A week ago, nobody expected that Yankees fans would be scoreboard watching the Blue Jays as much as they were watching their own team in the dying days of the season, but an eight-day stretch that completely
turned the division race upside down has led to this. Unfortunately for the Yankees, the Blue Jays woke up from their week-long slumber, navigating a bullpen game to beat the Red Sox 6-1 in a contest that featured a combined perfecto through six innings. This ensured that the Yankees would need to close out a sweep of the lowly White Sox to hold serve entering the final weekend.
After a choppy start, that’s exactly what the Yankees did. Carlos Rodón tossed a quality start and Giancarlo Stanton smacked a clutch go-ahead three-run double in the fifth as the Yankees finished off a three-game sweep of the ChiSox, 5-3. The win kept the Yankees tied atop the AL East into a key weekend series against the last-place Orioles.
Rodón took the mound in the first and got an easy first out on a fly ball to Judge in right field. After allowing a two-out single to Colson Montgomery, he bounced back to strike out Edgar Quero to end the first.
The bottom of the first started eerily similar to yesterday, as the Yankees had bases loaded and nobody out after Trent Grisham singled, Judge doubled, and Cody Bellinger walked to load the bases. This time, the Yankees would not waste it, although it wasn’t as fruitful as they hoped. Ben Rice tapped a ball down the first base line that Martin didn’t let go foul, tagging him to get an out on an RBI groundout. Stanton would strike out, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. would ground out to end the inning, but the Yankees took a 1-0 lead.
The White Sox put two on to start the second against Rodón, as Miguel Vargas singled and Kyle Teel got plunked. Michael A. Taylor gave away an out on a sac bunt to put two in scoring position with one out. Rodón got ahead of Corey Julks, but couldn’t bury a 1-2 changeup that got hit hard into right-center field for a sac fly. A pair of productive outs for the ChiSox evened this game up at one, but Rodón stranded the other runner with his 200th strikeout of the season.
In the second, the bottom of the order did its job to set up the top. Austin Wells and Ryan McMahon both had groundball singles. Grisham then hit a slow tapper that advanced the runners, but with first base open and the Yankees’ captain up, the obvious occurred. Judge intentionally walked for the 35th time, a new American League record. Bellinger grounded out to end the inning, as the Yankees had five stranded runners in two innings.
Rodón rebounded with his first 1-2-3 frame of the night in the third, as did Martin despite both surrendering a scorched groundball. In the fourth, however, Rodón walked Vargas and was a victim of the short porch in right field, as the soft-hitting Michael A. Taylor blasted a two-run homer to take the lead, 3-1. The bottom of the order went down quietly in the bottom half, as Martin started to settle in.
Needing to keep the team in the game, Rodón retired the side in order in the fifth. After Grisham struck out to start the bottom half, Judge singled to get his average up to .331, and Bellinger singled to force Martin out of the game. The new pitcher was Tyler Gilbert, notable for throwing a no-hitter in his first career start with the Diamondbacks. Tonight, he was not as sharp. A walk to Rice brought up the slumbering (G)iant, who smacked a three-run double down the line to propel the Yanks in front. Curtis Mead got too cute at third base and whiffed on a 109 mph groundball that he could’ve at least knocked down.
Rodón put up a much-needed shutdown inning, albeit with help. Colson Montgomery smashed a long double off the wall, but got thrown out at third on a textbook bad fundies play. You do not go to third on a routine groundball to the left side. The Yankees’ lefty starter finished the inning and his 2025 regular season with a quality start. It was his first start with more than two runs allowed in almost two months, but he left in line for a win. He finishes with a 3.09 ERA in 33 starts, 195.1 innings, and 203 strikeouts. A banner year and a tremendous turnaround after how his Yankee career started in 2023.
The Yankees continued to threaten in the sixth, but again stranded the bases loaded. McMahon was plunked with one out and got to second on a wild pitch, Judge was intentionally walked (again), and Bellinger walked to load them for Rice. The young first baseman battled, but flew out on 3-2 in his second at-bat against Gilbert.
Luke Weaver took over for Rodón in the seventh and delivered a 1-2-3 inning. Stanton led off the bottom half with a walk against Mike Vasil before being pinch-ran for by Jasson Domínguez. With one out and Domínguez on second, Wells smashed an RBI double to make it 5-3 off the wall in right center, continuing his prolonged hot streak since early August.
Devin Williams got the eighth and started it with two strikeouts and a 1-2 count to Montgomery, continuing his late-season revival. Despite being one pitch from a dominant frame, he lost Montgomery with three straight balls, allowed a single to Quero, and a ripped line drive by Vargas that threatened to tie the game. Fortunately, the sure-handed Bellinger ran it down in the gap.
In the ninth, it was of course David Bednar for the Yanks. El Oso did what he’s done so many times since he was acquired at the deadline, tossing a 1-2-3 inning. and closing out his 26th save of the season. Rodón picked up his 18th win, as he and Fried became the first teammates with 18+ wins since Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander in 2019 with Houston. While Toronto won, the win kept the Yankees tied atop the East and also clinched, at worst, the No. 4 seed in the AL.
The final series of the regular season kicks off tomorrow in the Bronx, as Will Warren faces off against Trevor Rogers in a rematch of last Friday’s bout in Baltimore at 7:05 on YES.
