About Yesterday: Cubs 5, Yankees 2

by Derek McAdam

July 13, 2025

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Quick Stats: W: Matthew Boyd (10-3): 8 IP, 4 H, 6 K

                     L: Max Fried (11-3): 3 IP, 6 H, 4 R (3 ER), 3 BB, 2 K

                     S: Daniel Palencia (11): 0.2 IP, 1 K

HRs: NYY - Aaron Judge (35)

Judge’s home run was his 350th career home run. Cody Bellinger also extended his hitting streak to a career-high 17 games.

The Big Story:

The Yankees were coming into yesterday’s game fresh off an 11-0 shutout victory, led by Cody Bellinger’s three home run game. However, it was the Cubs that came into Saturday’s game ready to go.

Leading off the game, Nico Hoerner hit a triple into the left-center field gap. It was not an ideal start for Fried, but it seemed as if Trent Grisham was either not moving around well in centerfield or just looking very lackadaisical. Nonetheless, Kyle Tucker hit into a fielder’s choice to score Hoerner and put the Cubs on the board with a 1-0 lead.

In the 3rd inning, with runners on 2nd and 3rd, Carson Kelly hit an RBI single that deflected off Oswald Peraza’s glove to score Kyle Tucker and give the Cubs a 2-0 lead. The Cubs tacked on another run when Dansby Swanson hit into a fielder’s choice to make the new score 3-0 Cubs. Due to a throwing error from Jazz Chisholm on the fielder’s choice, Swanson advanced to 2nd base. As a result, Ian Happ hit an RBI single to score Swanson and give the Cubs a 4-0 lead.

After three innings, Fried was pulled from the game due to a blister to his throwing hand. It was definitely Fried’s worst start of the season, but hopefully, the injury is a slight setback and part of the reason for his poor start. Luckily, the All-Star break is next week, which can allow him some time to recover.

In the 8th, Carson Kelly hit a solo home run off Jonathan Loaisiga, his 12th home run of the season. For Loaisiga, it was the 7th home run he has given up this season, a career-high for him in just his 22nd appearance of the year.

In the 9th, Judge hit a two-run home run to cut the Yankee deficit to 5-2. The home run was also Judge’s 350th career home run, which made him the fastest player in MLB history to that milestone. Giancarlo Stanton was hit by a pitch to put the tying run on deck for Chisholm, who struck out to bring up Grisham. The center fielder then grounded out to third base to end the game.

Player of the Game:

Boyd absolutely dominated the Yankees. He doesn’t have overpowering pitches, but he kept the Yankees off the board and rarely had to deal with any baserunners.

Notable Performances:

With the exception of Loaisiga, the Yankee bullpen did a nice job of keeping the score as close as they could and had to give the Yankees six innings of work. Judge also had a three-hit day and was responsible for the only two Yankee runs and half their hits.

Better to Forget:

Loaisiga has definitely reached a point where it is hard to believe what we are seeing. Seven home runs in only 22 appearances is dreadful and he has not had any positive consistency on the mound.

My Take:

The Yankees had a nice little five-game winning streak going, but this is not the way you want them to lose the streak. There was some sloppy play in the field and the offense was non-existent with the exception of Judge. Sure, they had those couple of runs in the 9th and an opportunity to tie the game, but they did nothing after Judge’s home run.

The biggest concern from this game was clearly Fried. He struggled to locate his pitches and was not putting away batters like he normally has. Every starter will have at least one of these each season and yesterday just so happened to be his. But then when he continued to look at his hand during the 3rd inning, I had a strange feeling something was up.

Luckily for the Yankees and Fried, it’s probably an injury that is not going to keep him sidelined for too long, if at all. They may not push his start forward after the All-Star break, but instead let him have a few extra days to let the blister heal.

As for the poor Yankee offensive showing yesterday, Boyd was in complete control for the eight innings he pitched. His pitch count was only 85 after eight shutout innings and I was surprised to see that he was not allowed to go back out for the 9th inning. Maybe it was fatigue from the heat or just the Cubs trying to avoid any unnecessary injury in the final inning. Nonetheless, it was a fantastic showing from the southpaw.

Congratulations to Judge for his fantastic accomplishment in reaching 350 career home runs. It’s hard to believe that he has already reached this milestone in a short number of games that he has played. Just imagine if he was five years younger when he made his MLB debut.

It was not an ideal Saturday for the Yankees, but they can still win the series today with a victory, which would be the perfect way to head into the All-Star break. However, they may have their work cut out for them yet again...

What’s Next?

The Yankees will wrap up the series against Chicago before the All-Star break this afternoon. Shota Imanaga is scheduled to start for the Cubs, while Will Warren is scheduled to take the mound for the Yankees. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. from Yankee Stadium.