When & Where To Watch
Tonight vs Guardians: Coverage on YES & the YES App begins at 6:00 with Yankees Batting Practice Today
Tomorrow vs Guardians: YES & the YES App will have the Postgame Show following game coverage on Prime, which begins at 6:30 p.m.
Thursday vs Guardians: Coverage on YES & the YES App begins at 12:30 p.m. with the Pregame Show
Friday vs Rockies: Coverage on YES & the YES App begins at 6:00 p.m. with Yankees Batting Practice Today
Saturday vs. Rockies: Coverage on YES & the YES App begins at 11:30 a.m. with a Yankees Old-Timers’ Day special
Sunday vs. Rockies: Coverage on YES & the YES App begins at 12:30 p.m. with Yankees Batting Practice Today
Pinstriped Pulse
Entering a six-game homestand, the 73-52 Yankees have the best record in the American League and lead Baltimore by a half-game for first place in the AL East. Juan Soto’s three-homer game last Tuesday at the White Sox was the first of his career, and it was his 23rd multi-homer game, moving him to within one of the all-time MLB record for a player age 25 or younger held by Hall of Famer Mel Ott. Austin Wells is batting .338 since July 22. Jose Trevino has made two starts since returning from a quad injury that cost him a little more than a month. Marcus Stroman has allowed just one run in 11 innings over his last two starts, the second of which was in Sunday’s Little League Classic against the Tigers in Williamsport, PA. Oswald Peraza homered Friday at Detroit in his season debut. The following day, Tim Mayza worked a clean inning out of the bullpen in his Yankees debut, a return to the Majors for the veteran lefty. He signed with the Yanks just before the All-Star break shortly after he was designated for assignment and released by Toronto.
How ‘Bout That
Aaron Judge continues to amaze. Last Wednesday, he became the fastest player in MLB history by games to reach 300 career homers, and he is six away from becoming the fifth player ever to have three 50-homer seasons. A chance at the AL triple crown may be a bit of a longshot since he is 18 points behind Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. for the lead in batting average, but with a mark of .331 to go along with MLB-high totals of 44 homers, 111 RBI and a 1.166 OPS, he could very well end up a unanimous MVP Award winner, something that didn’t even happen in his legendary and record-breaking 62-homer season when he received 28 of 30 first-place votes.
Know The Foes
At 72-52, Cleveland is a half-game behind the Yankees for best record in the AL, and the Central-leading Guardians are 2.5 games up on Minnesota and the Royals. Jose Ramirez has 32 homers and 100 RBI, hitting those marks in the same season for the third time in his career, although the .277 hitter enters the Bronx in a 2-for-16 skid. Steven Kwan is batting .316, fourth-best in the AL behind Judge, Witt and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (.317). Josh Naylor ranks second on the team in homers behind Ramirez with 27 – no one else on the team has more than 13. With 110 stolen bases, Cleveland ranks third in the AL behind Tampa Bay (149) and Boston (119). Closer Emmanuel Clase has only allowed four earned runs this year, giving him an ERA of 0.69 over 57.1 innings, but he did blow a save against the Yankees way back on April 14. The 46-79 Rockies are tied with Miami for the worst record in the National League. Colorado recently placed Kris Bryant on the injured list with a back strain, marking the fourth time that specific issue has forced him onto the IL and his eighth overall stint on the IL since he signed with Colorado prior to the 2022 season. The 2016 NL MVP and a four-time All-Star from 2015-21, Bryant has appeared in just 35.4 percent of the Rockies’ games since he joined them, playing in 159 out of a possible 449, and he’s batting just .229 with 12 homers since the start of last year.
Probable Starters
Luis Gil gets the call for the Yankees tonight against Matthew Boyd, who pitched well against the Cubs last Tuesday in his Guardians debut and first game back following Tommy John surgery. Cleveland has not announced who will oppose Nestor Cortes tomorrow – trade deadline acquisition Alex Cobb was placed on the injured list yesterday with a fractured fingernail on his right hand. Gerrit Cole and Gavin Williams are lined up for Thursday’s series finale. Starters for Yankees-Rockies series have not yet been locked in.
Bronx Buds
YES’ first-ever animated series premiered exclusively on the YES App over the weekend: HexClad presents Bronx Buds, powered by Bical Auto Mall! Join young ballplayers Riv, Bash, Oscar and their teammates on a baseball adventure throughout New York City. The next episode will drop at 9 a.m. this Saturday.
Old-Timers’ Day
Legends will be back in the Bronx on Saturday when the Yankees hold their 76th Old-Timers’ Day celebration, which will commemorate the 15th anniversary of the 2009 World Championship team. Presented by FreshDirect, the festivities are going to include nine Monument Park inductees including Hall of Famers Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. YES’ coverage will begin at 11:30 a.m., and fans with tickets are asked to be in their seats by 12 p.m. for introductions, which will be read by Michael Kay, followed by a live Q&A session with the players led by Suzyn Waldman and the man who managed that ’09 team, Joe Girardi.
