About Last Night: The Yankees Were Downed by the Orioles 4-2

About Last Night: The Yankees Were Downed by the Orioles 4-2

By Tim Kabel

September 20, 2025

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The Yankees were dominated by Trevor Rogers, who pitched six innings of one-hit ball with seven strikeouts last night. Other than Jazz Chisholm, Jr.’s 30th home run of the season, the Yankees had little to no offense. The Yankees lost the chance to pick up a game on the Blue Jays, who were drubbed by the Royals 20-1. By the way, it is quite possible that Trevor Rogers will pitch against the Yankees next weekend in New York. That might not be a good thing for the Yankees.

Quick Stats – 

·       Jazz Chisolm, Jr. became the third player in Yankees’ history to have a season in which he had 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases. The other two were Bobby Bonds in 1975 and Alfonso Soriano in both 2002 and 2003.

·       The Yankees are 10-7 so far in September. The Orioles are 12-5. Five of the Yankees’ last eight games are against the Orioles. That could be a problem.

·       Trevor Rogers pitched six one-hit innings, improving his record to 9-2.  

·       Rogers will not qualify for the ERA title this year because he hasn't pitched enough but he currently has the fifth best ERA in the live ball era in a season with at least 100 innings pitched, trailing Bob Feller, Ted Abernathy, Red Munger, and Bruce Sutter. Rogers’ ERA is 1.35. Both Munger and Sutter finished with ERAs of 1.34. 

·       This was Rogers’ 15th straight start allowing 2 or fewer runs which is the longest streak in the Majors this year.

·       Jasson Dominguez might play today. It's Saturday.

·       On September 19^th, 1920, the silent movie, Headin’ Home, starring Babe Ruth was released to the public. My friend Roger said he loved the movie but spilled his popcorn.

·       On September 19^th, 1968, Mickey Mantle hit the 535th and penultimate home run of his career against the Detroit Tigers.

·       On September 19^th, 2003, Rickey Henderson played the final game of his Major League career.

·       On September 19^th,1930, Bob Turley was born. I met Bob Turley during the 1992 World Series.  He was very pleasant.

·       On September 19^th, 1967, Jim Abbott was born.

The Big Story – 

The Yankees lost an opportunity to gain ground on the Blue Jays as their chances of winning the division slipped further out of their grasp. The Yankees remain three games behind the Blue Jays with eight games left in the season. Remember, because the Blue Jays won the season series against the Yankees, the Yankees would have to finish one game ahead of the Blue Jays to win the division. That is becoming increasingly less likely.

As far as the Wild Card race goes, everything is up in the air. Yankees currently hold the top Wild Card position, but the three Wild Card teams are all within two games of each other. Seattle and Houston are neck and neck in the American League West. Whichever team doesn't win the division will be in the middle of the Wild Card race. At this point, there is no reasonable way to predict which Wild Card spot the Yankees are likely to secure and which team they would be facing in the playoffs. The Guardians are just two games out of the Wild Card race at this point. It is entirely possible that playoff positions will not be finalized until the last day of the season.

That means that the Yankees need to win as many of their remaining games as possible, to secure the best position. Ideally, they will secure the top Wild Card position and have home field advantage in that three-game series. Losing games like the one they played last night, which included two errors in the 6th inning that led to two unearned runs will not help their chances.

Player of the Game – 

Jazz Chisholm joined a very exclusive club. When you are one of only three players in Yankees’ history to do something, that is pretty special. 

Notable Performances – 

No one really stood out.

Better To Forget-

Pretty much everything other than Jazz Chisholm hitting his home run. This was not the type of performance that will push a team into the playoffs.

My Take – 

There have been 47 presidents in the history of the United States. Two of them were elected to non-consecutive terms. So, technically 45 men have been elected president of this country. Only four of those presidents are on Mount Rushmore: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and my hero, Theodore Roosevelt. As an aside, I can't tell you how many times I have mentioned Theodore Roosevelt to people and they say, “Wasn't he the one in the wheelchair?” The point is that there is a world of difference between being elected president and being on Mount Rushmore. If you don't believe me, ask William Henry Harrison or Warren G. Harding. There is also a very big difference between making the playoffs and being a team that is likely to win the World Series.

The Yankees had a record of 35-20 on May 30th. Their current record is 86-68. That means that since May 30th, the Yankees have a record of 51 and 48. Remember they have been playing a lot of games against the likes of the Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, Washington Nationals, Tampa Bay Rays, and Saint Louis Cardinals over the last two months. The Yankees have been inconsistent this season and have not played well at all against teams in their own division. On top of that, they were swept by both the Marlins and the Angels in series this season. Neither of those teams will be going to the playoffs. In fact, the only team in the American League that is worse than the Angels is the White Sox. 

Since May 30th, the Yankees are just three games over .500. Three games over .500 is not very good. It is not what you would describe as playoff caliber baseball. The Yankees had two six-game losing streaks this season. The Yankees will most likely make the playoffs. They may be the top Wild Card team in the American League. If they are, it's because they got off to a 35-20 start and then held on by their fingernails.

The Yankees have eight games left in their season. Five of those games are against the Orioles, a team that has been playing better than the Yankees this month. Although the Yankees won two of three games against Minnesota, they were very lucky to do so. On Tuesday night, they almost blew a 10-1 lead and hung on to win the game 10-9. No one knows what the Yankees will do over these last eight games but the fact that they are just three games over .500 since May 30^th speaks volumes as to what kind of a season this has been. In addition, on May 30^th, the Yankees led the division by seven games. They are now in second place, trailing the Blue Jays by three games. 

It is extremely likely that the Yankees will make the playoffs. They might not take first place in the Wild Card race, but they probably will not fall out of the playoffs. The question is, what kind of a playoff team are they? For the final four months of the season, the Yankees have been a slightly above average team. Depending on what they do over the next eight games, they could conceivably be just above .500 since May 30th. It is true that the goal is to make the playoffs and once a team is in, anything is possible. Possible and likely are not the same thing. The Yankees could very easily be the William Henry Harrison of playoff teams this season. That's nice, but it's not exactly Mount Rushmore material.

Next Up-

The Yankees will play the third game of the four-game series against the Orioles tonight at 7:05 PM at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Orioles will use Tomoyuki Sugano, (10-8, 4.39 ERA). The Yankees will send Carlos Rodon, (16-9, 3.11 ERA) to the mound. I would love to hear Phil Rizzuto attempt to pronounce the Orioles’ pitcher’s name.