Yanks Win BIG!

By Paul Semendinger and John Nielsen

August 13, 2026

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Here is a quick recap by Paul Semendinger:

There was a time when, even if the Yankees got a bad start from a starting pitcher, that their offense was so good, they could pick-up the slack and overcome that poor performance.

And that time was last night!

Last night, the Yankees topped the Mariners 10-5.

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Last night, Will Warren was the starting pitcher. In short, he didn't have it.

In the top of the first, Warren allowed two homers. Before the Yankees even sent one batter to the plate, they were down 3-0.

But, the Yankees weren't going to go quietly.

After a two-out infield single from Jazz Chisholm, Ryan McMahon doubled him home to make it 3-1. Frustratingly, though, McMahon was out by 45 miles as he tried unsuccessfully to turn his routine double into a triple.

Will Warren gave the run back in the top of the 3rd by allowing another homer. (Seattle 4, NYY 1)

This was the Yankees we have grown to love and also be frustrated with...

But, in the bottom of the third, an Austin Wells double was followed (two outs later) by a Ben Rice walk and a two-run double by Spencer Jones. (Seattle 4, NYY 3)

Will Warren was lifted after he walked the leadoff batter to begin the fifth inning. Fernando Cruz allowed a walk and then an RBI single (The run was charged to Warren). (Seattle 5, NYY 3)

But then...

Trent Grisham homered (Seattle 5, NYY 4) and Ben Rice doubled, and Spencer Jones doubled. (Tie Game!)

In the bottom of the 7th, a George Lombard single was followed by an RBI double by Trent Grisham which was followed by an RBI single by Ben Rice which, later was followed by a bases loaded walk to Jazz Chisholm and the Yankees were up 8-5.

But they weren't done.

After another Lombard single, Trent Grisham hit is second homer of the night.

Yankees 10, Mariners 5.

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The Yankees used 5 relief pitchers. None were scored against.

Trent Grisham has four runs batted in.

Spencer Jones had 3 runs batted in.

Trent Grisham, Ben Rice, Spencer Jones, Ryan McMahon, and George Lombard, Jr. each has multiple hits.

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Ryan McMahon was thrown out twice on the bases. He hit a ball off the wall in the bottom of the 6th and was out trying to make a sure-fire double a....double.

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MORE NOW FROM JOHN NIELSEN!

The New York Yankees (68-52) recorded their fourth comeback win in the first five games of the current homestand to defeat the fading Seattle Mariners (56-65). When the Yankees fell behind 4-1 in the top of the 3^rd inning, ESPN’s live win-probability model gave New York only about a 23% chance to win a game they ultimately took by a score of 10-5.

Pitching

Will Warren was ineffective Wednesday night. His ERA has now ballooned to 4.42.

The Yankees ultimately overcame Warren’s struggles, thanks in significant measure to a succession of relievers who kept the Mariners within striking distance while the offense finally awakened.

Tim Hill immediately induced a crisp 1-6-3 double play to escape the fifth without further damage. Hill then split the sixth with Paul Blackburn, who took over and worked a scoreless seventh before becoming the beneficiary of the Yankees’ offensive explosion in the bottom half of the inning. Blackburn (4–2) was credited with the victory.

Brent Headrick continued his dominance, striking out the side in the eighth to earn his 18th hold of the season. After the Yankees added two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth, Yerry De Los Santos closed things out, allowing David Bednar to enjoy a well-deserved night off.

In all, the bullpen pitched 5.0 scoreless innings, allowing three hits, walking three and striking out five.

Hitting

For the first time in more than a month—and only the second time since June 17—the Yankees reached double digits in runs.

With Wells hitting eighth and Lombard Jr. occupying the No. 9 spot, the Yankees effectively created a second leadoff tandem ahead of Grisham. The result was striking as hitters in the 8-9-1-2-3 spots combined to go 10-for-19, scoring nine runs and driving in eight.

That bottom-of-the-order production was a major reason the Yankees were able to erase a three-run deficit and turn what initially looked like another frustrating night into a 10–5 rout.

Defense

The Hill-to-Lombard Jr.-to-Luis García Jr. double play was a key turning point, preventing further damage and keeping the Yankees within striking distance at 4–1.

