Daily Report – 9/3/25
Yankees
Last night in Houston, Framber Valdez was pitching to his catcher, César Salazar, with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the fifth inning. Trent Grisham stepped up to the plate, and with a 1-0 count, Salazar signaled to Valdez to step off the mound, but Valdez didn’t listen. Instead, he threw a sinker down the middle to Grisham, who deposited it into the left-field porch for a grand slam.
The grand slam was Grisham’s third of the season and his second in his last four games. It also marked his 29th home run of the season. “I was just talking to myself on deck, knowing it was going to be a big situation,” said Grisham. “Really getting excited for that, getting really calm, and really getting focused. Then just looking for a pitch I could handle.”
After Grisham’s home run, Valdez threw another center-cut sinker to Anthony Volpe, but the pitch drilled Salazar in the arm. It looked like Valdez intentionally hit his catcher. The two players were called into their manager’s office after the game, and although Valdez apologized for his actions, he insisted he didn’t hit Salazar intentionally. “I would never want to hurt somebody on purpose, but it’s stuff that happened, and we were able to talk through it,” Valdez said through an interpreter.
But the miscommunication between Valdez and Salazar proved costly for the Astros, as the Yankees hit three home runs to secure an important 7-1 victory. The Yankees managed to stay on track with Boston and Toronto in the division standings, and their win set the tone for the rest of this 12-game stretch against playoff-bound American League teams.
“These are the [teams] we’re probably going to play in the playoffs, and this is what we’ve got to do,” said Jazz Chisholm Jr., who hit two home runs and stole a base in last night’s win. “We’ve got to go out there and dominate early, often, and consistently.”
Chisholm’s first home run was a two-run shot off Valdez in the second inning. Trent Grisham led off the inning with a single, and Chisholm crushed a hanging sinker to deep right field to drive him home. His second home run was an eighth-inning solo blast that helped his team limit the number of relievers they had to use.
“My whole career, I always thought I could be better than 30-30 every time if I stayed healthy,” said Chisholm, who now has 28 home runs and 26 stolen bases despite missing nearly all of May with an oblique strain. “Even though I didn’t really stay healthy this year, I’m still showing I can get there.”
The Yankees only had to use one reliever – Paul Blackburn – because Max Fried dominated Houston’s entire lineup. Despite being under the weather, he threw 101 pitches across seven innings, allowing just one run on four hits and three walks. “Just a little nauseous,” said Fried. “I was happy to be able to eat some innings and keep some runs off the board. We wanted to come in tonight and start the series off right.”
Fried began the seventh inning by walking Cam Smith and allowing a single to Mauricio Dubón, putting runners at first and second base for César Salazar. Manager Aaron Boone emerged from the dugout to speak with Fried, and it looked like he was going to relieve him. However, Fried insisted on staying in the game, and the former Gold Glove winner made an incredible catch on a bunt attempt by Salazar. He then slung the ball to first base for a double play.
“If it helps win ballgames, and if I can do something to be the ninth defender out there, it definitely helps out myself and the team,” said Fried.
The Yankees took a 7-1 lead in the eighth inning when Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit his second homer of the night. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Paul Blackburn struck out the heart of Houston’s order – Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, and Christian Walker. Then, in the bottom of the ninth, with one out and a runner at first, Blackburn forced Cam Smith to line a sweeper into his glove, and just like Max Fried, he threw the ball to first base for the game-ending double-play.
After winning eight of their last nine games, the Yankees look to continue their streak tonight as they attempt to take another game from Houston and win this three-game series. At 8:10 PM (7:10 PM CDT), RHP Will Warren (8-6, 4.30 ERA) will take the mound for the Yankees against the 32-year-old righty Jason Alexander (4-1, 4.61 ERA), who allowed just one hit to the Yankees across six scoreless innings on August 10 (Prime Video).
Here is tonight’s starting lineup for the New York Yankees:
CF Trent Grisham (L)
DH Aaron Judge (C) (R)
RF Cody Bellinger (L)
2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L)
LF Giancarlo Stanton (R)
1B Ben Rice (L)
C Austin Wells (L)
SS Anthony Volpe (R)
3B Ryan McMahon (L)
SP: RHP Will Warren (8-6, 4.30 ERA)
Schedule
8:10 PM (7:10 PM CDT): NYY at HOU; AmazonPV; SP: RHP Will Warren (8-6, 4.30 ERA)
