Daily Report – 8/21/25
Here is today’s report:
Yankees
Giancarlo Stanton… the animal!
Last night in Tampa, Big G played hero as the Yankees overcame a blown save to beat the Rays 6-4, finishing their road trip with a perfect 5-0 record. Trent Grisham and Austin Wells each hit two home runs for the Bombers, who belted 14 home runs across two games, tying the 1999 Reds for the most home runs in a two-game span in MLB history.
After Hunter Feduccia doubled off David Bednar to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth inning, Giancarlo Stanton pinch-hit to begin the top of the 10th. In the seventh pitch of his at-bat against the tough closer Pete Fairbanks, Stanton drove a fastball to deep left field, putting the Yankees ahead 5-3. The home run was Stanton’s second this season as a pinch-hitter. “He’s so good at the mental game now, preparing and knowing how to do it,” manager Aaron Boone remarked. “He has tremendous self-awareness of who he is as a hitter now. He’s an animal.”
After Stanton’s big blast, Austin Wells followed with his second home run of the night, a hit that traveled so far into right-center field it eclipsed the entire stadium and landed in the parking lot. And the Yankees’ late offensive heroics were so spectacular that they nearly made rookie Cam Schlittler’s six perfect innings forgettable.
Indeed, for six innings, Cam Schlittler was immaculate, and he finished with six 2/3 shutout innings. He allowed just one hit opposite eight strikeouts, averaging 97.7 mph on his fastball, and he offered the best curveball of his career, getting plenty of whiffs with his wonderful command. “The mistakes I’ve made in the past [were] getting too comfortable with the off-speed early and not really making [hitters] hit the fastball first,” Schlittler recounted. “The goal is to make them hit my heater, and once they do that, move on to other things. But they didn’t really do that [today], so I was just able to keep attacking with that.”
After throwing just 66 pitches across his first six innings, Schlittler had to throw 29 in the seventh. First, Chandler Simpson broke up Schlittler’s perfect game bid with a single, and with one out, Brandon Lowe walked. After striking out Junior Caminero, Schlittler walked Josh Lowe. With the bases loaded, Luke Weaver relieved Schlittler, and he did what he does best, bailing out his starter with a three-pitch strikeout of Hunter Fedducia.
“Even when [Simpson] got the hit, I didn’t really care too much,” said Schlittler. “I’m trying to focus on the next guy. The biggest thing is that we won and put the team in a good position to win.” Schlittler was proud to become the first Yankees rookie since Fritz Peterson in 1966 to throw six perfect innings.
With one out in the eighth inning, Trent Grisham provided an insurance run with his second home run of the night, giving the Yankees a 3-0 lead. It’s funny because Grisham was the only Yankees starter to be held hitless in Tuesday’s home run party, and he started yesterday’s ballgame with a leadoff home run before adding another in the eighth inning.
In the bottom of the frame, Bob Seymour hit his first Big League home run, doing so off Luke Weaver to put Tampa Bay on the board and reduce the Yankees’ lead to 3-1. In the bottom of the ninth inning, David Bednar struggled, walking Brandon Lowe with one out before allowing a single to Junior Caminero. With two outs and runners at first and second, plus a 2-2 count on Hunter Feduccia, the catcher doubled off the top of the right-center field wall to tie the game 3-3.
And then came the pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton, who delivered his incredible go-ahead two-run blast to kick off the 10th inning. “The guy is one of the most focused players I’ve ever seen,” said Aaron Judge. “He was locked in, dialed in. Doesn’t matter if he hasn’t had an at-bat all night. He was going to be ready for his moment.”
After Austin Wells’s home run to deep right-center field put the Yankees ahead 6-3, Devin Williams came in to close things out in the bottom of the 10th inning. Once a hopeful option at closer after the Yankees traded for him this past offseason, Williams has struggled all season, especially in high-leverage spots. Quickly into his appearance yesterday, it felt like he would falter again. His second pitch of the outing was a 1-0 fastball down the middle, which Bob Seymour quickly drove into center field for an RBI single. The next hitter, Tristan Gray, hit his first double of the season to right field, putting runners at second and third without any outs. But Williams wasn’t going to collapse. Not this time.
Somehow, the righty dug as deep as he could and struck out the top of Tampa Bay’s order – Chandler Simpson, Yandy Díaz, and Brandon Lowe – to end the game. Suffice to say, his performance enthused him, and the Yankees hope to carry that momentum into their most important series of the season, a four-game set against Boston that begins tonight.
The Yankees rank 1.5 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox for second place in their division and the first AL Wild Card spot. Boston just lost three consecutive games to the sub-.500 Marlins and Orioles, so the Yankees, despite their 1-5 record against Boston this season, will try to take advantage and extend their five-game win streak. But make no mistake, this Red Sox-Yankees series is incredibly significant for both teams, and more so than any ordinary regular-season matchup between these archrivals.
“Look, all the series are big,” said Aaron Boone. “This one, with your rival when you’re fighting for a lot, at this point in the season, will, I’m sure, have a big feel to it.”
The Yankees haven’t beaten Boston since the first game of their first series against them in early June. Then, the following week at Fenway Park, the Yankees got swept as their bats couldn’t muster more than four runs in three games against the Sox. The Yankees embarked on a 20-31 dumpster fire after that series, while Boston took off. The ripple effects of a series against Boston are significant for both the Yankees and Red Sox, which means this weekend’s four-game set is truly make-or-break for each team.
Tonight, on a special edition of Baseball Night in America at 7:15, RHP Luis Gil (1-1, 5.14 ERA) will start against the tough righty Lucas Giolito (8-2, 3.63 ERA) (FOX).
Tomorrow, at 7:05 PM, LHP Max Fried (13-5, 3.26 ERA) will try to bounce back against RHP Brayan Bello (9-6, 3.23 ERA) (Prime Video).
On Saturday, at 1:05 PM, RHP Will Warren (7-5, 4.25 ERA) will toe the slab against one of the best southpaws in baseball, Garrett Crochet (13-5, 2.43 ERA) (YES).
The series will conclude with Sunday Night Baseball at 7:10 PM, as LHP Carlos Rodón (13-7, 3.24 ERA) will deal from the rock alongside former Dodgers righty Dustin May (7-9, 4.59 ERA) (ESPN).
“Excited to get after it with them,” said Aaron Boone. “They’ve had our number in the first couple of series. Hopefully, we can turn that around moving forward.”
Schedule
Tonight 8/21:
7:00 PM: NYL vs. CHI; MY9, WWOR
7:15 PM: Baseball Night in America – NYY vs. BOS; FOX; SP: RHP Luis Gil (1-1, 5.14 ERA)
8:00 PM: 2025 NFL Preseason, Game 3 – NYG vs. NE; WNBC
Friday 8/22:
7:05 PM: NYY vs. BOS; AmazonPV; SP: LHP Max Fried (13-5, 3.26 ERA)
7:30 PM: 2025 NFL Preseason, Game 3 – NYJ vs. PHI; WCBS
Saturday 8/23:
1:05 PM: NYY vs. BOS; YES; SP: RHP Will Warren (7-5, 4.25 ERA)
2:00 PM: NYL at ATL; CBS
Sunday 8/24:
12:00 PM: 2025 US Open, Round 1; ABC, ESPN 2 (3:00 PM)
7:10 PM: Sunday Night Baseball – NYY vs. BOS; ESPN; SP: LHP Carlos Rodón (13-7, 3.24 ERA)
