About Yesterday: A Split Within A Split

About Yesterday: A Split Within A Split

Pirates 5- Yankees 3 In 10 Innings                                                              

Yankees 2- Pirates 0                   

By Tim Kabel

July 23, 2026

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The Yankees played a split doubleheader against the Pirates yesterday because the monsoon canceled Tuesday night's game. Instead of playing Frank Sinatra singing “Start Spreading the News” on Tuesday, the Yankees played Johnny Cash singing, “Five Feet High and Rising."

The Yankees split the double header and they split the homestand. There are several things that stood out about yesterday's doubleheader:

·       The Yankees continue to have trouble scoring runs. Except for the occasional game where they explode, runs are at a premium for this team right now. In their last 16 games, the Yankees have completed 6 innings scoring less than two runs 13 times. In the first game yesterday, the Yankees only had six hits. No player had more than one. They scored all three runs in the seventh inning on Ben Rice's three-run home run. In the second game, the Yankees had even fewer hits, totaling five. Cody Bellinger and Jasson Dominguez were the only Yankees to have hits in both games. Again, in the nightcap, the Yankees waited until the seventh inning to score runs. In the seventh inning of the second game, Jasson Dominguez came up with Cody Bellinger on first and two outs. Dominguez, batting right-handed, doubled to leftfield, driving in Bellinger. The next batter, Anthony Volpe, singled to left field driving in Dominguez. It was only Volpe’s second RBI since June 19th. What is very clear is that the Yankees will be winning or losing a lot of close games. If they are high scoring affairs, the Yankees will likely wind up on the short end of the stick.

·       The Yankees are still in the midst of a Boone-Swoon. They split the homestand. That's .500 baseball. That is mediocre baseball. They are 9 -8 in July and 21-22 since June 1st. They now have a ten-game road trip in Philadelphia and then Chicago where they will play both the White Sox and the Cubs. All those teams are tough right now. To borrow a line from The Sound of Music, the Yankees are going to have to climb every mountain if they want to stay competitive in the American League East. As I noted above, the Yankees are 9-8 in July. The Red Sox, a team which was completely written off by everyone just ended a 15-game winning streak and are 15-2 in July. That’s baseball, Suzyn. The Red Sox trail the Yankees by four games which may sound like a lot, but the Yankees' lead was in double digits at one point. Right now, the Red Sox are the much hotter team. Right now, the Red Sox have momentum and if I were inclined to bet, I would bet on the Red Sox over the Yankees.  The worst part about this is that although the Yankees are ahead of the Red Sox, both teams trail the Tampa Bay Rays.

·       For the first time since Max Fried became a Yankee, not only were he and Gerrit Cole in the same rotation, but they also pitched on the same day. They both pitched extremely well. Fried struck out 7 and walked 1 in his first start since May 14th due to a bone bruise in his left elbow. During the game, he threw his two fastest pitches of the season. Fried pitched 5 innings, allowing just 1 hit. The hit was a leadoff single to Nick Gonzales. Cody Bellinger threw him out at second when he tried to stretch it into a double. That was the only offense that the Pirates generated against Fried. Cole pitched 7 innings, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits. He allowed 2 home runs. Cole struck out 11 which was his most since August 25th of 2023 and extended his franchise record for double-digit strikeout games to 29. 

·       The Yankees are receiving unexpected contributions from a few members of the bullpen. Brent Headrick struck out the side in the 8th inning of the first game and extended his home scoreless streak to 35 innings, which is the longest for the Yankees since Allie Reynolds 36 innings in 1954. Paul Blackburn was extremely effective in the second game, pitching 2 innings and allowing no hits while striking out 3 and walking 1. Angel Chivilli has been a revelation since he returned from the minors as he pitched a scoreless inning in the second game and has an ERA of 0.79. Tim Hill earned his first save in five years in the second game. However, Fernando Cruz was ineffective in the first game, allowing two runs in 1/3 of an inning. The concern is that Cruz, Headrick, and Hill may wear down due to their excessive use. Although Jake Bird has thankfully been sent to the minors, Camilo Doval has not been. As we get into the dog days of summer, it will be interesting to see how the bullpen holds up.

·       The gamesmanship of Jose Caballero seems to have worn out its welcome in the league. On Monday night, a fight almost broke out with the Pirates when former Yankee, Dennis Santana, had a conniption when Caballero waited to engage him. Yesterday, it seemed that the league has now put a special rule in place, allowing the umpires to assess a strike to Caballero, or presumably anybody else, if they deliberately antagonize the pitcher by refusing to engage. Caballero stated during the game that he felt the umpires were picking on him. They may well be. The point is that this situation could get a lot worse. Caballero has a lot of skills and is a very competitive player. However, I think his antics may cause the Yankees more trouble down the stretch.

·       As the Yankees approach the trade deadline, this road trip could be very important in deciding which direction the Yankees go. For the last two months, they have been a below .500 team. That is not a playoff team. Because they padded their resume so to speak at the beginning of the season, they are still in a playoff position. It will be interesting to see what happens in Philadelphia and Chicago and what moves the Yankees ultimately make at the trade deadline. As I have stated, I don't want to see anymore Austin Slater or Frankie Montas type trades. If the Yankees acquire someone, that player should be young, talented, and someone who will be part of the Yankees future beyond 2026.

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After a day off today, the Yankees will open a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies and old friend, manager Don Mattingly at 6:45 PM at Citizens Bank Park. Jesus Luzardo, (9-4, 3.43 ERA) will face Cam Schlittler, (9-6, 2.20 ERA).