After starting the 2nd half of the season with a loss away to the Colorado Rockies, the Yankees needed a win, very badly. Not because of anything about the Rockies -- although they did deserve to lose on the basis of those horrid "City Connect" uniforms -- but simply because they needed a win.
Clarke Schmidt started, and, again, pitched decently. He went 6 innings, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits and just 1 walk, striking out 8. Who knows, maybe he's finally filled that "hole in the rotation" himself.
But the pattern this season has been that, when he's pitched well, the Yankees haven't hit well, and vice versa. This time, the Yankees got him the runs he needed. Gleyber Torres led off the game with a triple, and a groundout by Giancarlo Stanton got him home before the Rockies could so much as get an out. But they tied the game in the bottom of the 1st,
But the 2nd inning told the story of the ballgame. The Yankees got a double by DJ LeMahieu, a strikeout from Billy McKinney, a single by Harrison Bader, a walk by Anthony Volpe to load the bases, an RBI sacrifice fly by Kyle Higashioka, an RBI single by Torres, and a 3-run home run by Stanton. That put the Yankees up 6-1.
Stanton allowed a run in the 7th. Wandy Peralta was brought in to finish the inning. Tommy Kahnle allowed a run in the 8th, but Clay Holmes made sure they would get no closer in the 9th.
Yankees 6, Rockies 3. WP: Schmidt (5-6). SV: Holmes (11). LP: Connor Seabold (1-7).
The series concludes this afternoon. Gerrit Cole starts against Chase Anderson.