It’s now or never: Estevan Florial.

The Yankees are still looking for a LF, preferably one who hits left-handed in order to balance out the lineup. But what if they can’t get or don’t like any of the free agents or trade possibilities out there?

You still have on the roster Oswaldo Cabrera and Aaron Hicks. Cabrera is someone the Yanks would rather use in a jack-of-all-trades role, while Hicks has worn out his welcome and the Yanks really would like to trade him.

There is someone else, and for that person, 2023 is a now-or-never time for him. Estevan Florial is out of options, so if he makes the team, he would have to stick.

There is no doubt that Florial, with his speed, could handle LF defensively. He has played mostly CF in the minors but should not have too much of a problem moving over to left. The problem has been his hitting. In 29 major league games (and yes, he has been on the elevator the last few years, up/down, up/down, no consistent stays) he has hit .185 with 1 HR and 3 RBI in 54 at bats. Worse yet, is the 21 strikeouts. He isn’t putting the ball in play. You can’t steal second if you can’t get on first.

Last season, Florial hit .097 in the majors (3 for 31, with 13 strikeouts). Ugh. At AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (SWB) he hit .283 with 15 HR and 39 SB in 101 games. But with 140 strikeouts. The year before, he divided 87 games between AA and AAA and only hit .219, albeit with 17 HR, but once again, a lot of strikeouts.

There is power there, and speed there too. But potential is another word for “you haven’t done it yet”. Unfortunately for Florial, 25, a LOT of strikeouts are there too.

If the Yanks don’t make a move, an opportunity is there for Florial in spring training. But being out of options, it may be his last chance. He needs to cut down on the strikeouts, put the ball in play, and give himself a chance to showboat his speed. And if he puts the ball in play more, the lefty power will show up at the Stadium.

But as mentioned, Florial is down to his last chance.

Minor League Action. 4-1 win for SWB as Castro, Abreu rehab. SWB 1/2 game out with days to go.

AAA SWB (80-64) beat Lehigh Valley 4-1.
CF Estevan Florial 2 RBI #15 prospect .290-15-45, 36 SB
LF Blake Perkins 3 for 3
2B Tyler Wade 3 hits, RBI, SB

Boyle (W, 4-1) 5 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 1 W, 3 K. Gave up 1 HR. 1 HBP 4.04
Miguel Castro (H, 2) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. 0.00 REHAB
Albert Abreu (H, 1) 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 W, 2 K. 0.00 REHAB
Bristo (H, 3) 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 4.73
Shreve (H, 1) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 0 K. 0.00
Cordero (S, 4) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 1.77

SWB is in second place, 1/2 a game out. There are five games left in the season, as well as the completion of a game started on August 7 in which the score is tied 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth.

Minor League Action. AA Somerset sweeps semifinal series, goes to Eastern League finals.

AAA: SWB (79-64) edged out Lehigh Valley, 8-7.
CF Estevan Florial 2 hits, RBI. #15 prospect .291-15-43, 36 SB. Needs to hit in majors. (3 for 31)
C Ben Rortvedt 2 hits, RBI. Solo HR (6)
PR/1B Armando Alvarez 2 for 2
2B Chris Owings 2 hits, RBI
3B Tyler Wade 2 hits, RBI
RF Michael Beltre 2 hits, 2 RBI
PH/RF Blake Perkins 1 for 1, R, RBI, walk

Zach Greene 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 5 K. 3.24
Deivi Garcia 2 2/3 IP, 4 R, 2 H, 2 W, 5 K. Gave up 1 HR 8.17 #26 prospect. Overall: 4-5, 7.00
Mujica (W, 3-1) 1 1/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 1 W, 1 K. 4.21
M. Gomez (H, 8) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 3 K. 5.12
Rich Rodriguez (H, 2) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. 4.22
Bard (S, 2) 1 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 W, 0 K. 4.41

AA: Somerset won their Eastern League semifinal series, two games to none, and will go into the finals to play Erie for the Eastern League crown. Down 3-0 in the bottom of the seventh, they came back to tie it up. Down 5-3 in the bottom of the ninth, they tied it up again before winning in the bottom of the tenth, 6-5.

