Daily Report – 8/5/25
Here is today’s report:
Yankees
The New York Yankees are an unmitigated disaster. They are a third-place team tied for the final American League Wild Card spot, and the Texas Rangers are sniffing them out of contention altogether. If the Yankees lose their next two games in Texas, they will depart the Lone Star State without a playoff spot.
Last night, the Yankees fell to the Rangers 8-5, and after their bullpen held it down for three innings, Devin Williams collapsed in the bottom of the ninth. He hung a changeup in the heart of the plate for the .126-hitting Joc Pederson, who tied the game with his third home run of the season.
“I’m trying to throw it down and away there, and missed middle – and obviously, [Pederson] did what he did,” said Williams, who has allowed at least one earned run in five of his last seven appearances. Also, for the first time in his career, he has allowed an earned run in three straight appearances, and he has blown a save in back-to-back games. “This game and the last one, it was really one pitch that hurt me; but that’s the difference between winning and losing sometimes, and I can’t let that happen.”
Isn’t Devin Williams the closer for the New York Yankees? I cannot even begin to count the number of times Aaron Boone has defended the 2023 Reliever of the Year. If Williams’s poor performance isn’t enough to justify losing the closer position, then his postgame comments should be. “Things haven’t been going well for a while,” said Williams. “I would say I’m trying my best. Sometimes that leads to the opposite outcome that you’re trying to achieve.”
These excuses are inexcusable. Devin Williams has no right to even attempt to justify his poor performance. And what did Aaron Boone have to say about it?
“We have really good guys down there, Devin included.”
I guess the Yankees aren’t demoting their closer.
In the top of the 10th inning, the Yankees couldn’t drive anybody home. Jazz Chisholm advanced Jasson Domínguez to third base on a groundout before Anthony Volpe walked. Austin Wells then grounded the second pitch he saw straight to the pitcher for a double play.
In the bottom of the 10th inning, Jake Bird struck out Marcus Semien and got Adolis Garcia to ground out without advancing the inherited runner. Following a mound visit, Bird then opted to intentionally walk Wyatt Langford, favoring a matchup against Josh Jung. However, it felt like Jung was destined to avenge his teammate. That’s because absolutely everything has gone wrong for the Yankees this week, so indubitably, Josh Jung would walk it off for Texas.
And that’s exactly what happened. Bird hung a sinker inside to Jung, and he launched it to deep left-center field for a game-winning three-run shot. “We’ve got to be able to close out these games,” said Aaron Boone. “We’ve got to get it tightened up. We all have to be better. […] There’s no time.”
It’s true, there isn’t much time left in the season. The Yankees are two Texas losses away from losing their playoff spot. That’s what makes yesterday’s loss so devastating. Aaron Boone acknowledged that his team’s struggles, which have amounted to a 25-33 record since May 28, are weighing on the players. However, it “doesn’t matter, though.” Boone added, “Weigh on us, stress – we’ve got to win. We know that. Nobody cares how stressful it is. That’s all just noise, excuses, whatever. We’ve got to play better, and we’ve got to go win.”
The bottom line is, the Yankees must start winning games, and it needs to start immediately. The first step? Demoting the closer.
To add injury to insult, recently acquired outfielder Austin Slater pulled his left hamstring in the first inning of yesterday’s game. This complicates the Yankees’ plans to ease Aaron Judge back into the lineup, as he won’t be playing the outfield for at least another week, and the team needs Giancarlo Stanton’s bat in the lineup.
Yankees Transactions:
8/5: NYY designated RHP JT Brubaker for assignment.
8/5: NYY activated RF Aaron Judge (C) from the 10-day injured list.
8/5: NYY placed LF Austin Slater (left hamstring strain) on the 10-day injured list.
8/5: NYY recalled RHP Yerry De los Santos from AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
8/5: NYY activated RHP Mark Leiter Jr. from the 15-day injured list.
8/5: NYY optioned RHP Jake Bird to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.
Tonight, at 8:05, the Yankees will start RHP Will Warren (6-5, 4.64 ERA) against the superstar righty Nathan Eovaldi (9-3, 1.49 ERA) (YES).
Here is tonight’s starting lineup for the New York Yankees:
CF Trent Grisham (L)
C Ben Rice (L)
DH Aaron Judge (C) (R)
RF Cody Bellinger (L)
2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L)
1B Paul Goldschmidt (R)
LF Jasson Domínguez (S)
3B Ryan McMahon (L)
SS Anthony Volpe (R)
SP: RHP Will Warren (6-5, 4.64 ERA)
Schedule
8:05 PM: NYY at TEX; YES; SP: RHP Will Warren (6-5, 4.64 ERA)
