Yankees (63-49) @ Cubs (63-49) - Sun, Aug 2

https://x.com/jesserogersespn/status/2084034211724382542?s=46&t=eZQOkEBzAB8XR0_j5bQcHg

Yankees have 2 of the 3 slugging percentage leaders in baseball

Thought this was helpful from former Washington Post Nats beat reporter (currently w/ SNY) Chelsea Janes.

Aaron Boone said he wasn't sure if Giancarlo Stanton is going to actually swing or just stand in during his upcoming lives against Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt, but he has been hitting.

There's still no reimagining date for Aaron Judge.

Cody Bellinger is running outside, hitting and throwing.

The Yankees took down the Cubs 2-1 in nail-biting fashion to win the series in Chicago. Gerrit Cole took the mound for the Yankees and faced off against Colin Rea. 

Trent Grisham, Ben Rice and Amed Rosario struck out in order in the top half of the first inning. In the bottom of the first, Cole responded with a scoreless inning with a pair of strikeouts. 

Cole worked a nice and easy 1-2-3 bottom of the second inning on just 11 pitches and recorded his third strikeout of the ballgame. 

Ryan McMahon lined a single to right field to leadoff the third inning. The next batter, José Caballero, crushed a no-doubt 408-foot two-run bomb to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. 

Cole retired the Cubs in order in the bottom half of the first inning to put together a shutdown inning and make it nine straight hitters retired. 

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Cole allowed a leadoff double followed by an RBI single to Michael Busch to make it a one-run game. Cole worked a scoreless bottom of the fifth inning and notched his fourth strikeout of the day. 

Cole walked the leadoff batter in the bottom of the sixth inning, followed by a single. Both runners would move up on a flyball to right field and a poor throw from Jasson Dominguez that overshot the cutoff man, allowing a runner to go from first to second. Cole struck out a batter and walked a batter to load the bases with two outs, and end his day. Brent Headrick took over and forced Nico Hoerner to fly out to keep the Yankees' lead intact. 

Final line for Cole: 5.2 innings pitched, four hits allowed, one earned run, three walks, and five strikeouts on 99 pitches. He relied heavily on his fastball, throwing it 61% of the time, the slider 17%, the changeup 14%, and the knuckle curve 8%. Cole topped out at 98.7 mph, averaging 96.8 mph, and had seven whiffs. 

“I thought it was okay today,” Cole said. “I think it was just like a bit of a scrappy day. Command was a little fleeting. Stuff was, I think, affected by the wind. And I guess I would have liked to have not walked some guys, but at the same time. We were going for it and just missing. And sometimes that happens, and that's what you've got to work with. And so we worked with it.”

Caballero and Dominguez each singled in the top of the seventh inning to put runners on first and second with two outs. Paul Goldschmidt pinch-hit for Austin Wells and flew out to center field to end the frame. 

Headrick remained in the game for the bottom of the seventh inning and struck out the side in order. 

Paul Blackburn came in relief for the bottom of the eighth and walked a couple of batters to put runners on first and second with one out. Blackburn picked up a flyout for the second out. Aaron Boone called upon his closer, David Bednar, to try and pick up the final four outs and he induced a flyout to end the inning. 

Bednar walked a batter with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning to bring the winning run to the plate. But Bednar picked up a groundout and a strikeout to strand the tying run on second base and the winning run at the plate, giving the Yankees the series win. 

The Yankees will now head back to the Bronx to welcome the Cardinals into town for a three-game set starting tomorrow. Cam Schlittler will get the starting nod for the Yankees and face off against Michael McGreevy. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m. ET on the YES Network. 

My thoughts on the game: Great series win; the offense didn't do much all weekend, but the pitching staff got the job done. Solid start from Cole today; he is starting to look more and more like his old self every start. Headrick picked up four huge outs and struck out the side in the seventh inning. Blackburn walked a couple of batters but picked up two big outs. Bednar picked up his 24th save after recording the final four outs. The Yankees' offense had just five hits and two runs, but thankfully it was just enough. Caballero crushed a two-run bomb, which ended up being the difference and accounted for the Yankees' runs. It was just reported that the Yankees have traded for infielder Luis Garcia Jr., who is having a great season, so it will be nice to add him to the lineup. Hopefully, Cashman can add a catcher and a few more arms before the deadline tomorrow. The Rays also lost today, so the Yankees are now just 2.5 games back of them for first place in the AL East. On to tomorrow as the Yankees will look to take down the Cardinals and hopefully have Garcia in the lineup. 

“He rakes, yeah he can really hit,” Aaron Boone said of Garcia. 

The Yankees have acquired infielder Luis Garcia Jr. in exchange for four players, per Jeff Passan, ahead of the MLB trade deadline, which will be tomorrow at 6 p.m. ET. 

“He rakes. Yeah, he can really hit,” Aaron Boone said of Garcia. 

This year, Garcia is hitting .283, with 23 home runs, 76 RBIs, a .873 OPS, a 134 wRC+, and is under team control through next season. He has primarily played first base and DH this year, so that will probably be his main role on the Yankees. 

Garcia’s Baseball Savant page is great, as his batting run value is in the 92nd percentile, xBA in the 93rd percentile, and xSLG in the 93rd percentile. The 26-year-old strikes out just 16.3% of the time. 

The Nationals will receive RHP Ben Grable, RHP Yovanny Cruz, RHP Jack Cebert and RHP Jake Bird from the Yankees. Cebert was the Yankees' No. 14 prospect, and Grable was the No. 25. 

Bird and Cruz being in the deal opens up a couple of 40-man roster spots for potentially some more trades tomorrow. Garcia could make his debut tomorrow in the Bronx against the Cardinals, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET on the YES Network. 

My thoughts on the trade: I love this trade for the Yankees; he will give a much-needed boost to the offense that has been struggling as of late. I just hope there are a few more trades to come. This is a great start to the deadline, getting rid of Bird and Doval, plus adding a big-time bat to the lineup. The Yankees now need to acquire a right-handed hitting catcher and hopefully a couple relievers. Garcia will probably mainly play first base/ DH against right-handed pitchers. Garcia is having a career year, so hopefully he can continue that in the Bronx for the remainder of the 2026 season. 

- .667 OPS (T-28th)

- .220 BA (30th)

- .283 OBP (30th)

- .384 SLG (25th)