Daily Report – 5/21/26
Yankees
In typical fashion for the Yankees’ ace, Cam Schlittler did everything he could for his team yesterday. Following a 121-minute rain delay, Schlittler pitched into the seventh inning, permitting two runs on eight hits. He struck out seven batters.
Schlittler strolled through his first six innings as he dueled with Toronto’s young ace, Trey Yesavage. Just like in October, Yesavage vexed the Yankees with his high arm angle and release point. His command was impeccable, as he didn’t draw a single walk, permitting just two hits while striking out eight batters.
“He’s a good player,” Schlittler said of Yesavage. “It was a good battle. It slipped away from me at the end. I like the fight we had in the last inning.”
The run-it-back Yankees were prepared for Yesavage’s excellence. They worked the count against him, most of the time. Aaron Judge struck out four times, but his .148 batting average through his last seven games pales in comparison to Austin Wells’s .091 mark.
Wells, arguably, cost the Yankees yesterday’s game. In the top of the seventh inning, Schlittler lost his composure, permitting a walk and two singles to load the bases. The second single came on a three-foot ground ball that Wells misplayed.
Paul Goldschmidt, a veteran first baseman, noticed the batter, Brandon Valenzuela, trying to bunt, so he motioned to Wells as he stepped forward to make the play. However, Wells didn’t notice Goldschmidt, and he crashed into him as he went for the ball.
With the bases loaded, Andrés Giménez then worked an 11-pitch RBI walk, and Wells missed his challenge on the final pitch by a significant margin. Wells also had a wide-open chance to throw out a baserunner, but he fired the ball to the wrong side of second base.
With Toronto on the board, the bases loaded, and nobody out, Jake Bird replaced Schlittler. He quickly earned a force out at home plate before Vladimir Guerrero Jr. lifted a sacrifice fly to right field. Had Wells not tried to intercept Goldschmidt’s play three batters earlier, Guerrero’s fly ball would have ended the inning.
Schlittler, of course, blamed himself for Toronto’s two runs, calling his walks “unacceptable.”
“You can’t walk the bottom of the order,” he said. “Just unfortunate I couldn’t close that one out. If I get out of that inning, it’s probably a different outcome to that game.”
Commendable accountability by Schlittler, but Wells is the problem here. The Yankees’ starting catcher is two-for-his-last-22 and hitless in four of his last five games. Yesterday, he finally stifled defensively, and his blunders proved even more costly when the Yankees scored a run in the ninth inning off a closer with a 0.36 ERA.
Two things are actively keeping Wells in the Big Leagues: His defense and the Yankees’ lack of catching depth. Wells’s backup, JC Escarra, is not quite Major League material, at least not as a full-time starting catcher. And while throughout his short career, Wells’s defense has been his greatest strength, it is no longer enough to erase his offensive struggles.
It has become abundantly clear — and more so each day — that the Yankees must find a new starting catcher. However, the league’s best catchers probably won’t become available until closer to the trade deadline, which is several months away. But the Yankees can only handle Wells for so much longer, for he is practically unplayable.
Additionally, Trent Grisham exited yesterday’s game early with left knee discomfort. Today, Grisham told the media that imaging didn’t reveal any “structural damage,” so he may be available as a pinch-hitter tonight. Grisham, who hit 34 home runs last year, is struggling at the plate this season, but the numbers on paper do not tell the whole story.
The next piece of Yankees news involves Anthony Volpe, whose time in the Majors is likely almost over as José Caballero prepares to return from the 10-day injured list tomorrow. To the surprise of many (including me), Volpe has had a strong week offensively, batting .250 with five hits and seven walks, but he is 1-for-7 in his last two games.
Yesterday, with a 2-1 count in the eighth inning, Volpe challenged a pitch that was well inside the strike zone. The challenge provoked Yankees fans hoping for a comeback, and Volpe wasted the team’s final challenge. Around the league, players are struggling with the ABS system, but misses like Volpe’s are unacceptable. The Yankees need to introduce ABS rules and regulations.
The only bright spot of last night’s game was Yovanny Cruz, who pitched two perfect innings in his MLB debut. With his 100-mph+ heater, Cruz struck out three batters, including Ernie Clement (one of the league’s best contact hitters), in the eighth and ninth innings. He threw four of the game’s five fastest pitches, including a 100.9-mph fastball.
Tonight, at 7:05 PM, LHP Carlos Rodón (0-1, 5.63 ERA) will face off against RHP Braydon Fisher (2-1, 3.08 ERA) in a bullpen game for Toronto (YES, Gotham Sports). The Yankees are seeking a series win.
Here is tonight’s starting lineup for the New York Yankees, which does not include Austin Wells:
DH Ben Rice (L)
RF Aaron Judge (C) (R)
LF Cody Bellinger (L)
2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L)
1B Paul Goldschmidt (R)
CF Spencer Jones (L)
3B Ryan McMahon (L)
SS Anthony Volpe (R)
C JC Escarra (L)
SP: LHP Carlos Rodón (0-1, 5.63 ERA)
Schedule
7:05 PM: NYY vs. TOR; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: LHP Carlos Rodón (0-1, 5.63 ERA) vs. RHP Braydon Fisher (2-1, 3.08 ERA)
8:00 PM: 2026 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, Game 2 – NYK (1-0) vs. CLE (0-1); ESPN, ESPN App
Cover Image Courtesy: New York Yankees
