About Last Night: Yanks Outpace Royals, 10-4

By Andy Singer

September 9th, 2024

The Big Story

This was a game that, for much of the season's 2nd half, Yankee fans have learned to expect the Yankees to lose. The Yanks went into the 7th inning with a 1-run deficit. The team stranded Carlos Rodon on an island with poor defense throughout his start, which cost him both unearned and earned runs. They put multiple runners on-base in both the 1st and 3rd innings with less than 2 outs, and came away with no runs both times. So coming into the bottom of the 7th inning trailing the Royals 4-3, my expectations were not high.

The meat of the Yankee offense had better plans. After a quick 2-pitch pop-out by Alex Verdugo, Torres and Soto did their jobs at the top of the lineup by getting on-base. Judge tied the game with a soft grounder through the left side of the infield that managed to score Torres from 2nd base. That was exciting in and of itself. Then, Austin Wells decided to turn things up a few notches:

I'm sure there were some big comeback homers in the first half of the season that I've long since forgotten, but this feels like the biggest moment of the Yankees' season thus far. Austin Wells has blossomed into an All-Star caliber catcher on both sides of the plate, and with an exclamation mark like this, he'd get my vote for AL Rookie of the Year.

Just as critically, the bullpen, which has struggled mightily since the end of May, looked lights out tonight. Jake Cousins struck out two and got an out with a nifty pick-off move; Luke Weaver got out of a small jam in a big spot in the 8th with a fastball that had some serious life; and Ian Hamilton returned from the IL to pitch a clean 9th inning with 1 K.

Elsewhere in the AL East, the Red Sox drubbed the Orioles, giving the Yankees a 1.5 game lead in the division. As the Yankees get healthier and put their best 9 guys on the field at a time (now that Dominguez is back in the Majors), maybe last night will mark a turning point when the Yankees took control of the division.

Notable Performances

Carlos Rodon - 6 IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 9 K, 2 HR

Jake Cousins (W) - 1 IP, 2 K, 1 BB

James McArthur (L) - 0 IP, 4 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 HR

Ian Hamilton - 1 IP, 1 K (Nice return from the IL)

Austin Wells - 2-5, 1 HR, 4 RBI,

Gleyber Torres - 3-5, 1 R, 1 RBI

Juan Soto - 1-2, 1 R, 3 BB

Aaron Judge - 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB (Homerless streak extends to 13 games)

Jasson Dominguez - 1-4, 1 R, 1 SB

Oswaldo Cabrera - 1-3, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 BB

Alex Verdugo - 2-4, 2 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI

Better To Forget

Anthony Rizzo and Jazz Chisholm were the only hitless Yankees last night.

My Take

This game was a bit of a roller coaster, starting with the lineup. As I would have noted over the weekend before my day job got in the way, I saw Jasson Dominguez play against the Syracuse Mets last Wednesday night, and my assessment was that he was very clearly ready to make an impact in the big leagues with a powerful swing from the left side (his right-handed swing is clearly behind his left-handed swing, though he's far from a lost cause from that side of the plate). Brian Cashman made a fool of himself over the weekend when he noted that Dominguez was not one of the 3 best outfielders on the roster, only to rectify that decision today just prior to game time.

While Dominguez didn't figure prominently into the main story, it was so obvious that he made a huge impact on the lineup. Everyone seemed to have a bit more pep in their step. Dominguez is yet another athletic runner to add to the lineup, and in the early going when the Yankees needed runs, Dominguez created the first run all by himself. He stole 3rd base off of Sal Perez with 2 outs in the bottom of the 4th, and when the ball got away at 3B, Dominguez dashed home.

With Dominguez, Chisholm, and Volpe in the everyday lineup, this team can finally move runners around on the bases and give the offense a different look. Chisholm and Dominguez together gave fans a taste of what is possible for the rest of the year.

Carlos Rodon looked as good as I think he's capable of looking, though homers continue to bite him and his defense did him no favors. Rodon should have been out of the first inning easily were it not for some sloppy throws from Chisholm and Wells. Then in the 5th inning, it appeared as though Rodon had forced Salvador Perez into a pop-out to end the inning. Instead, Gleyber Torres overshot the ball, allowing it to fall in for a hit in short RF. According to Statcast, the ball had an expected Batting Average of just .020. Even on a day where Gleyber hits beautifully at the top of the lineup, he does something like that to remind us all why 2024 has been a struggle for the soon-to-be free agent. Really though, Rodon really pitched last night, with his fastball, slider, curveball, and change-up working all over the zone. Rodon really only hung two pitches, and deserved a better stat line.

Also, Alex Verdugo deserves credit. He could have pouted and dogged it out there now that he will likely lose playing time with Dominguez's arrival. Instead, he hit a big homer to put the Yankees ahead 3-2 in the 4th inning, and looked good at the plate most of the night.

If the Yankees' bullpen can hold up and the Yankees' offense shows that it can win in multiple ways, I think tonight's game offers Yankee fans a glimpse of what is possible in October. The Yankees are getting some really key players back now between minor league call-ups and IL returns, so hopefully those guys will give the team a jolt. Last night was a good start.

Looking To Tomorrow

Marcus Stroman will look to keep the good times rolling against the Royals' Seth Lugo. The game is scheduled to start at 7:05 PM EST on the YES Network.