About Last Night: Yankees 7, Angels 3

About Last Night: Yankees 7, Angels 3

By Derek McAdam

September 2, 2026

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The New York Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Angels last night by a score of 7-3. Here is a quick recap of last night’s game.

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Quick Stats:

W: Gerrit Cole (8-7): 5.1 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

L: Grayson Rodriguez (4-6): 6 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K

HRs: NYY: Spencer Jones (9), Jazz Chisholm Jr. (19)

Big Story: The Yankees were coming off their most lopsided loss of the season on Monday, suffering a 10-1 defeat following four games in three days and a cross-country trip. They were seeking to turn things around last night and force a rubber game tonight.

It was also an interesting day for the Angels, as Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke announced he was purchasing the team from the Moreno family in an MLB-record $4 billion transaction. The sale is expected to become official next year.

The Yankees did not waste any time last night getting on the board. In the first, Cody Bellinger hit a one-out single, and with two outs Jones hit a two-run home run into the right-center field seats to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. The next batter, Chisholm, hit a slicing ball down the left field line that snuck inside the foul pole for a solo home run, extending the Yankee lead to 3-0.

The Yankees got off to a quick start in the 3rd with back-to-back singles from Ben Rice and Bellinger, placing runners at the corners for Luis Garcia Jr., who grounded into a double play allowing Rice to score and making the new score 4-0 Yankees.

In the bottom of the inning, following a single and a stolen base from Zach Neto, Wade Meckler hit a two-out RBI single into right field to score Neto and make the new score 4-1, although he was tagged out while trying to reach 2nd base.

Cole was, for the most part, taking care of business and limiting the number of baserunners. But in the 5th, the Angels had runners and 1st and 2nd with one out for Neto, who struck out to bring up Mike Trout, who lined out to Jose Caballero to end the inning.

In the 6th, the Yankees led off the inning with a Garcia double and a Jones walk. After a Chisholm strikeout, Grisham nearly missed a three-run home run, but advanced Garcia to third base. Ryan McMahon, who was making his return from the IL, walked to load the bases for Caballero, who then grounded out to end the inning.

And in the bottom of the inning, the Angels brought the tying run to the plate with one out. Christian Moore hit a two-run triple down the right field line to cut the Yankees’ lead to 4-3. This would knock Cole out of the game, as Aaron Boone turned to Brent Headrick, who had allowed four runs in his previous three appearances. Jose Siri came on to pinch hit and struck out for the second out. Oswald Peraza then lined out to Jones, setting Cole up for the win.

The Yankees also started out the 8th with runners on first and second with no one out for Grisham, who laced an RBI single into left field to give the Yankees a 5-3 lead. McMahon then reached on an infield bunt single to load the bases for Caballero, who struck out for the first out. Paul Goldschmidt came in to pinch hit for Austin Wells and hit a sacrifice fly to score Chisholm and make the new Yankee lead 6-3.

In the 9th, after Bellinger and Garcia reached on singles to put runners on the corners with no one out, Jones added on a run with an RBI single to left field to make the new score 7-3. Caballero had another opportunity with the bases loaded to drastically add on to the Yankee lead with two outs, but struck out looking to end the inning.

John Schreiber came in the bottom of the 9th to make his Yankee debut after New York picked him up off waivers from the Kansas City Royals, to which he delivered a 1-2-3 inning to give the Yankees a victory!

Player of the Game: I’m going to give it to someone who didn’t have any particular big hit or moment, but Bellinger will get this honor. He had a three-hit night and continued to provide solid defense in left field.

Notable Performances: Chisholm also had a three-hit night for the Yankees, while Jones and Garcia each had multi-hit games of their own. And the Yankee bullpen definitely deserves some credit for holding the Yankee lead once Cole was removed.

Better to Forget: While Caballero made a nice double play in the field to end the 8th, he had the bases loaded twice last night and failed to push any runs across the board.

My Take: The Yankees’ loss Monday night was bad, but I can’t give them too much criticism because they did take three out of four against the Boston Red Sox and then had to travel across three time zones without an off-day. There is no doubt the team was exhausted and it showed in the 10-1 loss. But I expected them to come out looking better last night, both offensively and defensively, and they definitely showed that a good night’s rest would do them good.

The pitching matchup between Cole and Rodriguez was pretty even throughout the game. While Rodriguez did give up the three runs in the 1st, he managed to settle down and give the Angels five additional innings allowing only one more run. As for Cole, I’m sure he was relatively disappointed in himself for allowing the eight hits over the 5.1 innings he pitched.

But the star of the show was arguably the Yankees’ bullpen (even though I gave “Player of the Game” honors to Bellinger), with Headrick and Paul Blackburn each recording four outs without allowing a run and Schrieber coming in and taking care of business in the 9th, although he did throw a good amount of pitches. The bullpen has been relied on frequently throughout the season, and did not let the Yankees down last night.

It was a nice win for the Yankees last night to even the series and force the rubber game tonight. And thankfully, this is the last week that the Yankees will be playing late night games on the west coast, because I was struggling to power through the final few innings. Luckily for the Yankees, they have their ace on the mound tonight before they enjoy a much-needed off day tomorrow.

What’s Next?: These two teams will be back in action tonight for the rubber game of the series. Cam Schlittler is scheduled to start for the Yankees, while Reid Detmers is scheduled to take the mound for the Angels. It will be another late game in Anaheim, with a first pitch scheduled for 9:38 pm EST from Angel Stadium.