Warren was visibly frustrated by an extremely poor effort from Grisham on what appeared to be a routine fly ball to center field with one out in the third. Instead of an easy put out for the center fielder, Lombard Jr. raced into shallow-to-medium center field but could not corral the ball, allowing Brendan Donovan to hustle into second with a gift double.

Things looked increasingly desperate when Warren then walked Cal Raleigh, but he escaped the inning when Lombard Jr., Chisholm Jr. and García Jr. combined on a crisp, inning-ending double play. That’s a lot of “Jr.’s” on one team, let alone involved in one play!

Paul Blackburn made a terrific play to pick off Josh Naylor in the seventh. The play was officially scored as a caught stealing, as Naylor broke for second on Blackburn’s first motion. He was a dead duck from the outset. Blackburn’s pickoff throw went to García Jr., who quickly relayed it to Lombard Jr., who applied the tag to Naylor roughly 15 feet short of the second-base bag.

Lombard Jr. committed his first error at shortstop in the sixth, but once again more than made up for it, turning two double plays and otherwise providing masterful, top-tier defense up the middle.  The throwing arm is as advertised.

Base Running

Lombard Jr. also runs exquisite routes on the bases, scoring standing up from first on Grisham’s seventh inning double to give the Yankees their first lead, 6–5. Statcast has him in the 94th percentile in straight-line sprint speed, which seems a bit generous—but when you combine his speed with the way he cuts the bases at full speed, he may deserve an even higher grade for his pure base-running ability.

He is a joy to watch running the bases and displays instincts that are reminiscent of none other than Derek Jeter. It is an extraordinary compliment for a player so early in his major-league career, but Lombard Jr.’s instincts and efficiency on the bases are already evident. Oh that Jasson Dominguez might capture just a fraction of those instincts.

Rice and Jones also pulled off an impressive double steal, giving Rice his third stolen base of the season and Jones his fifth. The play caught Raleigh completely by surprise, with Rice getting a huge jump from second while Jones trailed the play and took advantage of the Mariners’ attention being focused solely, if tardily, on Rice.

On the downside, McMahon had two costly base-running miscues, getting thrown out first at third on his RBI double in the second and later at second while trying to stretch a single into a double.

Two outs on the bases, particularly by the same player—make for a bad night on the base paths. Fortunately for the Yankees, McMahon’s mistakes ultimately mattered little in a game in which the offense and defense did more than enough to secure the comeback victory.

Tampa Bay Is the Team to Beat

The Tampa Bay Rays have just completed one of the most remarkable road trips in MLB history, sweeping three consecutive three-game series against Colorado, Seattle and the West Sacramento A’s. It marked the first time in franchise history that the Rays completed an unbeaten road trip consisting of three or more series—and just the 13th such road trip by any major-league team since 1900.

Make no mistake: the Rays are formidable. The Yankees will take them lightly at their own peril.

Not only are the Rays running away with the American League East, but at 75–46 they now own the best record in Major League Baseball, sitting 6½ games ahead of the Yankees with just 42 games remaining. Barring an extraordinary collapse—or the Yankees somehow sweeping the only remaining series between the two clubs, a four-game set at Yankee Stadium from September 22–24—the race for the division title and home-field advantage throughout the American League playoffs is already effectively over.

And, oh, by the way: Tampa Bay owns a 6–3 advantage in the season series against New York.

The Rays are also 41–18 at home, a staggering .698 winning percentage. They are 16–10 in one-run games and 6–4 in extra-inning contests. They consistently do the little things that produce winning baseball.

They are going to be extremely difficult to beat at the Trop in October.

Tampa Bay’s high-contact, put-the-ball-in-play approach has been particularly effective against the Yankees. The Rays have frustrated New York in their head-to-head matchups all season, exploiting an approach that stands in sharp contrast to the Yankees’ normally high-strikeout starting rotation. Tampa Bay puts pressure on opposing defenses, extends innings and, perhaps most importantly, doesn’t beat itself.

That formula has produced the best record in baseball.

Tampa Bay is the team to beat in the American League this year.

Series Finale Thursday

The Seattle series—and the Yankees’ nine-game homestand—concludes Thursday afternoon with a 1:35 p.m. start at Yankee Stadium.

Max Fried (4–3, 2.88 ERA) will take the mound for New York, while Mariners right-hander Logan Gilbert (8–7, 3.42 ERA) gets the start for Seattle.