Daily Report – 7/30/26
Yankees
The Yankees should have won last night’s game multiple times, but a defensive error and a couple of bad pitches cost them. Cam Schlittler pitched into the seventh inning and twirled a gem, but the White Sox came back to tie the game and eventually win in extra innings, where the Yankees have a league-worst 1-7 record.
Paul Blackburn has been a revelation all season, and he entered the eighth inning with a 0.92 ERA in 25 appearances since May 16. But he inherited a baserunner and surrendered home runs on two straight pitches as Chicago tied the game 4-4. Had the Yankees scored beyond the first inning, though, this game would have unfolded differently.
Davis Martin, Chicago’s starter, struggled to control his pitches in the first inning. As soon as he found the strike zone, he left a changeup down the middle to Spencer Jones, who hammered it the opposite way for a three-run home run and a 4-0 Yankees lead.
But somehow, Martin discovered his curveball, and he used it to retire his next 10 straight batters and 15 of his next 17. Initially, it didn’t look like he would escape the first inning, but the shorthanded Yankees’ lineup helped him recover.
Meanwhile, Schlittler struck out eight batters in six 1/3 innings, allowing two hits and one run. His 2.04 ERA and 136.2 innings pitched both lead the American League, and his 1.10 road ERA is the fifth lowest in MLB history through 14 starts.
In the seventh inning, Schlittler left runners at second and third base for Fernando Cruz, who popped up Braden Montgomery and struck out Tristan Peters. But Chase Meidroth led off the eighth inning with a double off Cruz before Sam Antonacci and Munetaka Murakami both homered off Blackburn to tie the game.
“Honestly, I felt like I kind of made my pitches,” Blackburn said. “With Antonacci, we were trying to go up. Kind of got it up and in instead of up and away. And Murakami there, just started him off with a back-door breaking ball. I felt like it was one of my better ones I’ve thrown. [But he] put a good swing on it and made me pay.”
Blackburn persevered and tossed a clean ninth inning, but in the top of the 10th, Trent Grisham struck out, Ben Rice flied out, and Jasson Domínguez grounded out. Rice gave the ball a ride on his flyout, but it fell just short of the center-field fence.
In the bottom of the 10th, Tim Hill threw a wild pitch before he secured any outs, so the Yankees had to bring in a fifth infielder. The strategy worked, as José Caballero fielded two sharp groundouts before Hill struck out Murakami, miraculously escaping the frame.
In the top of the 11th, Paul Goldschmidt grounded out to move Ali Sánchez to third base, and Anthony Volpe, pinch-hitting for Jones, lifted a sacrifice fly the opposite way to score the go-ahead run. Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed with a single and his 30th stolen base, but Ryan McMahon stranded him.
In the 11th inning, with only two pitchers left in their bullpen, the Yankees deployed Camilo Doval. First, he fielded his own ground ball, moving the inherited runner to third base, so the Yankees brought in a fifth infielder again. Then, McMahon scooped a ground ball from the dirt for the second out, but the skillful defensive plays ended there.
Thinking he had a chance to pick Murakami off at third base, Sánchez fired a throw to McMahon, who was moving toward the bag. But in that situation, with the Yankees one out away from winning the game, Sánchez should have held onto that ball.
Yet, Aaron Boone defended his backup catcher, who claimed that if he could go back in time, he would still attempt that pickoff play.
“We’re big leaguers, and we’re not gonna not do things,” Boone said. “Obviously, an option’s to hold it. But we’ve got to play catch better there.”
The Yankees made some noise in the 12th inning, but with one out and the bases loaded, Rice struck out swinging. Then, after working the count full, Sánchez swung at two outside pitches and grounded out. Boone had to go to Yarbrough, his last available reliever, in the bottom of the 12th, and Edgar Quero singled off him to win the game.
It didn’t matter that the Yankees initially led 4-0, or how well Schlittler pitched, or that they regained the lead in the 11thinning, or that they loaded the bases for their best hitter in the 12th. Ultimately, a defensive error cost them the game.
“I thought we had a good battle there,” Schlittler said. “Some mental mistakes, but that’s baseball. It’s part of the game, so I think the guys played really well, and they just kind of got the edge there on us.”
If the Yankees showed us anything, it is that they are still in desperate need of a new catcher. With their loss to Kansas City, coupled with the White Sox’s win yesterday, the Twins now sit 1.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot. Until Monday, the further they fall, the more likely they are to be sellers at the deadline and trade Ryan Jeffers, a catcher the Yankees don’t just desire, but require.
Today at 2:10 PM, LHP Ryan Weathers (4-7, 4.25 ERA) will start for the Yankees against the righty Sean Burke (7-5, 3.19 ERA) (YES, Gotham Sports).
Schedule
2:10 PM: NYY at CWS; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: LHP Ryan Weathers (4-7, 4.25 ERA) vs. RHP Sean Burke (7-5, 3.19 ERA)
