Yankees 5, Astros 4

Born on this day in 1933 was Rocky Colavito. During a ten-year span from 1957-1966, Colavito averaged 34 home runs, 102 RBI per season, had 41 WAR and a 135 OPS+. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/colavro01.shtml

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Rocky-Colavito/ None of those great seasons were with the Yankees. He finished his career with 39 games in the Bronx in 1968 and a .220/.330/.451 slash, which actually accounted for a robust 141 OPS+ in The Year of the Pitcher. Colavito made a contribution that season on the mound of all places, gaining the victory on August 25th against the eventual World Champion Detroit Tigers. The Yankee pitching staff had been overworked in previous days, and when starter Steve Barber was chased in the fourth inning, it was Colavito who manager Ralph Houk turned to. Rocky held the Tigers scoreless over two plus innings as the Yanks came back to score the eventual winning runs. https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA196808251.shtml

Some say Colavito is Cooperstown worthy. I'm not sure I agree but I do think he had a fine career has been underrated.

Quick Stats: The Yankees are 62-55, and in third place in the American League East. They are clinging to the last Wild Card spot in the AL. Aaron Judge Watch: The Yankee captain has slowed from his scorching pace through the first half of the year, but still having a great season. The question going forward is how will his ailing right elbow impact his hitting? He had a hit and walked twice from the DH spot yesterday. He's now slashing .339/.447/.697, leading MLB in all three categories. Big Story: After one of the worst losses of the season Friday, the Yankees really needed to bounce back and they did, pulling out a gutsy win. After Jeremy Pena opened the game with a home run, Luis Gil settled in and allowed only one more run while pitching into the sixth inning. The Yankees bounced right back in the first with two runs on a bases loaded walk by Giancarlo Stanton and sacrifice fly by Ben Rice. After Houston tied the game 2-2 the Yanks put up another two runs in the bottom of the fifth with a Stanton RBI single in a run and when Cody Bellinger scored on Rice's GIDP. Scoreless outings by Mark Leiter Jr. and Luke Weaver put the Yanks right in the position they envisioned at the trade deadline: handing the game to a shutdown bullpen making leads hold up and games shorter. Except it didn't quite work out that way. In the eighth inning, Camilo Doval walked the leadoff hitter Victor Caratini but struck out Pena. He induced Jesus Sanchez to hit an easy bouncer back to the mound, but threw wide of second base going for the double play and everyone was safe. Jose Altuve singled in a run and the lead was cut to 4-3. After Duvall walked Carlos Correa to load the bases, his day was over after only a third of an inning. David Bednar entered the unenviable situation and immediately walked Christian Walker, forcing in a run and tying the game. He then struck out the next two Astros to get out of the inning. In the bottom of the eighth, Trent Grisham crushed a home run to give the Yanks a 5-4 lead, and Bednar's 1-2-3 ninth sealed the win.

Yankees win!

Player of the Game: After the Yanks lost the lead in the eighth Grisham came up big. He also had two more hits on the day. It has been great fun watching him break out this season.

Notable Performances: Stanton played right field, his first time playing defense since 2023. He looked good enough, made the plays, and stated he was comfortable. Hopefully playing the field doesn't hurt his bat, as he's slashing .271/.356/.527 on the season...Gil's outing was welcome, as the Yanks desperately need him to be a reliable part of the rotation. Better to Forget: Doval didn't have it yesterday, and his defensive miscue just made things worse. They Said It: "When you walk into the clubhouse and you see O'Neill, and you see Posada and Andy Pettite, all of the sudden the past comes back. It puts a smile on your face because you really did some special things with some special people" - Joe Torre on Old-Timer's Day. My Take: This is good win, and an especially hopeful outing by Gil. I was also happy to see Stanton handle right field well. We all know that he's not an outfielder any more, but can he hold his own playing a few days a week in the short term? I don't think it's out of the question. Fingers crossed! While the team has been in freefall this month, I think they have a run in them, it's just a question of when, and will it happen in time. For now, they are still a playoff team and as for a successful rest of the season, a great philosopher once said "it's right in front of us". Yesterday was Old-Timers Day, specifically a celebration of the 2000 World Series champions. It's great to see some of the names of the past get together, and even better to see them in full uniform and back to playing a game. This reminded me of the rich history the Yankees have. If you missed the festivities, you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPGxdLhqnoc The Yankees haven't been the only team doing Old-Timers games, but they arguably have been the best at it. Here's a pretty comprehensive article from the SABR book Yankee Stadium 1923-2008: America's First Modern Ballpark. https://sabr.org/journal/article/yankee-old-timers-day-a-long-running-tradition/

There were lots a highlights from yesterday for me: 1. Seeing 70s guys like Graig Nettles, Roy White, Willie Randolph, Chris Chambliss, Bucky Dent and Ron Guidry back in the ballpark, having their accomplishments shared by emcee Michael Kay and introduced to the crowd. 2. The Loooouuuuuuu cheers when Lou Piniella was introduced. 3. YES interviews with 90s guys like Andy Pettite, Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez, Mariano Rivera and Joe Torre 4. There were plenty of pictures and footage of current Yankees watching the Old-Timers, but Jazz Chisholm seemed especially happy to hang with the Yankee legends. 5. The YES interview of Cody and Clay Bellinger 6. The introduction of the widows of Thurman Munson, Bobby Murcer, and Billy Martin. A nice gesture. Next Up: It's ace time - Max Fried (12-4, 2.78) takes the mound against Jason Alexander (2-1, 5.97). Game time 1:35.