4 Things Yankees: From a Great Comeback to the Toronto Showdown

OH CANADA, WHAT A COMEBACK
On June 13, the New York Yankees stood 42-25, 4 ½ games ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays. Anthony Volpe, their shortstop, was batting .244. By the time Volpe stepped to the plate in the 5^th inning on Saturday night in Atlanta, his batting average was down to .211. More importantly, the Yankees had lost 19 of their previous 30 games and had been trailing the Braves 5-0.

In danger of dropping four games behind the Blue Jays, Volpe hit a two-run homer to get the Yankees on the board. In the 8^th inning, he hit a solo shot to tie the game 8-8, before Trent Grisham completed the comeback with a grand slam in the 9^th. The Yankees followed up their 12-9 comeback win with a solid 4-2 win today (July 20).

The back-to-back wins not only calmed Yankee fans, but also set up what could be an epic series in Toronto.

• Monday, July 21 (7:07p ET) Yes Network (Rodon vs Gausman)
• Tuesday, July 22 (7:07p ET) Yes Network (Schlittler vs Scherzer)
• Wednesday, July 23 (7:07p ET) Amazon Prime (Fried vs Bassitt)

It was only three weeks ago that the Blue Jays swept the Yankees in a four-game series to catapult themselves into first place. Now, thanks to an improbable comeback, sparked by an improbable hero, the Yankees have a chance to return the favor.

MARCUS STROMAN
As the saying goes, sometimes “the best trades are the ones you don’t make”. Once the Yankees signed Max Fried this winter, there was a realization that Marcus Stroman was going to be paid $18m to be the Yankees sixth starter behind Gerrit Cole, Fried, Carlos Rodon, Clark Schmidt and Luis Gil.

The following injuries opened the door for Stroman to get back into the rotation:

• Yankees’ top pitching prospect Chase Hampton underwent Tommy John surgery on February 21.
• Yankees’ ace Gerrit Cole underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery on March 11.
• 2024 American League Rookie-of-the-Year Luis Gil suffered a right-lat strain in spring training and is currently slated for a rehab start in Triple A Wednesday night.
• Breakout 2025 starter Clarke Schmidt (14 starts, 3.32 ERA, 1.09 WHIP) underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery on July 11.

Stroman himself started the season poorly (3 games, 9.1 inning pitched, 12 earned runs) before landing on the injured list with left knee inflammation. Since his return on June 29, he’s been a godsend to Aaron Boone (4 games, 21 innings pitched, 7 earned runs). That includes today’s strong 6 inning, 5 hit, 1 run gem against the Braves.

When Stroman reported to camp in February, he made headlines by stating, “I am a starter. I won’t pitch in the bullpen.”

He was, he is, and if he keeps pitching like this, he will continue to be.

BABY BOMBERS IN SCRANTON
Spencer Jones stands 6-7 and weighs 240 pounds. He would receive a lot of attention in any walk-of-life, but more so being a top Yankee prospect who’s been called the “left-handed Aaron Judge”. Since he was called up to Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on June 27, he’s earned all the attention he gets:

• 15 games
• 74 plate appearances
• 63 at bats
• 25 hits
• 4 doubles
• 8 home runs
• 6 stolen bases
• 19 runs
• .397 BA
• .459 OBP
• .841 Slugging
• 1.301 OPS

Yes, it’s an extremely small sample size, but it follows a dominant run with the Double A Somerset Patriots. Jones crushed 16 homers in 49 games with .984 OPS. Long-term, Jones, 24, is the most important development in the Yankee farm system over the last month. Short-term, that title might belong to his RailRider teammate, OF Everson Pereira.

Pereira can play all three outfield positions and is a right-handed hitter. The 24-year-old is having the most consistent season of his career batting .260, with a .360 on-base, 17 homeruns, and 48 RBIs. Pereira, who had a cup of coffee with the Yankees in 2023 and missed most of last season with an elbow injury, gives the Yankees options headed into the trade deadline.

He could be trade-bait for a team needing someone ready to make the jump to the majors, or he could be used as a righty-bat off the bench down the stretch. Either way, Pereira and Jones, who hit back-to-back homers yesterday, are making the RailRiders “must see” baseball in northeastern Pennsylvania.

ALL RISE
Speaking of Judge, earlier today he belted his 36^th home run of the season in the Yankees victory over the Braves. He is now tied for sixth all-time on the list of Bronx Bombers:

1. Babe Ruth 659
2. Mickey Mantle 536
3. Lou Gehrig 493
4. Joe DiMaggio 361
5. Yogi Berra 358
6. Aaron Judge/Alex Rodriguez 351

Judge has hit 11% of his career homers (40) against Toronto. That gives him an excellent chance of passing A-Rod this week in Toronto… with two countries watching.

ICYMI “Aaron Judge: Building a Monument Park Resume with All-Time Stats”