Game 1 will be at Erie Sunday, Sept. 25. The next two games (Game 3 if necessary) are at Somerset, September 27 and 28.

CF Jasson Dominguez (“The Martian”) 2 hits, RBI #2 prospect.
LF Brandon Lockridge 2 hits, 2 RBI #28 prospect.

Clayton Beeter 5 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 W, 6 K. #9 prospect (Got him in the Gallo trade from Dodgers)
Jennings 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Ramirez 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 2 W, 3 K. 1 Balk
Ernst 2/3 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 1 WP
Minnick 1 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 2 W, 1 K. gave up 1 HR.
Myatt 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K.
Coleman (WIN) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K.

Game 146. Judge at 59 HR after Yanks win slugfest, 12-8. Triple Crown within reach.

Aaron Judge is at 59.

No right-handed batter in American League history has hit more in a season. Judge trails only lefty swinging hitters Babe Ruth (60 in 1927) and Roger Maris (61 in 1961) for most HR in a season by an American League player.

We know all about the 154 vs. 162 game season controversy, as well as the steroid-aided MLB and NL records.

Not only is Judge at 59 HR, but with a 4-hit performance yesterday that included 2 HR, he is now hitting .316, which is only one point short of the AL leader, meaning a Triple Crown is within reach. Only one man, Miguel Cabrera in 2012, has won the Triple Crown since 1967. Two Yankees have won it, Lou Gehrig in 1934 and Mickey Mantle in 1956.

With their 12-8 slugfest win Sunday, the Yankees (88-58) have a 5 1/2 game lead with 16 games to go. Their magic # for clinching the division is 11. Their magic # for a playoff spot is 5 (since they own the tiebreaker over Baltimore).

Gerrit Cole stuck out 8 batters to give him 236 for the season, 12 behind Ron Guidry’s Yankees record of 248 set in 1978, but Cole, despite getting the win, was victimized once again by the gopher ball.

Kolten Wong hit a 3-run HR off of Cole in the bottom of the first. Brewers 3-0.

Oswaldo Cabrera got a run back for the Yankees in the top of the second with his second HR of the season. 3-1.

In the bottom of the second, Tyrone Taylor homered off Cole and it was 4-1, Brewers. Things didn’t look good.

Judge and Anthony Rizzo hit back-to-back HRs in the top of the third to cut Milwaukee’s lead to 4-3. For Judge, #58. It was #31 for Rizzo, who just returned off of the IL. (Estevan Florial was sent down).

The Yanks got 4 runs in the top of the fifth to take a 7-4 lead. Judge led off with a walk. Rizzo singled Judge to second. A flyout by Gleyber Torres moved both runners up. Josh Donaldson walked to load the bases. An error on a fielder’s choice by Giancarlo Stanton tied the game. Bases still loaded. An infield single by Cabrera put the Yanks up 5-4. After a lineout with no advance, Kyle Higashioka singled in two runs to make it 7-4.

In the top of the seventh, the Yanks scored three times to increase their lead to 10-4. Cabrera doubled to lead off the inning, and two groundouts moved him around. 8-4. Aaron Hicks then hit his seventh HR. 9-4. Judge made it back-to-back HR by creaming #59, a 443-ft. blast. 10-4.

The extra runs proved necessary. Rowdy Tellez hit a 2-run HR for the Brewers in the bottom of the eighth to cut the Yanks’ lead to 10-6. They then stranded two.

Judge got a 2-run double in the top of the ninth to make it 12-6. Michael Kay mentioned something in the lines of that Judge was the only guy in baseball that can hit a 2-run double and you are disappointed.

Those two runs were necessary, too. Each of Milwaukee’s first three hitters in the bottom of the ninth singled off of Wandy Peralta. Clay Holmes then relieved Peralta and gave up a ground rule double that made the score 12-8. Holmes then got an out before a walk reloaded the bases, bring the tying run to the plate. A strikeout and groundout ended the game.

