Folks, you would be forgiven if, following the cosmic horror that was last night's 13-12 loss to the Marlins, you decided there are better uses of your Saturday than watching the Yankees. We've all been there. But if you're reading this, I suspect you're here because you feel you need this team to make it up to you. It's a justifiable feeling! After all, all four of the players the Yankees acquired on deadline day—about whom we on Pinstripe Alley wrote glowingly—played major roles in last night's collapse.
Still, there were still plenty of good things which the Yankees in that game, at least on offense. And hey, for the new members of the crew, it can only go up from here, right?
If you're not convinced, allow me to say that this middle game of the three-game set in Miami will feature an intriguing starting pitching matchup: two young righties with high-octane stuff. Cam Schlittler will make his fourth start since the Yankees called him up to the Majors. As with many young firebrands, Schlittler has shown flashes of brilliance interspersed with major command issues. He'll have to pare down that 13.2 percent walk rate if he wants to see success in MLB. (And not to relitigate last night's collapse too much, but a big factor fueling the Marlins’ comeback was the eight walks issues by Yankee pitching, including five by Carlos Rodón.)
On the other side, the Marlins will tap the extraordinarily talented 22-year old Eury Pérez, the franchise's highest-regarded pitching prospect this side of Jose Fernandez. The youngest player in the National League at the time of his MLB debut in 2023, Pérez put together an impressive rookie season with a 3.15 ERA and 108 strikeouts across 91.1 innings.
Unfortunately, despite the extreme caution the Marlins exercised in protecting his arm, Pérez still injured his UCL while ramping up for the 2024 season and had to undergo Tommy John surgery. Thankfully it appears his rehab went as swimmingly as possible. The 6-foot-8 righty made his anticipated return on June 9 this year in Pittsburgh, and has looked much like how he did before the injury across nine starts. He's got a 3.07 ERA and a sparkling 2.76 FIP in 44 innings. His four-seam fastball still sits in the high-90s, and he features three different breaking pitches, a changeup, and the occasional sinker from time to time. But make no mistake: the four-seamer is Pérez's money pitch.
It would appear that the bullpen is going to continue to be a hot conversation topic beyond the deadline, after all three new relievers made ignominious debuts last night. With Schlittler on the bump, the ‘pen will likely have to play a key role in how today's game unfolds as well. It will be a good test to see how well the Yankees can shrug off one of their most baffling performances in recent memory. Marlins Park has become a bit of a house of horrors for the Yankees lately—a win today and tomorrow can exorcise the demons and get them back on track.
How to Watch:
Location: loanDepot Park — Miami, FL
First Pitch: 4:10 p.m. EDT
TV broadcast: YES, FanDuel Sports Network Florida, WFBS-TV
Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280; Fox Sports 940 AM (WINZ), WAQI 710
Online stream: YES App, MLB.tv
For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.
Saturday Matchup. #RepBX pic.twitter.com/IMAKe63r1s
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 2, 2025
Time to get wavy
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) August 2, 2025
: @PNCBank
: @FanDuelSN_FL , @FDSN_Marlins
: @MarlinsRadio , @FoxSports940
⏰: 4:10 PM ET
️: Roof status: CLOSED#Marlinsbeisbol // https://t.co/ZrOdIbYDTI pic.twitter.com/Wa8zDNCcmT
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