After such a disappointing start to September, the Yankees get back on track with a series win over the Cubs.
After kicking off the beginning of September with a series loss, the New York Yankees have found ways to get back on track. Over the weekend, they took two out of three games from the red-hot Chicago Cubs. Nobody expected this Yankees team to come into Chicago and take the series. This is somewhat surprising considering New York’s recent series struggles against teams that are mediocre. Luckily for the Yanks, their AL East rival Baltimore Orioles haven’t been able to build any cushion. In fact, New York now leads Baltimore by a game and a half.
But it does get tougher for New York in these next upcoming series. They have kicked off a seven-game home stand against potential playoff hopeful teams. Coming first to the Bronx is the Kansas City Royals. Similar to the Yankees, the Royals are in a tight race with the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Guardians, who are all fighting for first place. The last time these two-team faced off was back in June. New York won the previous battle by taking three out of four.
Luis Gil Shines in Return from the Injured List
Going up for the Yankees in the series opener was RHP Luis Gil. It was also Gil’s first start since being place on the IL while pitching against the Guardians on August 20. The reason he was placed on the injured list was due to a lower back strain. In Friday’s victory over the Cubs, he had no problem setting the tone early. The right-hander would toss a no-hit bid through three-and-one-third innings before OF Cody Bellinger broke it up with a double in the fourth.
That would end up as the only hit the Yankees would surrender throughout the entire game. Gil also tossed six shutout innings while striking out seven batters, which was just enough to give him the win. The bullpen would take care of business per usual. That included RHP Luke Weaver recording his first major league save to shut down the door.
Luis Gil wasn’t the only storyline for Friday’s victory over Chicago. 1B Anthony Rizzo also received a heartfelt standing ovation in his return to Chicago as a visitor. It marks the first time he has returned there since the trade went down three years ago. Rizzo finished the afternoon by going 1-for-3.
The only runs in the game came from back-to-back batters in third inning. OF Aaron Judge hit an RBI double, and then C Austin Wells hit an RBI single.
Welcome Back Clarke Schmidt
Aside from Luis Gil, the Yankees also had other reinforcements coming back along the way. RHP Clarke Schmidt was also slated to make his return for the first time in a while. For the second straight day, a Yankees starter returned from the IL and tossed another scoreless start. Schmidt was on a pitch limit, so he only got through four-and-two-thirds innings. LHP Nestor Cortes would take over from him for long relief, and Cortes managed to pitch the rest of the game.
It marks the first time that Cortes has come on as a reliever since 2021. He did earn himself the win eventually. In the postgame afterwards, Nestor Cortes admitted that he was upset with the decision to come on as a reliever, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “Obviously, I was upset. I feel like amongst all the starters, I’ve been the workhorse here,” Cortes said. “Once Cole went down, they picked me to be the Opening Day starter; not necessarily the No. 1, but the Opening Day starter. I had to switch my routine there, and now they do this.”
Once again with the offense, there wasn’t much to see, as the Cubs pitching staff cooled off the Yankees lineup for the second straight day. The only runs for New York came on a groundout and throwing error on a double steal.
Cubs Spoil Gerrit Cole’s Strong Outing
Sunday’s series finale was a tough one to swallow for the Yankees. With the chance to build their lead in the AL East, they failed to do so. Part of it was thanks to Chicago’s offense aggressively getting to RHP Gerrit Cole early in the first inning. They had made him work hard in the first inning. Still, Cole had a great outing the rest of the way. He ended striking out seven and walked only one while allowing two runs (zero earned). Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.
The Yankees offense was shut down for the entire game against Cubs RHP Jameson Tailon. He finished the afternoon tossing six strong innings, allowing just one run and striking out six. Chicago’s bullpen took care of business once Taillon departed from the game.
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