About Yesterday: Cardinals 6, Yankees 5

by Paul Semendinger

September 1, 2024

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About Yesterday:

The St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Yankees 6-5.

Quick Stats:

• Will Warren: 4 innings, 4 runs - LOSS

• Mark Leiter: 2 innings, 2 runs (1 earned) - DIDN'T HELP

• Austin Wells: 2 for 5

• Jazz Chisholm: 3 for 4

• Anthony Volpe: 2 for 4

The Game Story:

The Yankees scored first (in the bottom of the second inning) on a double by Austin Wells that was followed by an RBI single by Anthony Volpe. Things were looking good.

For a minute.

In the top of the third, Will Warren fell apart: A walk, a fielder's choice, a single, a run-scoring single, and then a three-run homer put the Cardinals ahead 4-1. It could have been more. Paul Goldschmidt doubled, but was thrown out trying to score on a single to end the inning.

Heading into the bottom of the third, the Yankees were down by three runs. I remember a stat (one that I can not substantiate) from the other day that said the Yankees have not come back from being down three runs since April. (Since it's Labor Day Weekend, I was paying passing attention to the game already, I started to wonder how much more I should invest in this game. I am at the beach. The annual "bike parade" is today. My children are grown, but we're not too big for the free root beer and hot dogs that go along with the festivities. And the babies are also here, too young for the soda, hot dogs, and bikes, but more fun, by far, than the Yankees.)

My nephew called out, "Uncle Paul, it's now 6-1." It was two doubles and a throwing error by Wells that brough those two runs in. (Wells needs to stop making errors. It won't help with his playing time.) Mark Leiter was the pitcher for those two runs. As a Yankee, he's been awful.

I began to wonder when the last time the Yankees came back from being down five runs...

I tweeted @Katie Sharp one of the best people I follow on Twitter. I asked, "When was the last time the Yankees came back from being down three runs at any point in a game?"

I then noticed, after Anthony Volpe lined out to end the sixth inning that the Yankees were 1-7 in this game with runners in scoring position.

Katie Sharp, amaizng as always, quickly noted that the Yankees last came back from 3 runs on July 30. How she figures this all out so quickly, I'll never know. But THANK YOU!!!!

And then!!!!

The bottom of the eighth inning quickly arrived...

Gleyber Torres singled. Juan Soto grounded into a double play. (Has this been Soto's worst week ever?) There was no hope. None. At all.

But then Aaron Judge singled. Austin Wells singled. Jazz Chisholm singled. Anthony Volpe singled in a run. And Giancarlo Stanton doubled home three more... THE YANKS MADE IT 6 to 5!!! MOMENTUM!!!! (Except there is no such thing.)

Alex Verdugo grounded out to end the inning.

The Cardinals went down quietly in the ninth giving the Yankees a chance!

There was still hope! The bottom of the ninth. Could the Yankees come back???

• Oswaldo Cabrera - After a 3-2 pitch was called out on a pitch clock violation.

• Gleyber Torres flew out to center (an optimist might say lined out to deep center)

• And Juan Soto then doubled!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Aaron Judge came up... and after a delay... he was intentionally walked.

Austin Wells then...

Struckout.

And the Yankees lost the game. (It felt like it was a bad take on Casey At The Bat. "No joy in Mudville, mighty Austin has struck out.")

Player(s) of the Game:

Kyle Gibson (STL) - 7 innings, 1 run

Better to Forget:

This is a completely frustating team to watch. There is no consistency except being mediocre. We're not talking a small sample size. The 2023 Yankees were 82-80. The second half of 2022, the Yankees went 35-35. Since Mid-June of this year, the Yankees are 30-36. Yes, you see what I did there. I absented the best month and a half, when the Yankees went 30-9, in May and June 2024. Absent of that stretch, it's been the same old same old. The Yankees are riding that one hot streak over three seasons all the way to the bank. Many believe the overall Yankees' record indicates that they're good. I think that hot stretch hides the truth about what this team has been for a very long time - mediocre. I think that hot streak was a mirage. The fact that other teams have also had mediocre seasons in 2024 also hides how poor the Yankees have actually been this year. The Yankees, simply, aren't a good team. They still might win the World Series. It could happen. And, if they do, I'll be so happy. But overall, I am not confident. Besides a stretch in May and June of 2024, what has this team done since July 2022 to give a fan any confidence?

My Take:

Austin Wells is 25-years-old. When he has played regularly, he has performed with excellence. He needs to play everyday. The Yankees need to end the platoon with Jose Trevino who is a shell of his former self (like a number of other Yankees). When Wells gets his regular turns at bat, he perfoms. This is not rocket science. It's easy. He's young. He's improving. He is performing. He should also get better at the defensive side of the game with more playing time. This is crunch time, the Yankees need to play with their best players and Austin Wells is, by far, a better option than Jose Trevino.

The Yankees with runners in scoring position over the last two series:

• August 26: 0-for-5

• August 27: 0-for 8

• August 28: 1-for-13

• August 30: 1-for-5

• August 31: 4-for-12

That's, simply, very very very bad. It's "right there in front of them," but they don't come through. Time and again, they fail. The facts are the facts.

Next Up:

The Yankees conclude this three game series with the Cardinals this afternoon. Nestor Cortes takes the mound for the Yankees at 1:35 p.m.