Judge 4 hits, 4 RBI. 2 solo HR (59) .316-59-127. One point short of batting average lead.
Rizzo 3 hits, RBI. Solo HR (31). First game off the IL.
Cabrera 3 hits, 2 RBI. Solo HR (2)
Higashioka 3 RBI.
Hicks 2 hits, RBI. Solo HR (7).

Cole (W, 12-7) 5 IP, 4 R, 4 H, 3 W, 8 K. Gave up 2 HR. 3.41 236 K, 12 behind Guidry’s 248 in 1978.
Schmidt (H, 2) 2 1/3 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 0 W, 4 K. Gave up 1 HR. 2.82
Loaisiga 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 4.35
Peralta 0 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 0 W, 0 K. 2.72
Holmes 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. 2.55

The Yanks are off today.

Games 136 & 137. Despite depleted lineups, Yanks sweep Twins. Judge hits #55, IKF, Peraza, Cole star.

Sorry, my original draft got erased and I had to re-write a lot. UGH.

A load of baseball yesterday, and at first it didn’t look good. Due to injuries, the Yankees’ lineups looked worse than a spring training lineup. In the first game of the DH yesterday, the Yanks (83-54) started three rookies, plus another guy who, although he had MLB experience and wasn’t a rookie, hadn’t played in the majors all season.

The Yanks put Josh Donaldson on the paternity list. Isiah Kiner-Falefa (IKF) played 3B. IKF had won a GG at 3B for Texas in 2020. Bard DFA’d, Deivi Garcia up. Miguel Andujar up as 29th man for the doubleheader. Rizzo to IL, Ron Guzman up.

But at the end of the day, the Yankees had won both games off of their perennial whipping boys, the Twins, by scores of 5-4 (in 12 innings) and 7-1.

With the wins, the Yanks are 5 up on the Rays in the AL East. The magic # for winning the division is 22, and the magic # for a playoff berth is 15. The wins ensured the Yankees a winning season. They haven’t had a losing season since 1992.

Game 1: Domingo German had a rough start but settled in. A double, strikeout, and HR, and Minnesota was up 2-0 just three batters into the game. With two out in the fourth, three straight singles made it 3-0 Twins and with the weakened Yankees’ lineup, it didn’t appear good.

The Yanks got a run in the bottom of the fourth of Aaron Judge’s 55th HR of the season. The home run meant that Judge now has hit more HR in a season than any other righty hitter in Yankees’ history. Only Ruth (60 in 1927) and Maris (61 in ’61) have hit more. Judge was walked 5x yesterday, 3x intentionally. Another reason to hate the ghost runner. If Judge is the first guy up, even with the ghost runner on second, first base is open, and Judge is walked to set up a DP. You take the bat out of the hands of the most dangerous hitter in baseball.

Gleyber Torres tied the game with a 2-run HR in the sixth. (19).

Both teams wasted chances. Oswaldo Cabrera, an infielder brought up to the Yanks a few weeks ago, got his fifth OF assist of the season in the top of the tenth. Ron Guzman, up for Rizzo, struck out 4x and then with the bases loaded and no out in extra innings, hit into a 3-2-3 DP.

The Twins got a run in the top of the 12th off of Ron Marinaccio, but with the bases loaded and one out, Greg Weissert avoided further damage.

In the bottom of the 12th, Marwin Gonzalez was the ghost runner and IKF singled to tie the game. With one out, IKF stole second. Jose Trevino singled, IKF was held up and Trevino took second on the throw. With two out, Cabrera singled to win the game.

Judge solo HR (55)
Torres 2-run HR (19)
Kiner-Falefa (IKF) 2 hits, RBI
Peraza 3 hits FIRST 3 HITS OF MLB CAREER.

