About Yesterday: Yankees Top A’s 12-5

About Yesterday: The Yankees Made Alphabet Soup Out of the A’s 12-5

By Tim Kabel

June 30, 2025

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The Yankees bounced back after a horrible shutout loss to the A's on Saturday by drubbing them yesterday 12-5. Marcus Stroman was surprisingly good, considering his performances during his rehab and how he pitched before going on the IL. Aaron Judge, Jazz Chisholm, Jr., and Cody Bellinger all had big days. It was a very convincing and impressive win which followed a very unconvincing and unimpressive loss.

Quick Stats – 

·       Aaron Judge has reached thirty home runs in a season for the sixth time in his career.

·       Jazz Chisolm, Jr. is batting .318 with six home runs, eighteen RBI, and four stolen bases since returning from the IL on June 3rd.

·       Marcus Stroman won his first game since August 30th of last year. Good things come to those who wait, I suppose.

·       Aaron Judge had his 44th career multi home run game, moving him into third place on the Yankees’ all-time list behind Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth.

·      The Yankees won only their second series in the last 2 1/2 weeks.

·       Aaron Judge joined Mark McGwire as the only two players in Major League history to have hit thirty home runs before the All-Star break four times in their career.

·       Anthony Volpe was ejected for the first time in his career for arguing after an inning-ending strikeout in the eighth inning of a game the Yankees were winning by seven runs at the time.

·       Aaron Judge tied Babe Ruth for the franchise record with his fourth season of hitting thirty home runs before the team’s 85th game.

·       On June 29, 1941, Joe DiMaggio both tied and broke the American League hitting streak record on the same day by getting hits in both games of a doubleheader against the Washington Senators. He tied the record at 41 games in the first game and broke it at 42 games in the second game.

·       On June 29th, 2019, the Yankees and the Red Sox played the first Major League game ever in Europe when they played in London. The Yankees won a real pitchers’ duel by the score of 17-13. Aaron Hicks (remember him?) recorded the first home run ever in Europe. I see a Yankeeography coming. 

Big Story – 

The Yankees beat up on the A's yesterday. They also won the series. Before we get carried away, the A's are a terrible team. The Yankee should have won the series. Frankly they should have swept the series. They didn't. They won Friday night in a rather lackluster offensive performance, but they were shut out on Saturday. Yesterday was the type of game they should have played against the A's. As I have stated numerous times, the Yankees need to beat the teams that they should beat. In other words, when they play teams with losing records, they should rack up wins. They have not been doing that lately. So, winning yesterday, particularly in the fashion that they did it, was a good thing. They just need to become consistent. Over the last few weeks, the Yankees have been like the weather around here. They have been hot one day and then cold for the next two or three. Now that summer seems to be arriving, hopefully the Yankees will warm up and play some winning baseball.

Player of the Game – 

Aaron Judge returned to form by hitting two home runs and driving in four runs.

Notable Performances – 

Jazz Chisholm had a triple and a home run and drove in four runs.

Cody Bellinger was 3-5, including a home run and had three RBI. He has raised his batting average to .270.

Marcus Stroman pitched a solid five innings in his first start since coming off the IL.

Better To Forget-

That JT Brubaker is on the team. Brubaker was the name of an old Robert Redford movie. I think Robert Redford would do a better job in the bullpen. 

My Take – 

I have a few thoughts on yesterday's game and the Yankees’ season in general.

·       During yesterday's game, the announcers spoke about Anthony Volpe’s strong offensive year and his progression. Perhaps I'm missing something, but I'm not really seeing that. He is batting .228. He has become an ineffective base stealer, and his defense is while not quite shaky, not as strong as it used to be. At this point, I don't believe there are any upgrades available but if George Lombard, Jr. continues to progress, Volpe might want to start looking over his shoulder.

·       Speaking of looking over your shoulder, Ben Rice has been getting rave reviews about his catching. Remember, catching is not a new position for him. That's what he was doing in his minor league career before he began playing first base. Apparently, Will Warren was extremely excited that Rice was catching him the other night. I like Austin Wells. He has become an excellent catcher. Right now, his offense is not setting the world on fire. The Yankees are trying to figure out how to get Rice into the lineup more frequently. I don't know if the Yankees need three left-handed hitting catchers. I am not endorsing this idea, but I did have a thought while I was watching yesterday's game. What if the Yankees traded Austin Wells at the deadline? They would have to get someone really good back but, having both Wells and Rice might be redundant. It would solve a lot of issues in the lineup. On days when Paul Goldschmidt had the day off, Cody Bellinger, who is an excellent first baseman, could take the position. That would enable Jasson Dominguez, Trent Grisham, and Aaron Judge to play the outfield. They would not have to put Rice at DH anymore and could use one of the outfielders when they wanted to take Stanton out of the lineup. They could also trade Rice and keep Wells but, I think the Yankees believe that Rice will be the better offensive player. Again, I am not endorsing this; it's just something I think might happen.

·       I suspect that Marcus Stroman’s strong performance may be his ticket out of the Bronx. The Yankees have been trying to trade him for quite some time. Now that he has demonstrated that he can pitch effectively, at least sometimes, in the Major Leagues, they may be able to unload him. While they are waiting for Luis Gil to return, they could call up Cam Schlittler.

·       I know the Yankees won yesterday but things started to look a little shaky when JT Brubaker was passing out runs as if he was handing out cups of water and a marathon. I'm not sure why Aaron Boone stayed with him so long. Well, actually I am. He's Aaron Boone and that's what he does.

·       Tonight, the Yankees will be facing Max Scherzer, who will be pitching in only his second game back off the IL. Max Scherzer is now 142 years old and is not the pitcher he used to be. He is a right-handed pitcher. Let's take bets. Will Jason Dominguez be in the lineup? I predict that he will sit, and that Bellinger, Grisham, and Judge will be in the outfield while Giancarlo Stanton is the DH. I could be wrong but unfortunately, I don't think so.

·       The Yankees will be playing the Blue Jays and the A's this week. Let's hope they're up to the challenge.

·       Rest In Peace, Dave Parker, who sadly passed away just one month prior to his Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Next Up-

The Yankees will open a four-game series against the Blue Jays tonight at 7:07 PM at the Rogers Centre (That’s Mr. Rogers’ Centre to you). Max Scherzer, (0-0, 5.63 ERA) will pitch for Toronto. The Yankees will send Carlos Rodon, (9-5, 2.92 ERA) to the mound. Let's hope Max does not put the Yankees’ bats in the Cone of Silence.

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Microsoft Copilot created the graphic.