About Yesterday: Yankees Bounce Back

About Yesterday" Yankees 6 Cubs 3

By Ed Botti

July 9, 2023

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The Big Story:

On a mostly overcast day in the Bronx 43,507 watched as the Yankees and Cubs played a 2 hour 27 minute game ending the Yankees three game losing streak with a 6-3 win. This game was highlighted by two of their biggest stars embracing the moment and delivering.

Yankee ace Gerrit Cole stopped the bleeding by throwing 7.1 innings of 5 hit ball improving his All Star season record to 9-2 with a 2.85 ERA. Cole was so effective on this afternoon that he retired 15 out of 16 hitters during a stretch from the third inning through the seventh innings.

Giancarlo Stanton reminded most of us that he is still an awesome power hitter by hitting a 447 foot home run off the facing of the upper deck in left field, A section of the building few, if any, every reach.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1677731330031755270

Stanton would later follow that home run with a 2 run shot that just reached the right field foul pole, for his second home run of the game; a good sign for all to see. Initially ruled a triple, instant replay made it clear that the ball just cleared the fence hitting the foul pole.

After Stanton put the Yankees on the board with his massive first inning solo blast, DH Josh Donaldson would then add to the score hitting a solo home run to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead.

Donaldson now has 10 home runs on just 14 hits this season.

DJ LeMahieu followed with a double, however Isiah Kiner-Falefa struck out looking and Cody Bellinger pickpocketed Jose Trevino of an RBI single with a sliding catch to short centerfield.

The Yankees would add to their lead in the third inning when Gleyber Torres singled with one out. Stanton then drew a walk and Anthony Rizzo’s line drive went over first baseman Trey Mancini’s reach to load the bases.

Harrison Bader stepped to the plate and ripped a double down the left field line to drive in Torres and Stanton and make it 4-1, setting the stage for Stanton's second home run of the game in the fifth inning to put the Yankees up 6-1.

The multi home run game was Stanton’s first since May of 2022.

The Yankees 6 runs followed them being shut out Friday night by old pal Jamison Taillon. The fourth time this season they were shut out and scoring just four runs in the previous three games.

Michael King would relieve Cole, and chipped in with 1.2 innings of hitless relief to nail down the 6-3 win.

Player of the Game:

Despite Giancarlo’s performance, this day belong to Gerrit Cole. Cole used five of his pitches effectively over a 103 pitch outing.

His distribution of pitches thrown to catcher Jose Trevino were:

4 seam fastballs - 52

Sliders - 24

Changeups - 10

Knuckle Curves - 9

Cutters - 8

Cole appeared to scarcely break a sweat, until running out of gas in the 8th when he allowed a 2 run home run to Ex-Yankee Mike Tauchman, who seems to have found a home on the north side of Chicago.

Right smack in the middle of an offensive slump and 3 game losing streak, the Yankees needed Cole, and he delivered.

This was not an over powering version of Cole as he only struck out 5 in his 7.1 inning pitched. He used a lot of savvy and experience on this day to limit the Cubs to 5 hits. Cole and catcher Jose Trevino seemed to be on the same page, getting a lot of soft contact. The Yankee defense backed him up with a clean game, running Cole’s 2023 record to 9-2.

Notable Performances

Photo by Jason Szenes

Giancarlo, non si può stoparlo!

Playing right field for injured Aaron Judge, Giancarlo’s 2 home runs, 3 RBI and 3 runs scored game was exactly what the doctored ordered. He also added a walk and even more impressive, he did not strike out.

Despite the debate, Giancarlo seems to be a different player when he is playing both sides of the ball. The Yankees need to keep running him out to right field and let guys like Franchy Cordero grab some pine.

He’s being paid to play baseball, not compete in a 162 day home run derby!

Better to Forget…

Not too much went wrong on this day, but I would really like to forget Anthony Volpe’s head first Greg Louganis impersonation dive into second base.

Looking to Tomorrow

The Yankees finish their first half this afternoon with a chance to win the series and head off into the All Star break on a positive note.

Domingo German will get the ball vs Cubs veteran righty Kyle Hendricks. Today’s game can be seen on the YES Network. First pitch at 1:35PM.

My Take

Baseball is a long season filled with many ups and downs. Fans need to take the approach that the players take, and not get too high during good times or too low during the bad times.

The Rays (as of Saturday) are showing signs of actually being human--- losing 7 of their last 10!

Most of us that follow this team closely know that they have their holes and issues. When the second half starts they will have 72 games left.

They will now have Carlos Rodon in the rotation to go along with Cole. Cortes is expected back in early August. Clark Schmidt and Domingo German have held their own most of this season. The weak link in the rotation at this point is Luis Severino. They need to get him straightened out, or contemplate using him out of the bullpen, there is no time to waste.

Offensively, there is work to be done and some unknowns. Will Judge be back and when? Can DJ get it going? What do they do with Donaldson? And who plays left field?

The good news is, they can improve the roster over the remainder of July and hit the final 1/3 of the season with a rejuvenated and reinvented offense.

Time will tell if they can make a couple of shrewd moves without depleting the farm system too much. This is the time of the year when the GM has to step up and be honest with the roster he has compiled.

Let’s hope he doesn’t throw another Joey Gallo and Franke Montas at us!