After a week of angst that saw them fall out of first place in the American League East, the New York Yankees enjoyed a big night at the plate and their pitching held up on Tuesday.
The Yankees’ attempt to win three straight games for the first time in nearly a month occurs on Wednesday night when they host the Seattle Mariners.
New York is seeking its first three-game winning streak since sweeping the Kansas City Royals June 10-12. Since those games in Kansas City, the Yankees are 8-16, including a pair of six-game losing streaks.
The Yankees were outscored 54-35 in their second six-game losing streak before ending it with Sunday’s 6-4 win over the host New York Mets. New York followed up the win in the “Subway Series” with Tuesday’s 10-3 rout of the Mariners, scoring all their runs after a 35-minute rain delay.
Giancarlo Stanton belted a three-run homer, while Aaron Judge hit his 34th long ball and sixth in nine games. Austin Wells also homered, and Cody Bellinger collected three hits to extend his hitting streak to 13 games.
“That was a big win,” Bellinger said about winning Sunday and following it up with another victory. “Obviously we’re in a little bit of a skid there. So ultimately, we all put a little extra pressure on ourselves to win and get the job done.”
New York finished with 13 hits and went 5-for-7 with runners in scoring position. It was the fourth time in six games the Yankees finished with at least 10 hits and they have 12 round-trippers in their past four games.
The Mariners followed up three straight shutouts at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates by allowing 13 hits for the first time since June 10.
Julio Rodriguez hit an RBI double and Cal Raleigh blasted his major league-leading 36th homer and 10th in the past 19 games.
“To see what Cal continues to do, we’ve talked about it a lot, but this has been a pretty consistent half for him,” Seattle manager Dan Wilson said. “He continues to swing the bat well, and he got a pitch he was able to drive tonight, and it’s been unbelievable for him.”
Cam Schlittler will make his major league debut and become the ninth starting pitcher used by the Yankees. Schlittler is taking the spot of Clarke Schmidt, who is on the injured list with a forearm strain that might require Tommy John surgery.
Schlittler impressed the Yankees in spring training and was 2-1 with a 3.80 ERA in five starts for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre. A seventh-round pick by the Yankees in the 2022 amateur draft out of Northeastern, the 24-year-old was 4-5 with a 2.38 ERA in nine appearances for Double-A Somerset before getting promoted.
Logan Evans (3-2, 2.96 ERA) will make his ninth career start for Seattle and his first-ever start against the Yankees. Evans allowed one run in eight innings against the Washington Nationals on May 27, four runs in five innings at Arizona on June 10 before allowing no runs and three hits in 5 2/3 innings during a no-decision on Thursday when the Mariners absorbed a 3-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals.
–Field Level Media