Daily Report – 9/2/26
Yankees
The Yankees’ bats didn’t stay silent for long. Last night, they broke through with three runs in the first inning, setting the table for Gerrit Cole and a 7-3 win in Anaheim.
The game started, ended, and revolved around Spencer Jones. From his first-inning two-run home run to his ninth-inning RBI single and everything in between, he shined bright in his home state of California. The young outfielder continues to make a case for a starting role once Aaron Judge (hopefully) returns.
In his last 15 games, Jones is 16-for-46 (.348) with four home runs, 10 RBI, and a 1.044 OPS. His home run yesterday was his second in as many nights, and it traveled the same distance to the same part of the ballpark as the one he hit on Monday.
Jones also continues to improve defensively in right field. He narrowly missed a dive in the sixth inning, leading to a triple by Christian Moore that ended Cole’s outing. But he still made a commendable effort to dive for the ball, plus a sliding catch in the fourth inning and an outfield assist in the third.
In the first inning, Jones and Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit back-to-back home runs. Chisholm poked a pitch down the left field line and lifted it just high enough to clear the low fence. Chisholm was one of two Yankees players to notch three hits, along with Cody Bellinger, who did it for the first time since June 17.
“Scoring in the first [inning] in any game, especially a game bouncing back after a loss, is huge,” Jones said. “Just being able to play with a lead for the majority of the game and bring the offense early is big for the team.”
Chisholm had a disappointing start to his 2026 campaign, especially as he prepares to enter free agency this offseason. But in his last 15 games, he is 17-for-46 (.370) with two home runs and a 1.031 OPS. His surge has been key to the Yankees’ recent success, with wins in 10 of their last 15 contests.
“It’s a huge deal, especially with the pitchers we have and the bullpen,” Chisholm said about scoring in the opening frame. “I just feel like it’s great to go out there, get the lead that we had, and make our pitcher feel comfortable.”
Compared to Trent Grisham, who has a .233 batting average against lefties this season, Jones is 14-for-35 (.400) with a 1.161 OPS. This is due to his sharp swing angle, which allows him to dig into the inner half of the plate and catapult breaking pitches most lefties would miss.
Although the difference in his splits isn’t as drastic, Grisham is also better against lefties than righties. However, because he isn’t as impressive against left-handed pitching as Jones, his chances to keep his job as the starting center fielder are dwindling by the day.
He did have a big moment yesterday, though. Recently, Grisham has grounded out in nearly every at-bat. But in the eighth inning, with runners at first and second and a chance to keep a tired David Bednar out of the game, Grisham dug a fastball out of the dirt and slammed it into left field for a run-scoring single, putting the Yankees up 5-3.
The hit was Grisham’s first in seven games, breaking a 0-for-23 skid, part of a 2-for-34 skid since August 23. Against a right-handed starter, he was bumped from the leadoff spot for the second straight game. It was only the fifth time in 81 games against a righty that Grisham didn’t lead off.
Despite demoting Grisham, manager Aaron Boone continues to defend his $22 million man, who hit a career-high 34 home runs last season.
“I feel like the last week’s been a little bit of a struggle,” Boone said. “[He’s] going through it a little bit after several weeks where the power was there, really controlling the zone. Been a tick off here, I feel like, over the last week. So, we’ve got to get him rolling.”
Meanwhile, Cole had another disappointing start, floundering in the sixth inning when he gave up that two-run triple, reducing the Yankees’ lead to 4-3. Cole lasted 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on eight hits.
“There were a lot of counts that I did fall behind in,” Cole said. “And then they also put some good pitches in play, which continued [putting] pressure on us through the first three innings. They continued to put pressure on us until they eventually got me out of the game.”
In the bottom of the sixth, with one out and the tying run at third base, Brent Headrick struck out pinch-hitter Jose Siri and got Oswald Peraza to line out, stranding the runner. It was an important moment for Headrick, who conceded four earned runs in his previous six games.
Headrick and Paul Blackburn combined for a clean seventh inning. In the top of the eighth, Jones walked, Chisholm singled, and Grisham cracked that single to make it 5-3. Behind him, in his first game since August 19, Ryan McMahon bunt singled, loading the bases.
Two batters later, Paul Goldschmidt entered as a pinch hitter, and he lifted a perfect sacrifice fly to left field, bringing Chisholm home for a 6-3 lead.
“That’s everyone doing a little something tonight,” Boone said. “Grish there, two strikes, obviously going the other way against a lefty. A lot of really good left-on-left at-bats there.”
The Yankees did more damage in the top of the ninth, as Jones made it 7-3 with an opposite-field base hit. That removed the save situation, prompting the Yankees to use John Schreiber in the bottom of the ninth instead of Bednar. He tossed a clean frame.
Tonight at 9:38 PM (8:38 PM CDT), the Yankees will go for the series win with RHP Cam Schlittler (12-6, 2.09 ERA) on the bump against LHP Reid Detmers (4-8, 3.54 ERA) (YES, Gotham Sports). The lefty shut the Yankees down at the stadium in April, tossing seven one-run innings with nine strikeouts.
Here is tonight’s starting lineup for the New York Yankees:
1B Paul Goldschmidt (L)
LF Cody Bellinger (L)
RF Heliot Ramos (R)
DH Ben Rice (L)
3B Amed Rosario (R)
CF Spencer Jones (L)
SS José Caballero (R)
2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L)
C Ali Sánchez (R)
SP: RHP Cam Schlittler (12-6, 2.09 ERA)
Schedule
9:38 PM (8:38 PM CDT): NYY at LAA; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: RHP Cam Schlittler (12-6, 2.09 ERA) vs. LHP Reid Detmers (4-8, 3.54 ERA)
Cover Image Courtesy: New York Yankees
