About Last Night: Yanks Top Rays In 10 Innings

By Paul Semendinger

August 21, 2025

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Last night the Yankees played their final game of the season against the Tampa Bay Rays. With the win, their record against the Rays this year was an impressive 8-4 .

Quick Stats:

• Cam Schlittler - 6.2 ip, 1 hit, 2 BB, 8 K's, 0 runs

• Trent Grisham - 22nd home run.

• Austin Wells - 16th homer

• Trent Grisham - 23rd homer. (My Goodness!)

• David Bednar - 1 ip, 2 runs (Blown Save, But Gets The Win)

• Giancarlo Stanton - 15th homer (Pinch-Hit)

• Austin Wells - 17th homer (Holy Cow!)

• Devin Williams - 3 strikeouts, SAVE

The Game Story:

The Yankees commenced scoring almost as soon as the game began - Trent Grisham hit yet another leadoff home run. In the inning, Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm walked, but no further runs were scored. Yankees 1-0.

The Yankees managed a few baserunners, but there was no scoring until the top of the fifth inning when Austin Wells hit a solo homer to add to the Yankees' lead. Yankees 2-0.

The bigger story was that Cam Schlitter retired the first 18 batters he faced carrying a perfect game into the seventh inning. In that period, he had six strikeouts and was well under 70 pitches - mighty impressive to say the least. After the lead off hit, and a strikeout, Schlitter walked a batter. At that point, had I been the manager, I would have taken him out with a pat on the back and said, "Job well done." Aaron Boone left him in for two stressful at bats where Schlittler gave it everything he had reaching 99 MPH on pitch after pitch. He got a strikeout, but then gave up another walk to load the bases. There are times when it is best to leave well enough alone. This was one of them. There was no need to push the kid that far once he lost the perfect game (and no-hitter).

Luke Weaver came in and got a strikeout to end the threat. After seven innings, the Yankees were still up 2-0.

In the eighth, just because he wants me to write the following* at least fifty more times, Trent Grisham homered again. Yankees 3-0.

*I was wrong about Trent Grisham. I was wrong about Trent Grisham...

In the bottom of the eighth inning Bob Seymour homered off Luke Weaver to get a run for the Rays. Yankees 3-1.

The Rays tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with two hits and a walk off closer David Bednar. Game Tied 3-3.

In the tenth, Giancarlo Stanton came up as a pinch hitter and... homered! With the imaginary runner on second base, this gave the Yankees a 5-3 lead. Next, Austin Wells hit his second homer of the night. Yankees 6-3.

(Okay, okay.... I was wrong about Giancarlo Stanton. I was wrong about Giancarlo Stanton...)

Devin Williams came in to close out the game...

He gave up a single Yankees 6-4...

then a double to put the tying run on second with no outs...

And then he struck out three batters in a row to close out the victory.

Yankees Win!

Player of the Game:

Cam Schlittler - The kid carried a perfect game into the seventh inning . What more needs to be said?

Honorable Mentions:

Trent Grisham - 2 homers

Austin Wells - 2 homers

Giancarlo Stanton - Pinch-hit homer

My Takes:

The Yankees are on a roll. This cannot be denied. They have, somehow, turned it around.

This win was the Yankees' fifth in a row. They have now swept back-to-back series and have won their last three series. Over their last eight games, the Yankees are 7-1.

They won in extra innings on the road for the first time this season.

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It is amazing how far Austin Wells has dropped this year. He was anointed the leadoff hitter as the season began. He's sometimes batted in the middle of the order. Now he's the back-up catcher batting ninth. Many people assume he's banged up, and maybe he is, but, in the end, players have to produce and he hadn't been producing. (Of course, not long after I wrote all of this, Austin Wells hit his first of two home runs.)

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Cam Schlittler seems to have the poise, confidence, skills, command, and "stuff" to be a successful Major League pitcher. The big hurdle is for him to be able to pitch deeper into games than he had thus far before tonight. With his size and strength, that shouldn't be a problem, or so I hope.

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If Schlitter is for real, and if Luis Gil is as well (and healthy), the Yankees will have two excellent and young starters for a long time. There is no guarantee that Gerrit Cole will come back resembling anything like the pitcher he used to be, but even so, a rotation of Cole, Max Fried, and Carlos Rodon, along with Schlittler and Gil looks, right now, at least, to be an impressive collection of arms.

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Watching the game, Cam Schlittler reminds me a bit of Gerrit Cole. They have some of the same mannerisms.

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Luke Weaver has struggled with giving up a bunch of homers this year. That is concerning.

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David Bednar was unable to close the game out. That is also concerning.

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As badly as the Yankees played through all of June and July and much of August, they have turned it around. One optimistic way of looking at the remainder of the season is that the Yankees' competition going forward, save for one stretch against the division leaders, is not very strong. The Yankees will be mostly playing bad teams going forward.

The following is the remainder of the Yankees schedule along with each team's record before play began last night:

Red Sox: 68-59

Nationals: 50-75 (Last Place Team)

White Sox: 45-81 (Last Place Team)

Astros: 69-57 (1st Place)

Blue Jays: 74-53 (1st Place)

Tigers: 75-53 (1st Place)

Red Sox (again): 68-59

Twins: 58-67

Orioles: 59-67 (Last Place Team)

White Sox (again): 45-81 (Last Place Team)

Orioles (again): 59-67 (Last Place Team)

The combined records of these teams are 670 - 719, and that's with the three first place clubs. This easy finish, especially after the Tigers series, should put the Yankees in an excellent position to capture a postseason berth.

Next Up:

The Yankees begin a three-game weekend series against the Red Sox tonight. Luis Gil will take the mound for the Yankees.