German 6 IP, 3 R, 7 H, 1 W, 6 K. Gave up 1 HR. 3.27
Peralta 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 2.58
Loaisiga 1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K. 4.66
Holmes 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 2.29
Marinaccio 1 1/3 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 2 W, 3 K. 1.73
Weissert (W, 3-0) 2/3 I, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 7.36

Game 2: With the long game in game 1, and several bullpen members used, the Yanks needed length from Gerrit Cole. He went 6 2/3 IP, striking out 14.

Cole leads MLB with 218 strikeouts and is 30 away from Ron Guidry’s Yankee team single season record of 248, set in 1978. Cole has four, maybe five starts left in the season.

Cole gave up a HR to his ex-teammate, Carolos Correa, in the top of the third.

IKF hit a grand slam, just his third HR of the season, in the bottom of the fourth. He didn’t get his first HR until mid-August.

In the bottom of the eighth, Aaron Hicks hit a bases-loaded double for three runs to make it 7-1.

Hicks 3 RBI
Kiner-Falefa 4 RBI. Grand Slam. (3)
Florial 2 hits.

Cole (W, 11-7) 6 2/3 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 2 W, 14 K. Gave up 1 HR. 3.20
Luetge (S, 2) 2 1/3 Ip, 0 R, 3 H, 0W, 3 K. 2.55

Nestor Cortes returns to the rotation tonight to face ex-Yankee Sonny Gray.

Game 133. Rays 2, Judge 1 (52nd HR), rest of team 0. Lead down to 4.

The Yankees (79-54) got three hits last night. Two by Aaron Judge. They got one run, on Judge’s 52nd HR of the season (matching his career high from 2017). The rest of the team did nothing except for a Giancarlo Stanton single.

The Yanks lost to Tampa Bay, 2-1. The AL East lead is down to 4. The pitching has been ok during this collapse. The hitting except for Judge has gone ice cold.

On Twitter, there is a video of a Yankees fan, and it could be me, you, anyone of us, watching Judges’ 9th inning HR on TV, and screaming “HELP HIM OUT, GUYS! HE CAN’T DO IT ALONE! HELP HIM OUT!”

Precisely.

The Rays got two in the third. A single, single and sac bunt put runners on second and third. A ball hit back at Yankees’ starter Clarke Schmidt. If he can field it, maybe he gets out of the inning with no runs allowed. Instead, it ricocheted off him, went into right field for a single, and both runners scored. When things go bad, you aren’t getting any breaks. Just like the night before, when Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s drive hit the very top of the fence. 4 inches higher and it is a HR. All luck is against the Yanks right now.

In the seventh, the Yanks nailed a runner on the bases, Cabrera to Torres. Cabrera has played what, 10 games? And he has what, 3 outfield assists?

Judge hit his HR in the ninth, and that avoided a second straight shutout. He was leading off the inning.

Judge 2 hits, Solo HR (52)

Schmidt (L, 5-4) 4 2/3 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 0 W, 2 K. 1 HBP. 3.02
Trivino 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 2 K. 4.87 (Combined A’s/NYY ERA)
Marinaccio 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 W, 1 K. 1.82
Loaisiga 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 5.03

The pitching hasn’t been bad. It’s the hitting. The pitchers are under so much pressure right now, probably feeling that they have no margin for error.

Before the game, Andrew Benintendi went on the 15-day IL, Estevan Florial called up. Anthony Banda DFA’d, Ryan Weber called up.

There isn’t much more to say, except …

“HELP HIM OUT, GUYS! HE CAN’T DO IT ALONE! HELP HIM OUT!”

Minor League Report. Games played 8-31-22.

AAA: SWB (65-58) won 6-1.
CF Estevan Florial 3 hits. #15 prospect. .292-15-42, 34 SB. Will Yanks ever give him a legit chance?
C Ben Rortvedt solo HR (3)
1B Phillip Evans 2 hits.
3B Armando Alvarez 3 RBI

Boyle (W, 2-1) 5 2/3 IP, 1 R, 8 H, 1 W, 8 K. 1 HBP 4.71 (AAA stats only)
Bristo 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 5.09
Deivi Garcia 2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K. 9.51 (AAA ERA) #26 prospect (Overall AA/AAA 2-4, 7.33)
Barnes 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 2 K. 2.57

AA: Somerset (73-47, 1st half division champs) lost 6-2.
CF Everson Pereira 2 hits. #5 prospect. .269-13-53, 20 SB
C Austin Wells solo HR (10). #4 prospect. .279-18-52, 11 SB
DH Eric Wagaman 3 hits.

