Yankees Turn A Tight Game Into A Late Beatdown

Yankees Turn A Tight Game Into A Late Beatdown

The Yankees were quiet for most of the afternoon, but one swing from Cody Bellinger flipped the entire game before Jazz Chisholm Jr. put Boston away for good.

For seven innings, this looked like one of those annoying Yankees-Red Sox games where the Yankees had chances, wasted a few, got a strong start, and still somehow found themselves stuck in a one-run fight.

Then the eighth inning happened.

Cody Bellinger opened the door with a tie-breaking solo shot to right, Trent Grisham followed with another big hit, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. finished the whole thing with a three-run homer that turned a 1-1 game into a 6-1 Yankees win at Yankee Stadium. Just like that, a game that felt tight all afternoon became a late Boston bullpen mess.

That is the part that matters here. The Yankees are still short-handed. Aaron Judge is out. Giancarlo Stanton is out. Austin Wells is out. The lineup is not exactly whole right now. So when the offense is quiet early, you can feel the crowd waiting for somebody to finally do something.

On Sunday, Bellinger did it first. Then Jazz made sure nobody had to sweat the ninth.

Cam Schlittler Keeps Giving The Yankees Real Starts

Before the late fireworks, Cam Schlittler was the reason the Yankees even had control of the game.

Schlittler gave them 5.2 innings, allowing just one run on four hits with one walk and five strikeouts. He was not perfect, but he was strong, aggressive, and once again looked like a pitcher who does not get scared by the stage. Against Boston, at Yankee Stadium, in a game the Yankees needed to split the short series, he gave them exactly what they needed. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

The only run he allowed came in the sixth, when Willson Contreras doubled to deep left and brought home Ceddanne Rafaela. That tied the game at 1-1, and for a few innings, it felt like the Yankees might regret not doing more against Ranger Suarez.

But Schlittler kept them in it. That cannot be brushed aside. The Yankees have needed arms to step up all season, and this kid continues to look like more than just a temporary fill-in.

ADVERTISEMENT
Advertisement

Goldschmidt Gets The Yankees On The Board

The Yankees finally broke through in the fifth after José Caballero doubled to deep left. Paul Goldschmidt then went the other way with an RBI single to right, bringing Caballero home and giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead.

It was not loud. It was not some monster rally. But it was professional hitting from a veteran who still knows how to cash in a runner when the Yankees desperately need contact.

The problem was the Yankees had already left a real chance on the table in the fourth. Goldschmidt singled, Bellinger singled, Grisham singled, and somehow they came away with nothing after Anthony Volpe lined out to center with the bases loaded.

That is the type of inning that usually comes back to bite you.

This time, it did not.

Bellinger And Jazz Finally Break It Open

The eighth inning started with Justin Slaten getting Goldschmidt and Ben Rice, and it looked like Boston might escape again.

Then Bellinger jumped on a cutter and sent it into the right-field seats for his ninth homer of the season. Yankees up 2-1.

After that, Boston fell apart fast.

Amed Rosario singled. Grisham drove him in with a single after Rosario stole second. Volpe walked. Then Joe La Sorsa came in, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. made him pay immediately with a three-run homer to right-center.

That was the swing that ended the game.

Jazz struck out three times before that at-bat, which makes it even more ridiculous. Baseball will humble you for three trips, then hand you a chance to change the whole box score with one swing. Jazz did exactly that.

Yankees Bullpen Closes The Door

Fernando Cruz, Brent Headrick, Tim Hill, and David Bednar handled the rest after Schlittler exited.

Hill got the win with a clean eighth, and Bednar finished it off in the ninth with a perfect inning. No drama. No fake rally. No Red Sox nonsense.

For a Yankees team trying to stay afloat while missing key bats, that matters. You get the lead late, you end it clean, and you move on.

A Needed Win Before The Road Trip

The Yankees improved to 38-26 with the win and earned a split in the rain-shortened two-game set against Boston. They now head into the next stretch still banged up, but not limping emotionally into the road trip.

This was not a perfect offensive game. The Yankees struck out 10 times. Ben Rice went hitless. Volpe left runners on. The catching situation still looks rough with Wells out and Ali Sánchez making his Yankees debut.

But the Yankees got pitching, got a late punch from Bellinger, got the knockout blow from Jazz, and beat the Red Sox.

That will play.

Especially when Judge is not in the lineup and everybody is waiting to see who can carry a little extra weight.

Fact Checked & Editorial Guidelines
Reviewed by: Subject Matter Experts

You may also like...