Daily Report – 9/15/25
Yankees
If the 2025 Major League Baseball playoffs started today, the New York Yankees would be hosting the Boston Red Sox in a best-of-three Wild Card series. This weekend, the Yankees proved they can handle the Red Sox by winning the first two of three crucial games in Boston. The Yankees finished their 12-game gauntlet against playoff-bound American League teams with a 7-5 record.
“I think it was a good stretch for us, especially facing four good teams in a row,” said José Caballero. “It has a lot to say about this team. We’re ready for the playoffs.”
To recap, the Yankees took two of three from Houston, two of three from Toronto, and two of three from Boston during this gauntlet. They could only win one game against Detroit. The Yankees are now 17 games above .500, and they lead Boston by 1.5 games for the first Wild Card spot and sit four games behind Toronto for the division lead. At this point, it’s fair to assume that if the Yankees make the playoffs, they’ll have to play a Wild Card series.
By the end of their 12-game gauntlet, the Yankees discovered who their most reliable pieces are in the starting rotation, bullpen, and lineup. While Max Fried and Carlos Rodón are the team’s best starting pitchers, Luis Gil’s six no-hit innings on Friday make him the most likely candidate for the third spot in a playoff rotation. Also, the Yankees will try to use Will Warren, Fernando Cruz, Devin Williams, and David Bednar in high-leverage situations.
Meanwhile, Aaron Judge was outstanding this weekend. On Friday night, he crushed a home run 468 ft. over the Green Monster and onto Lansdowne Street. It marked the 362nd home run of his career, passing Joe DiMaggio for the fourth most home runs in Yankees history and the most by a right-handed hitter in Yankees history. Judge also set the MLB single-season record for the most first-inning home runs (19). He finished his week with five home runs and a 1.760 OPS, earning him his 14th career American League Player of the Week award.
Image Courtesy: New York Yankees
On Saturday, Judge went 2-for-3, including a single against Aroldis Chapman in the ninth inning that made way for the best at-bat of the Yankees’ season thus far. With two outs and a runner at second base (Judge advanced on a wild pitch), Cody Bellinger confidently battled through eight quality pitches before driving the ninth pitch – a high slider – off the Green Monster in left field to score Judge, adding a key insurance run to the Yankees’ lead. That led Jazz Chisholm Jr. to call the Yankees “the best team in the league,” adding, “I feel like any team that thinks they’re better than us, they should know when we step on the field that we’re coming to step on necks. We’re not here to play around. We’re going to do the job and get the job done.”
Every moment of this Boston series felt like playoff baseball, from the relentless Red Sox fans yelling “Yankees suck” whenever they could to the gritty at-bats the Yankees put together. Even after Will Warren surrendered six runs in the first inning yesterday, he tightened his seatbelt and churned out four scoreless frames. “He settled in and didn’t let it affect the rest of his outing,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He gave us a chance.”
While the Yankees lost the game 6-4, they managed to score three runs off Garrett Crochet, even though he fanned them 12 times. If Warren hadn’t given up six runs in the first inning, the result might have been different, but the Yankees still grinded away in the box all night. To their credit, the Yankees don’t usually stay focused after entering a deep hole early in a game. However, yesterday was different, and the Yankees demonstrated the kind of resilience they’ll need in October.
Aaron Judge was responsible for one of his team’s runs off Crochet, which came off a solo home run, but Amed Rosario – who is 6-for-9 in his career against Crochet – provided much-needed power for the Yankees. In the fourth inning, he drilled a hanging sweeper off the top of the Green Monster for a two-run home run. Rosario holds a .318 batting average and a .859 OPS against lefties this season.
José Caballero also homered for the Yankees last night, with a seventh-inning solo shot off Nick Matz that sailed over the Green Monster. Caballero has been filling in for Anthony Volpe, and he’s made a case to take over the starting job at shortstop. “I’m just trying to help the team,” he said last night. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what I do. It’s what the team does. As long as we keep winning games, I’m going to be really happy. I’m going to do my best to try to help the team win.”
The Yankees got important scoreless outings from some of their struggling bullpen arms last night, including Camilo Doval and Mark Leiter Jr. Doval struck out two batters in a hitless sixth inning, and Mark Leiter Jr. allowed one hit in a scoreless seventh. The Yankees’ bullpen helped prevent any further bleeding (after Warren) as the bats tried to recover from a six-run deficit.
Now, just because the gauntlet is over doesn’t mean the Yankees can take their feet off the gas. Their final 13 games are against sub-.500 teams – the Twins, Orioles, and White Sox – but they need to continue to treat every game like they would in October. That way, they can put themselves in the best playoff position, whether it’s a division title or home-field advantage in a Wild Card series.
Last night, when asked about his team’s 7-5 record during the gauntlet, Aaron Boone said, “I don’t evaluate it. We get into Minnesota here late, and we’ve got another playoff game [Monday].”
Tonight, at 7:40 PM (6:40 PM CDT), the Yankees begin a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins (YES). LHP Carlos Rodón (16-8, 3.11 ERA) gets the start against RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (6-4, 4.58 ERA). Vote here for Rodón to receive the 2025 Roberto Clemente Award!
Here is tonight’s starting lineup for the New York Yankees:
CF Trent Grisham (L)
RF Aaron Judge (C) (R)
LF Cody Bellinger (L)
DH Giancarlo Stanton (R)
2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L)
1B Paul Goldschmidt (R)
3B Ryan McMahon (L)
SS José Caballero (R)
C Austin Wells (L)
SP: LHP Carlos Rodón (16-8, 3.11 ERA)
Schedule
7:00 PM (6:00 PM CDT): Monday Night Football (MNF), Week 2 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0) at Houston Texans (0-1); ESPN, ABC
7:40 PM (6:40 PM CDT): NYY at MIN; YES; SP: LHP Carlos Rodón (16-8, 3.11 ERA)
10:00 PM (9:00 PM CDT): Monday Night Football (MNF), Week 2 – Los Angeles Chargers (1-0) at Las Vegas Raiders (1-0); ESPN