Sauer (L, 0-2) 2 2/3 IP, 6 ER, 6 H, 3 W, 3 K. 1 HBP Gave up 1 HR. 7.84 (AA stats only)
Loseke 3 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 0 W, 7 K. 2.98
Correa 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 0 K. 0.00 (AA stats only)
Ernst 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 0 K. 3.69

High A: Hudson Valley lost the completion of a suspended game, 10-7.
SS Trey Sweeney 2 hits, Solo HR (14) #6 prospect. .237-14-5059=61, 26 SB
3B Tyler Hardman 3 RBI. 3-run HR (20)
RF Grant Richardson Solo HR (10) (High A stat only)
LF Aaron Palensky 2 hits, 2 RBI.

Carela (L, 1-2) 4 2/3 IP, 7 R, 5 H, 2 W, 3 K. 2 HBP. Gave up 3 HR. 8.38 (High A stats only)
Alvarez 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 3.21
Holloway 2 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 3 W, 0 K. 3.86 (HIgh A stat only)
C. Gomez 2 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 1 W, 2 K. 3.57

Hudson Valley (66-55) Lost the regularly scheduled game, 2-1, in 8 innings.
3B Hardman solo HR (21).
RF Aldenis Sanchez 2 hits.

Castano 6 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 H, 1 W, 7 K. 3.31
Diaz (L, 2-2) 1 2/3 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. 4.82
Cortijo 13 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 0.00 (HIgh A stat only).

Low A: Tampa (59-61) won 4-3 in 10 innings.
CF Spencer Jones 2 hits. #7 prospect. Yanks; #1 draft pick this year. 19 games .380-3-10, 12 SB.
C Antonio Gomez 2-run HR (7). #18 prospect. .248-7-44

Valdez 5 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 W, 4 K. 2 HBP 2.31
Stevens 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 W, 0 K. 0.00
Eric Reyzelman (BS, 1) 2/3 IP, 1 R, 0 H, 2 W, 1 K. 13.50 5th round pick this year. First Low A game.
Kris Bow 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 0.00 14th round pick this year. First Low A game.
Bustamonte (W, 1-0) 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. 0.00

Minor League Action from 8-28-22. Slam for Wells.

AAA: SWB (64-58) lost both games of a doubleheader. This really hurts their playoff chances.
Game 1: Lost 9-4.
C Ben Rortvedt solo HR (2)
3B Armando Alvarez solo HR (14)
1B Ron Guzman 2 hits, 2 RBI. 2-run HR (12)

Weber (L, 3-4) 4 IP, 3 R, 6 H, 1 W, 3 K. Gave up 1 HR. 3.86
Mujica 1 1/3 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 1 W, 1 K. 4.17
Ramirez 2/3 IP, 3 R, 2 H, 1 W, 2 K. Gave up 1 HR. 15.43

Game 2: Lost 12-10.
CF Estevan Florial 3 hits, 2 RBI. 3-run HR (15). #15 prospect. .288-15-42, 33 SB
SS Tyler Wade 2 hits, RBI
2B Oswald Peraza 3 hits, 4 RBI. 3-run HR (18) #3 prospect. .257-18-49, 32 SB
RF Ryan LaMarre 3 hits, RBI. Solo HR (1)

Semple (L, 1-1) 2 2/3 IP, 8 R, 10 H, 1 W, 1 K. Gave up 3 HR. 1 HBP 11.45
Minnick 1 1/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR. 6.75
Rich Rodriguez 1 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 1 W, 1 K. 1 HBP. 5.84
Zach Greene 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K. 3.90

