so close to sweeping the series, but the over-worked Hill had his second straight poor outing and this time it cost the Yankees a chance at an eighth straight win.

➤ The Yankees blew a golden chance to take the lead in the top of the eighth as they loaded the bases on a single by Amed Rosario and walks to Chisholm and Volpe, but Rice grounded out to short to kill the rally. Then in the bottom half, Hill got the first two outs but on a 1-2 pitch he gave up the home run to Sosa to dead center and that decided the game. It was certainly a frustrating ending, especially given how bad of a team the White Sox are.

➤ Luis Gil had a decent day as he went 5.1 innings and gave up two runs on four hits and two walks while whiffing seven. He got touched for a run in the second when Will Robertson, who is now batting .077, hit an RBI double, and then in the sixth Colson Montgomery tied it at 2-2 with a solo homer. Cruz retired all five men he faced before Hill - who has been so good this season but wasn’t good at all in this series against his former team - coughed it up.

➤ The Yankees’ runs off Sox starter Martin Perez came via a Judge solo homer in the first, and then Judge doubled and scored on a double by Bellinger in the third. Giancarlo Stanton then hit a shot to right and ex-Yankee Mike Tauchman robbed him of a two-run homer and that proved to be awfully important in the end because from there the Yankees were blanked by Perez and four relievers as they left 10 men on base. As I said, frustrating.

➤ Judge’s home run was the 358th of his career which ties him with Yogi Berra for fifth all-time on the Yankee list.

What they said in Sunday’s clubhouse

• Judge on tying Yogi: “To get a chance to tie one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Yankees in homers, it’s pretty special. The way Yogi played the game, what he meant to pinstripes, you knew how much it meant being a New York Yankee to him. I feel the same way. I’m honored to wear this jersey, so it’s pretty cool to be on that list with him.”

• Judge on his recent struggles: “I haven’t been getting on base enough for the guys behind me recently. Just trying to improve a little bit there, so anytime I can get out there and let Belli finish it, it’s a good day.”

The Yankees open this critical and difficult part of their schedule against the Astros who dropped two straight over the weekend to the lowly Angels, but still sit at 75-62 and lead the AL West by two games over the Mariners.

Here are some of the Astros top players to watch:

➤ LF Jose Altuve: This guy can’t retire fast enough. The last time he played the Yankees he tortured them just as he has for a decade. He leads the team with 23 homers and has 65 RBI.

➤ DH Yordan Alvarez: He missed nearly four months but he just returned last week and is starting to find his form, and if he does, he’s one of the most feared hitters in MLB.

➤ 1B Christian Walker: The big free agent acquisition in the offseason started slowly but now leads the team with 74 RBI.

➤ 3B Carlos Correa: He had just been re-acquired at the deadline when these teams last played and of course he was a pain in the ass to the Yankees. He has hit .295 since his return.

➤ RP Bryan Abreu: With closer Josh Hader out, Abreu has moved into that role and he’s great as his 1.89 ERA and 1.065 WHIP show.

The pitching matchups are scheduled to be:

The Astros have not announced who will be starting, so all I have here is the Yankees’ expected rotation:

• Tuesday, 8:10, YES: Max Fried (3.06 ERA).

• Wednesday, 8:10, Amazon Prime: Will Warren (4.30).

• Thursday, 7:40, YES: Carlos Rodon (3.18).