The Yankees are chasing Tampa Bay in the AL East with not much room left to give games away, and this week's set against the Angels turned into exactly the kind of statement they needed. It started with Spencer Jones, the 6'7" outfielder the Yankees called up back in May after Jasson Dominguez went down, continuing to look like one of the more fun developments of their season.
Look at this giant man swing the bat
Jones was Tampa Bay's, er, New York's 2022 first-round pick out of Vanderbilt, and his prospect stock had cooled before this year's breakout run in the majors. Barstool's Eric Hubbs has been tracking his development closely all series, noting the pop is real even if the outfield defense still needs work. Jazz Chisholm Jr. got in on the fun too, going deep off a 98 mph fastball in the same series, with Hubbs crediting Chisholm's more disciplined approach at the plate for unlocking that kind of pop lately.
But the signature performance belonged to Cam Schlittler, who authored eight dominant innings on the mound, the kind of start that had Hubbs joking Schlittler would be getting a shot at the ninth if this were the postseason. David Bednar followed with a scoreless, swing-and-miss ninth that Hubbs called filthy, buying time for what came next: a five-run outburst in the top of the 10th, with Austin Wells delivering the two-out, bases-loaded hit that broke it open before Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham and Ben Rice piled on.
Rumor has it the Yankees figured out you need to score runs in extras as the road team
New York had been miserable in extra innings all season, having managed just 11 runs across 12 extra-inning games entering this one — which made the 10th-inning eruption all the more jarring, and gave Hubbs plenty to work with in real time as the runs kept crossing. The Angels answered with a two-run homer off closer Michael Fulmer in the bottom half, but it wasn't enough, and the Yankees held on for a 6-3 win to take the series.
Naturally, Aaron Boone found a way to make it about him too, getting tossed for arguing a check-swing call in the 10th — his fifth ejection of the season and 51st of his managerial career — moments after his offense had just blown the game open. Hubbs couldn't help but laugh at the timing.
Only Boone could find a way to get ejected immediately after a five run top of the 10th😂😂😂
It capped a night with a little bit of everything — a towering Jones homer, a Chisholm no-doubter, a vintage Schlittler start, a filthy Bednar inning and Boone getting run right as his team put the game away. With Tampa Bay still out front, the Yankees needed every bit of it, and taking the series against the Angels keeps the pressure where it belongs — on the Rays.