AA: Somerset (73-46; won 1st half division title) won 8-1.
DH Austin Wells 4 RBI. Grand Slam (9) #4 prospect .278-17-51, 11 SB
3B Andres Chaparro 2 htis

Will Warren (W, 7-4) 6 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 H, 2 W, 5 K. 3.38 #8 prospect (9-7, 3.44 2 levels)
Myatt 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 2 K. 5.23
Cowart 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K. 5.25
Jennings 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 4.40

High A: Hudson Valley (66-53) won 9-7.
C Carolos Narvaez 3 RBI
LF Kyle Battle 2 htis, 2 RBI

Abeyta 4 2/3 IP, 6 R, 9 H, 6 W, 3 K. 4.48
Edgar Barclay (W,6-4) 2 1/3 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 W, 2 K. 1.98 #29 prospect.
C. Gomez (S, 4) 2 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 W, 2 K. 1 HBP 3.32

Low A: Tampa (58-60) won 6-1.
1B Ben Rice 2 hits.
2B Brett Barrera 2 his, RBI.
LF Christopher Familia 4 RBI

Messinger (W, 1-7) 5 1/3 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 3 W, 5 K. 3 HBP. 4.14
Mendez (H, 1) 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K. 5.63
McNeely 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 0.00
Anderson 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 4.07
Dees 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 H, 0 K. 3.31

Game 125. Yanks blow out A’s, 13-4. Cortes to IL.

Before the game, the Yanks put “Nasty” Nestor Cortes on the 15-day IL with a groin strain. They brought up Greg Weissert from AAA. More on Weissert in a bit.

Sorry for the late recap, but being up all night with the game on the West coast, well, you know…

The Yanks (77-48) got contributions from all their starters in a 13-4 blowout of Oakland. The victim for the most part was A’s starter and former Yankees’ farmhand, James Kaprelian.

The win was the Yanks’ fourth in a row and reduced their magic # for clinching the AL East to 31.

The Yanks got four runs in the second inning. With one out, Josh Donaldson walked and Oswaldo Cabrera singled Donaldson to second. Jose Trevino singled to load the bases. Isiaih Kiner-Falefa (IKF) singled in two runs. Andrew Benintendi singled to reload the bases. After Aaron Judge popped up for the second out, Giancarlo Stanton, fresh off the IL (Estevan Florial was sent down) singled to make it 4-0.

The Yanks scored four more runs in the third to make it 8-0. Gleyber Torres led off the inning with a walk. Donaldson doubled to make it 5-0. After an out, Trevino singled and IKF walked to load the bases. Benintendi hit a SF to make it 6-0. A walk to Judge reloaded the bases and a walk to Stanton forced in a run to make it 7-0. Anthony Rizzo got an infield single to make it 8-0.

Two more runs in the top of the fourth put the Yanks up 10-0. Despite 20 hits and 13 runs, the Yanks did not hit a HR in the game. Donaldson singled to lead off the fourth. With one out, Trevino doubled Donaldson in to make it 9-0. Singles by IKF and Benintendi loaded the bases, and a groundout by Judge made it 10-0.

With that kind of lead, Yankees’ starter Jameson Taillon was cruising. His only mistake came when he gave up a solo HR in the sixth that made the score 10-1.

The Yanks came right back in the top of the seventh with three runs to go up 13-1. Rizzo singled with one out. Torres singled Rizzo to second, and Donaldson doubled both runners home to make it 12-1. A double by Cabrera made it 13-1.

Then came the only bad part of the night. With such a big lead, manager Aaron Boone brought in Weissert to make his MLB debut and it could not have gone worse. On his first pitch in the majors, Weissert hit the batter. Then before his second pitch, he balked the runner to second. Then on his second MLB pitch, he hit the NEXT batter. He got a flyout, but then walked the next two batters, forcing in a run. 13-2.

He was then relieved by Lucas Luetge. Weissert had 18 saves and a 1.77 ERA at SWB but the nerves apparently got the best of him in what was a terrible MLB debut.

