No loss is a good one, but this one is annoying because the things the team is normally good at, they weren’t so good at. We accept the Yankees’ lineup is going to struggle to score, but we expect the bullpen to get the outs after a big night from the starter. Two of those three things happened today — the Yankees struggled to score, and the starter had a big night. Handed a slim 2-1 lead late, the New York bullpen collapsed in the late innings, and the Cubs tied up this series, with 5-2 your final score.
We had about one inning of worry about Max Fried tonight. He was a little scattershot in the first, with Pete Crow-Armstrong working his was back from 0-2 into an eight-pitch leadoff walk, before a pair of spiked curveballs allowed the NL MVP frontrunner to scamper home and put the Cubs up 1-0. Just like earlier this week against the White Sox, we had to contend with the fact the Yankee co-ace would labor his way through the opening frame.
And then, he was pretty well academic. Fried allowed just two hits and didn’t walk a batter after PCA in the first, freezing out the league’s second-best offense and taking advantage of heavy winds blowing in off Lake Michigan. Neither team had the best day at the plate but Fried had a slightly higher degree of difficulty — for as good as he was against Pittsburgh I would argue this outing is more impressive.
At 73 pitches through five innings, many of us assumed Fried’s day was done, but an in-depth discussion with
Ali Sánchez while the Yankees batted had me wondering if they’d let the lefty face PCA one more time. Sure enough, Aaron Boone rolled the dice against one of the better players in all of baseball, and Fried rewarded his skipper’s confidence.
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On the offensive side, this side as constructed was always going to be a tough watch. They took advantage of Michael Busch’s error in the fifth, letting Spencer Jones reach first. Sánchez and José Caballero had singles in stereo to bring Jones in and tie the game at one.
The Yankees’ big prospect was front and center for the second run of the game too, taking David Peterson deep to the opposite field on a windy night at Wrigley:
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That’s three dingers this week for Jones, who in 105 ABs this season is looking like a respectable enough hitter with some upside. I don’t know that I’ll ever enjoy the aesthetics of Spencer Jones, but if he can lengthen a lineup that’s awful short right now, runs are runs.
The Yankees briefly threatened for more after the Jones homer. Sánchez punched one through the right side but was thrown out at second on a botched hit-and-run with Caballero up. Cabbie then walked and swiped second before a pinch-hitting Trent Grisham earned a free pass as well. Paul Goldschmidt couldn’t do anything though, fouling out on the first pitch to end the rally.
Unfortunately, the vaunted Yankee bullpen couldn’t hold out forever. Nico Hoerner hit a near-impossible home run just over the left-field wall to re-tie the game at two against Fernando Cruz, and then PCA did PCA things with a Cub aboard and Brent Headrick on the mound:
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Crow-Armstrong is very good, but boy do I need Aaron Judge back in right field so Jasson Domínguez is not there. Seiya Suzuki followed up with a single to bring PCA in, and although the Yankees did get Suzuki at second base, an insurance run was in. The newly-recalled Yovanny Cruz also allowed a run in the eighth to give the Cubs that three-run lead they wouldn’t reliquinsh. (Another Yankees rally has gone by the wayside in the top of the eighth when Jacob Webb retired Domínguez, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and a pinch-hitting Ben Rice in order.)
On the whole this isn’t a particularly remarkable loss, the Cubs are a good team and the Yankee lineup is quite weak right now. One thing I do want to complain about is how the Yankees deployed their ABS challenges today. Max Schuemann challenged a called third strike at the top of the zone on the very first at-bat of the game, he was wrong, and the Yankees were down to one review before many fans had even taken their seats. Yes, having the leadoff hitter walked aboard is a good thing — see the bottom of the first — but I don’t think it’s worth burning a challenge on so early, especially when the hitter challenging isn’t exactly Juan Soto.
Angel Chivilli, who has impressed as a relief option, also burned a challenge in the sixth inning, a reminder why pitchers generally should not be allowed to challenge calls. This loomed large in the ninth, where after Jones singled to lead off the frame, Sánchez took a first pitch that was awful inside:
Now if you have an ABS challenge left, you can now start your ninth inning at bat up 1-0 instead of 0-1. But you don’t have any challenges left, because a journeyman leadoff hitter and former Colorado reliever decided to use them instead.
The Yankees have been pretty mediocre on the year with the ABS system, and going into a stretch run and hopeful playoff push, they need to be better at this. They also probably need to designate players that are and aren’t allowed to challenge. It’s becoming one of those little things that adds up, and when the Yankees are this depleted, the little things have to be done right.
It’s easier to swallow a loss like this when the Yankees won last night and can win the series tomorrow. Gerrit Cole will be the man charged with delivering that victory, but he has to be aware there won’t be that much run support. The finale of this road trip comes at 2:20pm Eastern. It will be the final game before the Trade Deadline hits at 6pm ET on Monday.
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