About Yesterday: The Yankees Outlasted the Blue Jays 4-3 in 10 innings

About Yesterday: The Yankees Outlasted the Blue Jays 4-3 in 10 innings

By Tim Kabel

August 5, 2024

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The Yankees beat the Blue Jays yesterday afternoon, which was their seventh win in their last eight games. Since they seem to be engaging in a never-ending game of tit for tat with the Orioles, they remain tied for first place, Whenever the Yankees lose, so do the Orioles. Whenever the Yankees win, so do the Orioles. This becomes complicated when they play each other. 

Quick Stats –

·       Aaron Judge has hit 298 career home runs.  He has played 945 games. When he hits his 300th, he will become fastest to reach that mark.  The current record holder is Ralph Kiner, who did it in 1,087 games. That will be a difference of well over 100 games.

·       Aaron Judge was intentionally walked three times yesterday. On Saturday, he was intentionally walked with no one on base.

·       Since his return from me IL, Giancarlo Stanton is 3 for 18. That's a .167 batting average. He has one double, no home runs, and no RBI. I believe the technical term for this situation is “rehab, shmehab.” Does anyone think there's a correlation between Judge being intentionally walked so often and Stanton hitting behind him in the lineup?

·       This was the Yankees’ second walk-off win this season.

·      Juan Soto has 28 home runs and 78 RBI.  He could set career-high marks in both categories this season, while still hitting over .300. The Yankees need to lock him up so he and Judge can continue to pummel pitchers together for many years.

·       On August 4, 2007, Alex Rodriguez hit his 500th career home run. As A-Rod would be the first to tell you,he was a great player but, in the words of Archie Bunker, “I never liked him, and I always will.” Jazz Chisholm, Jr. is already my favorite player to wear # 13 for the Yankees.

Big Story –

The Yankees won their first home series since they swept the Twins from June 4th to the 6th. This is both good news and bad news. It's great that the Yankees won a series at home but if they have championship aspirations, the fact that it took two months between doing so is a major concern. This is a streaky and inconsistent team. They are capable of beating their toughest opponents but also of losing to their weakest opponents. The Yankees seem to have righted the ship but, it is hard to say so with any degree of conviction. They could quite easily slip into another lengthy losing streak. 

Player of the Game – 

Juan Soto had two hits, including his 28th home run, and walked twice.

Notable Performance –

DJ LeMahieu drove in two runs and had the walk-off hit.

Better to Forget – 

Giancarlo Stanton was the only starter not to have a hit. I do not believe he will return to his productive form from earlier in the season. The boos that he heard today will only increase in frequency and volume.

My Take –  

The Yankees have won seven of their last eight games and are tied for first place in the American League East. They have 49 games left in the season and are on a pace to win well over 90 games. It would be fair to say that things are looking good for the Yankees. But, perhaps not.

Gleyber Torres batted leadoff yesterday and had two hits. Perhaps he has learned his lesson and will be focused and will hustle for the rest of the season. Perhaps not. He is still batting .235 for the season with ten home runs and 42 RBI. He has been benched twice. He has frequent lapses of concentration and effort defensively and on the base paths. He leads MLB with 14 errors at second base this season. He dismissed the notion of trying to play third base out of hand. He is streaky and inconsistent in what is his walk year. Torres needed to have a great season to secure a favorable contract for the future. He failed to do so. I think it is fair to say that Torres is not reliable. It is concerning that the Yankees are relying heavily on someone who has proven to be unreliable.

DJ LeMahieu had six RBI on Wednesday. Yesterday, he drove in two runs and had the walk-off hit. Perhaps he has turned the corner and will revert to being the two-time batting champion he was in the past. Perhaps not. He is still battling.184 for the season with two home runs and 20 RBI.

Jazz Chisholm, Jr. came to the Yankees with experience in center field and at second base. Gleyber Torres declared himself the second baseman and Aaron Boone did not challenge him on that, despite the fact that Torres leads the league in errors at second base. Chisholm showed a willingness to play third base and has done so admirably. He is also hitting well, although he did not maintain that two home runs a game pace of his but, we will take what he is giving us. Because Chisholm is playing third base, DJ LeMahieu will now be at the very least, platooning with Ben Rice at first base. Rice has shown a lot of promise and seemed to be adjusting after pitchers initially adjusted to him. Now, he will see his playing time limited as LeMahieu will play against left-handers and right-handers with reverse splits. Soon, I’m sure LeMahieu will be playing against left-handers, right-handers with reverse splits, and just about anybody else because he is DJ LeMahieu. Again, the Yankees are choosing to rely on someone who is now unreliable.

Aaron Boone will remain the manager for the rest of this season, at least. As a manager, he has multiple flaws. Loyalty is an admirable quality. Aaron Boone has proven himself to be loyal to certain players over the years. They are usually veterans with whom he has developed some type of a rapport. Loyalty is a fine thing but when it is taken too far, it becomes obstinance, which is not a good thing. Boone benched Gleyber Torres during Friday night's game for a lack of hustle. It was the second time he did so to Torres this season. This time, the benching was not even for a full game. 

Boone is committed to Torres as the second baseman. The fact that DJ LeMahieu had a career-high six RBI last Wednesday and the walk-off hit today will be taken as evidence by Boone to prove that he was correct, and that LeMahieu needs to play as often as possible. Both of these decisions may well come back to hurt the Yankees in the long run. 

It is unclear what will happen to Ben Rice and Austin Wells when Anthony Rizzo and Jose Trevino returned from the IL. Based on Boone’s history in dealing with both young players and veterans with whom he has a rapport, it is safe to say playing time for both Rice and Wells may be in short supply when Rizzo and Trevino return. When it comes to making sound judgments and decisions on his veteran players, Boone has proven to be unreliable. Once again, the Yankees are relying on the unreliable, which is not a good idea.

Next Up – 

On Tuesday, the Yankees will open a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels, (isn't that redundant?), at 7:05 PM at Yankee Stadium. Luis Gil, (11-5, 3.20 ERA) will face the Angels’ Davis Daniel, (1-2, 5.82 ERA).