Yankees beat Angels 6-3 in 10, take series in Anaheim
Cam Schlittler's 8 strong innings and a five-run 10th, capped by Moisés Ballesteros' two-run homer, sent the Yankees to an 80-60 record and a series win over the Angels.
Ballesteros breaks it open in the 10th
Cam Schlittler was the story for seven and two-thirds innings, working 8 IP with 2 hits, 1 earned run and 9 strikeouts against Angels starter Reid Detmers, who matched him for most of the night with 1 earned run over 7 IP. Vaughn Grissom's solo homer in the seventh tied it, and the game went to extras.
Angels1-10Angels7-3Angels6-3The Yankees broke it in the 10th, scoring five runs off Angels reliever Luke Murphy, with Moisés Ballesteros' two-run homer doing the damage. David Bednar closed it out with a clean inning — 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 K — for the 6-3 final. Cody Bellinger went 3-for-5 with an RBI, and Aaron Boone was ejected along the way.
The win closes out the Angels series 2-1 after New York dropped the opener 1-10 on August 31 before answering with a 7-3 win on September 1 and Wednesday's 6-3 finish. It's the fourth win in the last 5 games, and it keeps the Yankees at 80-60, 9.5 games up on Boston for the top AL Wild Card spot with an elimination number of 20.
Judge eyes the Sept. 8 homestand
Aaron Boone said Monday that Aaron Judge (ribs) could be activated from the 60-day injured list during the Yankees' upcoming homestand, which runs September 8-13, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports. It's the clearest timeline yet on Judge's return after more than a month on the shelf.
There's more roster news moving at once. George Lombard Jr. (knee) was out of Wednesday's lineup against the Angels, listed day-to-day. Clarke Schmidt (elbow) worked two-thirds of an inning in a rehab outing with Double-A Somerset on Saturday, allowing two runs — including a home run — on two hits with two strikeouts. And Ryan Weathers (forearm) is hopeful to resume throwing at some point this week, per Phillips.
Upcoming
The Yankees are in San Diego Friday night to open a weekend series with the Padres. Max Fried (4-4, 2.80 ERA) starts for New York; he was efficient but short in his last outing against Boston on August 29, working 3.2 innings with 1 earned run, 4 strikeouts and a walk over 63 pitches. Walker Buehler (8-6, 4.66 ERA) goes for San Diego, coming off a 5-inning, 3-run outing against Tampa Bay on August 29.
Neither pitcher has been especially deep in his last turn, which puts extra weight on both bullpens. With Judge's return on the horizon and the Yankees still chasing Tampa Bay atop the division, the price on the odds card below will say plenty about how the market reads Fried's form against a Padres club playing at home.