The Yankees have won 16 of their last 22 games, steadying the ship after their brutal summer swoon pushed them to the brink of the Wild Card picture. On August 10th, the Yankees sat a half-game clear of the Cleveland Guardians for the third Wild Card spot at 62-56, while sitting three games behind the Mariners and two behind the Red Sox. Fast forward to today, where the Yankees enter play 6.5 games up on a playoff spot, a half-game ahead of Boston, and a whopping five games ahead of Seattle. They’ve
more than steadied themselves in the Wild Card race.
But right now, we’re not aiming for the Wild Card. The Toronto Blue Jays come to town for the final time in 2025. Buckle up. It’s time for war.
Rookie Cam Schlittler will take the mound for the Yankees, hopefully getting a good night’s sleep after spending Thursday night in New York while the team won the series finale in Houston. The 24-year-old fireballer has been remarkable in his young big league career, running a 2.61 ERA (156 ERA+) and 3.88 FIP in nine starts. Schlittler has been especially impressive in his last four starts, allowing just two runs in 23.2 innings with 30 strikeouts to just eight walks. He’s facing the Blue Jays for the second time, allowing two runs in five innings at Rogers Centre on July 22nd despite allowing seven hits and three walks.
He’ll face off against Kevin Gausman, a man well acquainted with the Yankees. Toronto’s ace will be making his 33rd career start against the Yankees and his 17th in Yankee Stadium. He got roughed up in his lone start in the Bronx back in April, but he fared better in the latter two. Gausman has a 3.75 ERA (114 ERA+) and 3.66 FIP on the season and is coming off of seven strong innings in Milwaukee against the MLB-best Brewers. He somehow has a losing record (8-10) on an 81-59 team, though.
Gausman’s a workhorse, finishing six innings in 16 of his 27 starts and at least getting through five in 24. Two of his seven starts that saw him fail to start the sixth this season have come against the Yankees. He’s struggled in his career against Giancarlo Stanton, Paul Goldschmidt, and Aaron Judge, but has dominated the likes of Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Anthony Volpe. Nine Yankees hitter have at least 14 at-bats against him.
The big news in Yankeeland on Friday is the return of Judge to right field for the first time since July 25th. He’ll bat third behind “The Big Sleep” and a catching Ben Rice. Giancarlo Stanton will move back to DH, Jazz Chisholm Jr. is back in the lineup after leaving with a knee contusion last night, and José Caballero will get the start over Anthony Volpe at shortstop.
How to Watch:
Location: Yankee Stadium — Bronx, NY
First Pitch: 7:05 p.m. EDT
TV broadcast: YES, Sportsnet, TVA Sports, MLB Network (out-of-market only)
Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY) | SN590, SN APP (MIN)
Online stream: Gotham Sports App, MLB.tv (out-of-market only)
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