Boy, talk about winning ugly. The Yankee defense is still a concern, and the bullpen is a lot more shaky than I’d like, but the lineup delivered a couple big home runs, and scored with their legs too. The starting pitcher was quite good, and the closer flubbed his way along. All wins count, and this one, a 7-5 decision, was one the Yankees really needed.
Max Fried didn’t get off to the luckiest start, with Anthony Volpe muffing a possible double play on the second batter of the game. While Fried was
able to get two outs after the mishap, Jonny DeLuca’s triple plated both of the unearned runs and had the Rays up early.
Jonathan Aranda also got to Fried, hitting a solo shot in the top of the third. It started to look like one of those games, but Fried settled down, retired 12 in a row, and while his pinky finger opened up again towards the end of the game, he was able to put up enough zeroes for the lineup to get their chances. And, well...
Something like an offensive fever may have broken for the Yankees. After getting just by the Phillies on Sunday and only scoring via bases-loaded walks yesterday, the offense was a little more creative. Down three, Cody Bellinger tied us up the most efficient way in the bottom of the third:
So much of the offense, specifically the ability to get extra-base hits, is going to rely on Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton for at least another week. Belli now has a 134 wRC+ on the year, not quite Aaron Judge but more than enough to be effective if guys can get on ahead of him.
In the fourth inning, things got a little crazier, but in positive ways. Jasson Domínguez followed a single up with a steal of second, advancing to third on a flyout, and our much-maligned shortstop had a hit that hopefully got the monkey off his back:
Like it or not, the Yankees need Volpe to be representative to succeed. His strikeout was ugly, but at bats like that will help get him over the hump, and the team as a whole. The Yankees got a little bit of luck with Austin Wells reaching on an error, then Volpe started a double steal to put even more pressure on the Rays.
New Ray Nick Fortes hucked the ball into left field trying to nail Volpe, 5-3 Yankees. After Ben Rice walked, Paul Goldschmidt knocked Wells in:
A big home run, some chaos on the bases, and some timely hitting. Little bit of everything in the batter’s box today. Hopefully it’s the start of something real.
I thought Fried would be done after six, with one earned run allowed and his pinky starting to open up. Aaron Boone made two decisions, one, to let him work the seventh, and two to keep him in with two outs, after Fortes walked. Fried pled his case, Boone went with it, and Taylor Walls doubled to cut the lead to two.
With a two-run lead in the eighth, and the 2-3-4 slots in Tampa’s order due up, Boone made another Decision. It was Jonathan Loáisiga’s inning, and he promptly gave up base hits to the first two men he saw. He bailed himself out with a double play but I would like him to not be thought of as a high-leverage arm for the foreseeable future.
The rest of the game was more stressful than it needed to be. Anthony Volpe added some key insurance in the bottom of the eighth:
That run would become even more important as Devin Williams allowed a leadoff triple in the ninth, walked another hitter, and once again showed that his fastball command can just vanish. An RBI groundout made the game 7-5, and on the possible 27th out ... Volpe slowly threw one into the dirt that Goldschmidt couldn’t corral. The shortstop’s second error of the night put runners at the corners with two away, and a stolen base quickly put the tying run in scoring position. It was gut-check time.
Thankfully, Williams was able to get Aranda to whiff away and close out the game. But ... BRUH.
The Yankees picked up a game and a half on the division leaders (who suffered a doubleheader sweep in Baltimore), now four full back. The Jays are in a cooling phase of their own right now, the division isn’t settled if you can make hay on the days they’re not. Will Warren will try and help the Yankees continue to claw back in the AL East in game three of this series, the final one with a 7:05pm start time, and the only one on Amazon Prime Video.
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