Yankees open September with 7-3 win over Angels

The Yankees began their September on a high note with a 7-3 win over the Angels. Gerrit Cole got the starting nod for the Yankees and faced off against Grayson Rodriguez. 

With one out in the top of the first inning, Cody Bellinger lined a single into right field. Then Spencer Jones crushed a two-run shot to right-center field, his ninth home run of the season and second in as many days.

“I think scoring in the first in any game, especially a game bouncing back after a loss, is huge,” Jones said. “And just being able to play with the lead for the majority of the game and then just to bring the offense early is big for the team.”

Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed with a solo shot that just snuck over the wall in left field to make it 3-0. 

“I just wanted it to stay fair,” Jazz said. “I didn't even think it was gone. I was just trying to go hustle for a double, maybe a triple if it wrapped around the pole, but hey, thank God for that.” 

Cole allowed a leadoff double, picked up a pair of strikeouts and a lineout to work a shutdown bottom of the first inning. 

In the bottom half of the second inning, Cole navigated around a two-out free pass and notched his third strikeout of the ballgame, working a scoreless inning. 

Ben Rice led off the third inning with a single into right field; Belli followed with a single to right-center, allowing Rice to go first to third. Luis Garcia Jr. bounced into a 3-6-3 double play, but a run came around to score, making it 4-0. 

The Angels got on the board in the bottom of the third inning thanks to an RBI single from Wade Meckler, making it 4-1. 

Cole allowed a pair of one-out singles to the Angels' No. 8 and No. 9 hitters. But Cole punched out Zach Neto and got Mike Trout to ground out, working into and out of trouble. 

Cole allowed a pair of singles in the bottom of the sixth inning, putting runners at first and second with one out. Christian Moore then made it a one-run ballgame via a two-run triple, ending Cole's night. Brent Headrick took over and recorded a strikeout as well as a lineout to keep the Yankees' lead intact. 

Final line for Cole: 5.1 innings pitched, eight hits allowed, three runs, walked one, and struck out five on 90 pitches. He threw his fastball 52% of the time, the knuckle curve 20%, the slider 16%, and the changeup 12%. Cole topped out at 98.9 mph, sitting at 96.8, and had nine whiffs. 

Headrick came back out for the bottom of the seventh and picked up the first two outs; Paul Blackburn replaced him and struck out Trout to end the inning. 

“I mean, overall solid and feeling really good and, you know, giving us a chance to win a lot of the time,” Cole said. “Still looking to make improvements here as we get down the stretch.”

Jones worked a walk to leadoff the eighth inning; Jazz then lined a base-knock into left field for his third hit of the night. 

“I feel like we've just been working hard every day trying to get into it and make sure that we're ready for the playoffs,” Jazz said. “And you know, I feel like it's just finally paying off. You know, it's been a lot of games of lining up, and it feels like it's just dropping now.” 

Trent Grisham lined an RBI single to left field to extend the Yankees' lead to 5-3 and break out of a 0-for-23 skid. Ryan McMahon laid down a perfect bunt single to load the bases. Paul Goldschmidt pinch-hit for Austin Wells and tacked on another run thanks to a sacrifice fly. 

“I mean, it's extraordinary,” Jazz said of how valuable it is having Goldy coming off the bench. “Goldshmidt, he always comes up; he's super clutch. He's been playing well all year. I mean, we couldn't ask for a better guy coming off the bench.”

Blackburn remained in the game for the bottom of the eighth and faced the minimum thanks to an inning-ending double play. 

Belli led off the ninth inning with his third hit of the night; Garcia followed with a single to right field, putting runners at the corners with nobody out. Jones lined an RBI single to left field to make it a 7-3 game. 

John Schreiber, who the Yankees just claimed off waivers yesterday, was called upon in the bottom of the ninth to make his Yankee debut. Schreiber worked a nice and easy 1-2-3 inning to end the ballgame. 

The Yankees will look to win the series tomorrow with Cam Schlittler on the mound facing off against Reid Detmers. First pitch is slated for 9:38 p.m. ET on the YES Network. 

My thoughts on the game: Great bounce-back win for the Yankees tonight, after a blowout loss yesterday. Not Cole's best start tonight, but it wasn't bad by any means; he just allowed too many hits for my liking. Headrick picked up Cole in the sixth inning, stranding the tying run at third base with one out, as his dominant season continues, lowering his ERA to 1.93. Blackburn also picked up four outs tonight, lowering his ERA to 1.62. Schreiber did his job in his Yankee debut; it would be nice if he could put together a nice final month with the Yankees and be a contributor out of the bullpen in October. Great night for the Yankees offense with 14 hits and seven runs. Belli and Jazz each had three hits tonight; one of Jazz's hits from Jazz was a home run. It has been so nice having Belli back. Jazz has looked way better at the plate over the last week. Jones and Garcia each had multi-hit games, and Jones went deep and had three RBIs. Grisham had an RBI single tonight, but he has been really struggling, as he is 3-for-his-last-43. Jones has been on fire in his last 20 games, hitting .317, with four bombs, 13 RBIs, and a .935 OPS.  With Grisham really struggling and Jones tearing the cover off the baseball, plus Aaron Judge coming back in about a week, either Jones or Grisham is going to start losing playing time. There is an obvious answer here: play Jones over Grisham, but I think we all know the Yankees won't do that because they hate admitting they are wrong. On to tomorrow, as the Yankees have a great chance to win the series.