Two days after benches emptied over a batter's-box staredown, the Pirates and Yankees are back at it — twice, in one afternoon.
Bush’s Picks
PITNYY
PITNYY
OverUnder
Best BetYankees
The Yankees are the right side to back outright even shorthanded — Cole's last outing had real swing-and-miss stuff, and Chisholm is carrying the offense right now. Keller's 5.14 ERA and shaky command make Pittsburgh a tougher outright bet on the road. This isn't a blowout price, but the form gap favors New York.
Pirates
+Won 2 of last 3 vs Cleveland before this series
+Valdez has shown real pop (431-ft homer)
+Keller has flashed quality starts recently
−Keller's ERA at 5.14 with a midseason collapse
−Cruz, Griffin both on 60-day IL
−Bullpen down two arms (Sisk, Devenski)
Yankees
+56-44 record, still playing like a contender
+Chisholm red-hot with 2 HR, 5 RBI in series opener
+Cole's last start was his best of the stretch (8 K, 2 ER)
−Judge still not cleared for baseball activities
−Stanton has no rehab timeline
−Cole's ERA volatile post-Tommy John, rough June
First pitch for game 1 goes at 1:05 PM ET on Wednesday, July 22, and it's Mitch Keller against Gerrit Cole in a matchup of two guys still trying to find their 2026 selves. Keller's ERA has ballooned to 5.14 after a brutal midseason stretch, and in his last time out against Atlanta he barely made it through 3 innings before getting pulled. Cole's trending the other way — he struck out 8 over 6 innings against the Dodgers his last start — but he's still working back from Tommy John surgery and the results haven't been consistent all year.
Both lineups are missing real thump. The Yankees are still without Aaron Judge, who hasn't been cleared for baseball activities, and Giancarlo Stanton remains without a rehab timeline. Pittsburgh's dealing with its own absences — Oneil Cruz and Konnor Griffin are both on the 60-day IL, and catcher Endy Rodriguez is out with a hip issue. That's a lot of talent watching from the sidelines for a series that still means something in both standings.
Show fees
1:05 PM ET
Spread
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Total
PIT Pirates
NYY Yankees
The series already has plenty of juice. Jazz Chisholm Jr. torched Braxton Ashcraft for two homers and 5 RBIs in Monday's opener, and things got heated late when Pirates reliever Dennis Santana barked at Jose Caballero for stalling in the batter's box, emptying both benches. Tuesday's game landed in a bizarre 0-0 deadlock, so this doubleheader is really the series settling its business.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Jul 21?@ Yankees—
New York Yankees
Jul 21?vs Pirates—
Recent form.
Pittsburgh's 52-49 mark is more circumstance than dominance — three wins over a last-place Guardians club padded the record before Monday's loss reset the tone. New York, at 56-44, still looks like a contender even with its walking wounded, and taking this doubleheader keeps the pressure on in a tight AL East race.
Pittsburgh Pirates
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
New York Yankees
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
However this twin bill shakes out, neither team can treat it like a scheduling formality. Pittsburgh needs innings from a bullpen already down two arms, and the Yankees need Cole to look like the pitcher from his last start and not the one from his rough June. Wednesday's doubleheader will say a lot about where both teams actually stand.
