If nothing else, this season hasn’t been boring. Today’s series finale was much tenser than the final 8-4 score would indicate, but the Yankees did enough for a big win, taking two out of three from the hated Astros — even if Brian Walsh tried his nonsense again.
In some ways, this was the Ryan McMahon game, as the trade deadline acquisition had a couple big swings. First off was a single in the second inning that opened up the scoring:
This one was only 74.1 mph off the bat, but it was enough to get
the job done — and Mac would flex a little harder in the fifth, the Yankees’ first big inning:
105! You go Ryan!
A pair of singles and Aaron Judge’s walk loaded the bases after the big fly, leaving Cody Bellinger to make the impact hit:
Ok, it’s only a single but this is a big stretch and it’s a big run. Hats off Cody. Giancarlo Stanton struck out with the bases re-loaded, and José Caballero, who had entered for Jazz Chisholm Jr., brought in a run in Michael Kay’s worst nightmare:
The second pitch clock violation of the game by the Astros — Austin Wells had walked on one earlier — made the score 4-1, and the Yankees needed that as the sixth inning was dumb — both because of the Yankees’ ineptitude, and our old friend Brian Walsh. With Yordan Alvarez at second, Jose Altuve lined a ball to McMahon that he snagged in the air…only for Walsh, he of the excellent eyesight, judgement, and temperament, ruling that the ball was fielded on the short hop. As Ryan dropped the ball on the transfer, instead of the inning’s first out, Altuve was on first via E5.
Carlos Rodón did a good job getting a probable double play ball, but Ben Rice couldn’t squeeze Caballero’s rushed throw — the second error of the game where Rice couldn’t get enough leather on a throw. Alvarez came around to score, 4-2 on the “unearned” run.
The Astros got their third run on pinch-hitter Jesús Sánchez’s home run, but my personal security blanket Fernando Cruz came in with the tying and go-ahead runs on base, staring down Jose Altuve:
Tremendous stuff from Cruz, but we’d already seen one homer allowed by the bullpen — this time by my old personal safety blanket Luke Weaver. The Yankees needed to bullpen-proof the game, and did so with a four-run eighth. Ryan Mac had an RBI single, of course, but Trent Grisham did Trent Grisham things:
That is Grisham’s 30th home run this season, and they all seem to come in big spots. An 8-3 lead is a hell of a lot better than a 5-3 lead, and Trent’s made words superfluous this season.
And boy was that lead needed. David Bednar allowed a run in the ninth and then some. We had a deeply bizarre Bat Check after some kind of irregularity was seen with Taylor Trammel’s stick, but as of right now nothing’s come of it. The bases were loaded with Carlos Correa representing the tying run, but Bednar was able to get whiffs from both CC and Christian Walker to finally seal the game.
We’re in the Dirty Dozen, and the Yankees took the first big series of this run. That’s as good as we could reasonably hope for, even if it was awfully tense. The club’s now three back of Toronto, with the Jays already in New York waiting for them.
Cam Schlittler and Luis Gil flew ahead to New York to get a proper night’s rest, and Cam will start the series with Toronto tomorrow night in what should be mandatory viewing for any proper Yankee fan. First pitch from the fireballer will come at 7:05pm Eastern, as the Yankees try to wrestle themselves closer to the AL East crown.
