Over the weekend, the Yankees welcomed the reigning World Champion Texas Rangers for a 3-game set in the Bronx. After Friday night’s game was postponed due to weather, the clubs battled it out over the course of 2 games on Saturday and the series finale on Sunday.
Let’s dive into the weekend series between two of the leagues most star-studded offenses.
8/10: Yankees 8, Rangers 0
Game 1 of Saturday’s doubleheader pitted two aces against each other in Carlos Rodon vs. Nathan Eovaldi. Originally slated to pitch against Gerrit Cole, Eovaldi was moved to Game 1 against Rodon and did not fair as well as his counterpart.
Eovaldi only gave the Rangers 3 innings of work and despite only giving up 6 hits and 3 ER, he would still be credited with the loss.
Rodon, on the other hand, had his stuff going. Rodon’s final line (5 2/3 IP, 3 hits and 6 K) would earn him his 4th consecutive win and push his record to 13-7 on the year. After a rough stretch in June/early July, Rodon has been lights out lately.
Since the All-Star Break, Rodon has posted the 4th best ERA among AL pitchers with over 20 IP.
Outside of a few bad starts, Rodon has been well-worth the investment this year.
Offensively, multiple Yankees contributed to their run production. Torres, Wells, Judge and Soto all drove in runs before Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s 8th-inning solo shot pretty much sealed the deal for the Bombers.
8/10: Rangers 9, Yankees 4
In Game 2 of the doubleheader, Yankee ace Gerrit Cole and Rangers SP Cody Bradford each turned in impressive starts of their own. Bradford (5 IP, 5 hits, 1 ER, 7 K) and Cole (5 1/3 IP, 6 hits, 1 ER, 10 K) both put their teams in a position to win the game. Cole also struck out a season-high 10 batters.
The difference in the game was Yankee reliever Luke Weaver. Weaver came in to replace Cole, who was dominating, with 1 out in the top of the 6th and the bases empty.
Weaver went on to give up 3 straight singles and then walk in the go-ahead run for the Rangers to make it 2-1. After a sac-fly plated Adolis García to make it 3-1, Ranger SS Corey Seager blasted a 3-run shot to right and blew the game open for the Rangers, pushing their lead to 6-1.
A pair of homers from Giancarlo Stanton and Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the 8th brought the score to 9-4. But the Yankees did not plate any more runners and lost Game 2 for a doubleheader split, their second of the week.
8/11: Yankees 8, Rangers 7
Sunday’s rubber match between the clubs saw Marcus Stroman and Andrew Heaney (former Yankee) face off on the mound. Stroman turned in an impressive outing, going for 5 innings of work and limiting the Texas offense to 4 hits and 1 run.
Offensively, the Yankees used the long ball to put runs on the board. With the Yankees holding onto a 2-0 lead in the 5th, the Rangers intentionally walked Aaron Judge with 2 outs and a runner on first. The next Yankee batter, Giancarlo Stanton, made them pay.
Then, in the top of the 7th and with already one homer on the day, Juan Soto would mash his 30th long ball of the season.
The next batter for the Yankees was Aaron Judge.
Yeah, maybe the Rangers should’ve intentionally walked him again.
Judge’s homer, his 42nd of the year, would extend the Yankee lead to 8-3. It would be safe to assume that an 8-3 lead in the 7th would be safe. But then again, this is baseball.
A pair of Texas homers in the top of the 8th off Mark Leiter Jr. would bring the score to within 2. And then in the top of the 9th, the Yankees would turn to Clay Holmes to close it out. What could go wrong, right?
After an Adolis García single brought the score to 8-7 with the tying run 90 feet away, the Yankees escaped with the win.
What could’ve been an ugly end to the series instead ends with another win and another series win for the Yankees. Given how this team was playing a month ago, a win’s a win. Doesn’t matter how ugly it was or how ugly it could’ve gotten.
Upcoming Series @ Chicago White Sox (8/12-8/14)
After three straight series at home, the Yankees will hit the road for a pair of series in the Midwest, starting tonight in Chicago against a White Sox team that has a record of 28-91.
The projected pitching matchups can be seen below:
8/13: Nestor Cortes vs. Jonathan Cannon
I don’t want to jinx the Yankees but this is a series you have to sweep. Regardless of it being on the road, you can’t drop a game to this White Sox team. With a virtual tie atop the AL East standings with Baltimore, every game for the Yankees counts.
