About Last Night: Yanks Hang On, 8-4 Against Rangers

By Andy Singer

September 3rd, 2024

The Big Story

For one night, the Yanks looked just a little less listless. Gerrit Cole looked a little off at the beginning of his start, using an uncharacteristically deliberate rhythm on the mound while also displaying reduced velocity to begin his outing. However, he largely righted the ship quickly while dominating the Rangers' lineup, striking out 9 through 6 innings of work while allowing just 1 run. Unfortunately, Cole left his start after warming up to begin the 7th inning due to what the team is calling, "calf cramps." Aaron Boone stated after the game that Cole's status would be re-evaluated today.

Much like Cole, the Yankee offense got off to a slow start against former #1 overall draft pick, Jack Leiter. Leiter showed the stuff that got him drafted at the top of the draft a couple of years ago, but his inability to put hitters away or command his fastball consistently allowed the Yankee offense to take advantage when the opportunity presented itself. The Yanks broke through in the 3rd, as Volpe and Verdugo were able to chip away at Leiter with a pair of 1-out singles. Gleyber Torres took a 1-2 fastball that caught a bit too much meat to the gap in left-center to score both Volpe and Verdugo to give the Yanks a 2-0 lead. Frustratingly, Soto and Judge were not able to keep the inning going when it looked like cracks were starting to form in Leiter's outing.

The game was broken open for good in the 6th inning. Like the 3rd inning, the Yanks started the 6th inning by getting a couple of singles to begin the inning. Judge doubled through the left-side for an RBI while leaving runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs. Texas called in Chase Anderson, who promptly missed inside and caught Austin Wells on the hand to load the bases. After a Giancarlo Stanton strike-out, the floodgates opened. Chisholm singled to right field, scoring Soto, and Anthony Rizzo hit an "uh-oh" ground-rule double to shallow LF, which scored another two runs. Chisholm later would also race home on a wild pitch. The Yankees began the inning leading 2-1, and went into the bottom half leading 7-1. Stanton added an insurance run in the top of the 8th inning with a hard shot to CF.

That said, as always seems to be the case with this team, the game wasn't really over. The bullpen did everything in its power to lose this game. Luke Weaver gave up two runs in the 7th inning on a no-doubt homer to LF. Tim Hill allowed a 1-out single in the 9th inning. Despite pitching well to that point, Boone summoned Holmes from the bullpen, and things got interesting. A ground-rule double, a productive groundball that scored a run, and a walk put runners at the corners with two outs in the bottom of the 9th, and ridiculous as it may sound, it really felt like the Yankees were hanging by a thread. Holmes allowed a hot shot up the middle to Semien, but Gleyber Torres, much maligned for his defense and disappointing walk-year performance, made a fantastic diving stab up the middle and just got the out with a strong throw to 1B.

This game got too interesting at the end, but in the end, it's a win.

Notable Performances

Gerrit Cole (W): 6 IP, 9 K, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 ER

Jack Leiter (L): 5 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 K

Chisholm: 2-4, 1 R, 2 SB, 1 RBI

Torres: 3-5, 1 R, 2 RBI

Rizzo: 1-4, 2 RBI

Soto: 2-4, 1 R, 1 BB

Stanton: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 K

Judge: 1-5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 K

Better To Forget

Austin Wells was the only Yankee without a hit; the bullpen continues to be problematic.

My Take

A win is a win, so I shouldn't be upset at all...but somehow, it felt like the Yankees were going to find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Even the 3rd inning, it felt like the Yankees had Leiter reeling, and they just couldn't get their big boppers to put him away. The bullpen continues to be among the least reliable units on the team, and I don't see any moves solidifying the back-end this late in the game. Texas put up a fight, and the Yanks won, but they will face much stiffer competition a month from now. If the Yankees pitch like this in October, it won't end well.

Gerrit Cole looked off from the start of last night's game. His body almost seemed sluggish, almost like the fatigue that caused him to miss a start earlier this summer was around again. The Yankees don't seem concerned about the cramping that ultimately pulled Cole from the game prior to the start of the 7th inning, but despite Cole's excellent performance, there were worrying signs. Cole's velocity seemed to fluctuate throughout his outing, sinking as low as 92 MPH, and his fastball command still doesn't seem like peak Cole, as he missed multiple times way above the zone. The Yankees have not earned anyone's trust when it comes to managing injuries, so I am at least a little concerned.

This is a lot of complaining after a win, but the Yanks have a lot to tighten up.

Looking To Tomorrow

Carlos Rodon takes the ball against old friend Andrew Heaney at 8:05 PM EST in Texas. Let's win another!