About Yesterday: A Very Big Win. Yankees 1 – Red Sox 0

About Yesterday: A Very Big Win. Yankees 1 – Red Sox 0

By Tim Kabel

August 29, 2026

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The Yankees entered last night's game against the Red Sox leading Boston by two games in the standings and trailing four games to five in the season series. Yankees fans chewed every nail on every finger and perhaps some toes right down to the skin last night. The game was as tight as Tom Jones’ pants in his heyday. I am referring to the Welsh singer not the literary character.  Games like this that can make even the most skeptical fans believe the Yankees have a chance to win it all this year. As Mary Poppins said, “Stretch your mind beyond fantastic. Dreams are made of strong elastic.”

Cam Schlittler was not razor sharp, but he was dominant. He pitched 5 2/3 innings of two-hit ball, striking out eight. However, he walked five, which matches his career high. He personified the expression “bend but don't break” last night by holding the Red Sox to 1-7 with runners in scoring position. The Red Sox stranded 10 runners. 

The Red Sox helped out with a terrible base running blunder by Ceddanne Rafaela, who was doubled off first base as the trail runner when Wilyer Abreu lined out to centerfield. That ended the fifth inning with cleanup batter Wilson Contreras on deck. Schlittler improved his record to 12-6 and leads the American League with a 2.09 earned run average.

In the 7th inning, Boston put runners at second and third with one out when Rafaela singled and Abreu doubled on the first two pitches from Paul Blackburn. Wilson Contreras hit a flyball to left and Cody Bellinger threw out Rafaela at the plate with a 99.7 MPH throw. Blackburn retired the side in order in the eighth inning and David Bednar pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 31st save.

Once again, the Yankees offense reverted to their old pattern of scoring two runs or fewer. In this case, one run was all they could muster. Paul Goldschmidt hit a 430-foot home run to leftfield off Patrick Sandoval in the third inning. That was all the offense from either team last night. The Yankees had a total of three hits last night. All three hits came from the first two batters, Paul Goldschmidt who had the aforementioned home run, and Ben Rice who had a double and a single. Yet, they still won. That's baseball, Suzyn.

Before we start dancing in the streets as Martha and the Vandellas would sing about, let's remember that the Yankees are now tied in the season series against the Red Sox with five wins apiece. It now becomes a best of three series to determine who would have home field advantage in a Wild Card playoff series if they were tied. Ideally, the Yankees want to finish head of the Red Sox to avoid such a situation. That would make winning at least two of the next three games extremely important.

Perhaps the Boone-Swoon is finally a thing of the past. There are no guarantees to that, and things could go downhill very quickly. We have all seen that happen before. However, regarding the Boone-Swoon, as Dolly Parton said, “if you want the rainbow, you have to put up with the rain.”

A Few Tidbits: 

·       George Lombard, junior did not make an error last night, after making one in six consecutive games. I'm a little surprised by the way some fans and writers turned on Lombard. Yes, he went through a rough patch. That rough patch might not be over. There is an adjustment period here. He is 21 years old. We should all take a moment and think about what we were doing at 21 years of age. I doubt very seriously that anyone reading this article was playing Major League Baseball as the starting shortstop of a team in a pennant race when they were 21. Lombard seems to have a good head on his shoulders and took responsibility for his sloppy play. That demonstrates a tremendous level of maturity. I think he will be fine. I do agree with those who say he should be batting lower in the order but then again, when you consider some of the other batters in the lineup, it's not as exactly as if he's batting ahead of Rod Carew.

·       Cam Schlittler notched his 200th strikeout of the season last night, becoming the fourth youngest Yankee to record a 200-strikeout season, behind Al Downing, Luis Severino, and Bob Turley.

·        Last night, the Yankees faced a left-handed starter for the first time since August 8th (excluding openers).

·       Schlittler, who grew up a Red Sox fan, is 3-1 with a 0.56 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 32.1 innings over 5 career starts against the Red Sox, including the postseason. 

·       On August 28th, 1921, Babe Ruth collected 3 doubles in a 7-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers, sparking a historic personal streak of extra base hits in nine consecutive games.

·       Yesterday, Ron Guidry turned 76 and Lou Piniella turned 83.

·       I want to take a moment to wish a happy birthday to my sister, Pat. I'm not allowed to say how old she is, but it's somewhere between Ron Guidry and Lou Piniella. Today would also have been my father’s 107th birthday.  He has been gone for many years, but I think about him everyday and miss him deeply.

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Today, The Yankees will play a day-night doubleheader against the Red Sox at 1:05 PM and 7:05 PM at Yankee Stadium. In the opener, Max Fried, (4-4, 2.82 ERA) will come off the IL to pitch for the Yankees against Jake Bennett, (8-6, 3.49 ERA).  Carlos Rodon, (4-2, 3.15 ERA) will pitch the second game. The Red Sox have not yet named a pitcher for the second game.