About Last Night: Yankees 4, Dodgers 1

By Mike Whiteman 6/05/2023 *** Born on this day in 1874 was Jack Chesbro. The Highlanders’ spitballer had one of the greatest seasons on all-time in 1904 when he was 41-12 with a 1.82 ERA in 454 innings. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/chesbja01.shtml

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Jack-Chesbro/

Quick Stats: The Yankees took two of three games from the Dodgers, closing out a very successful West Coast trip. They are now 36-25, a rate that translates to 96 wins over the course of the season. They are in third place, six games behind Tampa Bay. Their record would basically be tied for the best in the National League. Big Story: Like much of the season, the injuries stole the spotlight in Yankeeworld yesterday. Aaron Judge sat out the game due to being “pretty sore” after Saturday’s contest and into the next morning per Aaron Boone. Judge’s injury came on his epic catch while banging into – and through - the wall during that win over the Dodgers. While Boone seemed to think an IL trip wasn’t going to be warranted, we’ll all be holding our breath until we see Judge roaming right field again. The status of Nestor Cortes is also in doubt – there were rumors of either skipping a start or an IL trip due to shoulder soreness. Questions about Cortes once again make Domingo German a crucial member of the starting rotation. German hasn’t proven to be the most reliable of Yankees through the years, but he came through last night, taking a shutout against one of the better offensive teams in the Majors into the seventh inning. His only blip was yielding a solo home run to JD Martinez in that seventh frame.

The Yanks needed a big time effort from German as their own offense struggled, with their only run at that point coming in the top of the seventh when a broken-bat infield grounder off the bat of Kyle Higashioka drove in Jake Bauers from third base. The sequence of events prior was a Bauers single to left field followed by an Isiah Kiner-Falefa bunt single which turned into more after a throwing error by Dodger pitcher Brusdar Graterol. Make contact and things can happen! With the game now tied going into the eighth, the Yankees took the lead back when Anthony Rizzo walked, Giancarlo Stanton doubled him to third, and Oswaldo Cabrera drove in the run on another infield RBI dribbler. After Clay Holmes and Wandy Peralta held the Dodgers scoreless in the eighth, Anthony Volpe ripped a two-run home run in the ninth to give some breathing room. Peralta closed the game out with a scoreless ninth, earning his fourth save on the season.

Yankees win, 4-1. Player of the Game: German was very, very good. He may be the Yankees' number two starter right now, a far cry from Brian Cashman's original blueprint for the season. Notable Performances: Volpe’s struggles have been on the mind of many, especially in light of Oswald Peraza’s raking in AAA. Hopefully his two hard batted hits, including his home run, are the beginning of better times…Cabrera’s RBI grounder wasn’t the most impressive of feats, but it was the second game in a row with a positive contribution. Getting him back to the 2022 level of production would be a significant boost to the offense. Better to Forget: DJ LeMahieu was hitless in four at bats, striking out three times. He’s batting .239 and striking out at a rate almost double his career trend. Perhaps the return of Josh Donaldson isn’t as bad an idea as many fans think. They Said It: “Walk into the building with an edge, prepare your butt off, and go compete” – Aaron Boone on the Yankee approach through adversity. My take: A very successful West Coast trip! The Yankees took two of three from a pretty good team in Seattle, and two of three from a very good Dodger team. The team’s June is starting off a lot like their successful May. Their solid play hasn’t been against a lot of patsies either - their Strength of Schedule (SOS) per baseball-reference.com is tied for first in all of baseball. I really enjoyed this series. Yankees-Dodgers games are special, and it felt to me like there was an electricity in the air. I’m not sure if I’m sold yet on the new MLB scheduling system, but will enjoy the annual encounter of these great rivals,

Next Up: The Yankees have today off, and the Chicago White Sox come to town tomorrow. Clarke Schmidt (2-5, 5.01) will hopefully keep his streak of improved pitching going against Lucas Giolito (4-4, 4.08). Starting time at 7:05.