After a popup for the second out, Luetge then forced in a run with what was the third HBP of the inning. 13-3. An infield single made it 13-4, which wound up being the final score.

Benintendi 3 hits, RBI
Stanton 3 RBI
Rizzo 2 hits, RBI
Torres 2 hits
Donaldson 3 hits, 3 RBI
Cabrera 3 Hits, RBI
Trevino 2 hits, RBI
IKF 2 hits, 2 RBI

Taillon (W, 12-4) 6 IP, 1 R, 6 H, 0 W, 2 K. Gave up 1 HR. 3.89
Weissert 1/3 IP, 3 R, 0 H, 2 W, 0 K. 2 HBP. 1 Balk. 81.00 MLB DEBUT
Luetge 2 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 4 K. 1 HBP. 2.58

Game 124. Judge hits 48th as Yanks beat Mets, 4-2.

In July, the Mets swept the Yanks in a 2-game series at Citi Field. The Yanks returned the favor last night, sweeping the Mets this month in the 2-game series at Yankee Stadium.

The win was the Yankees (76-48) third in a row, all by 4-2 scores. The magic number for clinching the AL East is now 32.

It didn’t come easy.

The Yanks struck first, getting two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Andrew Benintendi led off with a single, but then was erased when D.J. LeMahieu GIDP. This hurt because Aaron Judge then hit his 48th HR of the season, a 453-ft. blast. The Yanks then loaded the bases on singles by Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres and a walk to Josh Donaldson. A walk to Oswaldo Cabrera forced in a run to make it 2-0. It was Cabrera’s first MLB RBI.

Cabrera is only hitting .160 (4 for 25) since he has been called up, but in his short time up so far, has made three outstanding defensive plays. One of them happened in the top of the fifth. A double, followed by catchers’ interference on Kyle Higashioka, gave the Mets runners at first and second with no one out. A sac bunt moved the runners over then Yankees’ starter Frankie Montas got a lineout. Starling Marte then singled in one runner, but Cabrera nailed the second runner with a perfect throw to the plate to save a second run.

The Mets tied in the sixth, thanks to a bad play by Gleyber Torres. They got a one out single, followed by a two-out double. On the double, Pete Alonso had held up at third and was trying to go back to the bag. Torres, however, ran after the guy who doubled, Jeff McNeil, trying to get him rounding the bag too far at second. He was too late. While he was doing that, Alonso scored the tying run. 2-2. Isiah Kiner-Falefa (IKF) was pointing and yelling to throw home. Terrible play.

The Yanks scored two in the bottom of the seventh, and Benintendi, who has been clutch lately, came through again. Cabrera singled and was sacrificed to second by IKF. Jose Trevino PH for Higashioka and singled Cabrera to third. Benintendi singled to make it 3-2 and put runners on first and second. After LeMahieu struck out, Judge singled to make it 4-2.

Clarke Schmidt had relieved Montas in the sixth, and he tried to close it out. He got the first two men out in the ninth. Then he just couldn’t get that last out. More specifically, he could not get that last strike.

A walk on a 3-2 pitch. the runner then went to second on defensive indifference. A single on another 3-2 pitch. Runners on the corners. Another walk on a 3-2 pitch. Bases loaded.

Finally, Wandy Peralta came in and got a flyout (on an 0-2 pitch) to end the game. It took 13 or 14 pitches when the Yanks were one strike away to finally close the deal. Whew.

The Yanks are off today and are flying out to Oakland. Estevan Florial was sent back to AAA after the game. Giancarlo Stanton comes off the IL tomorrow to face the A’s.

Benintendi 2 hits, RBI
Judge 2 hits, 2 RBI. Solo HR (48)
Cabrera first career RBI. Outfield assist that saved a run.

Montas 5 2/3 IP, 2 R, 6 H, 1 W, 6 K. 1 HBP 3.84 (A’s/NYY ERA)
Schmidt (W, 5-2) 3 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 3 W, 0 K. 2.18
Peralta (S, 2) 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 2.44