Yankees Secure Victory Against Cardinals
St. Louis – After struggling for over two months, the Yankees achieved a much-needed win. On a night when Max Fried faced criticism yet again, they triumphed over the Cardinals with a 12-8 score at Bush Stadium.
Ben Rice stood out, racking up seven RBIs throughout the game. He hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning, giving the Yankees a lead, and followed it up with a three-run double in the sixth and an RBI single in the seventh, which helped extend their advantage.
Aaron Judge, since returning from the injured list, performed well, contributing two walks, an RBI double, and hitting his 39th home run. Meanwhile, Trent Grisham had a productive night with four hits, Jose Caballero crossed home plate three times, and Ryan McMahon marked his first home run as a Yankee, leading to their first back-to-back series win since late May.
However, the Yankees have only won 7 out of their last 20 series, a statistic they are certainly looking to improve on.
This latest win, their fourth in five games and sixth in nine, brought the Yankees (66-57) closer to the Mariners in the AL Wild Card race, narrowing the gap to one and a half games behind the Red Sox.
The offense provided solid support for Fried, who struggled on the mound, allowing eight hits and seven earned runs in five innings of work. His ERA has suffered, sitting at 6.80 over his past eight starts, a stark contrast to the impressive 1.92 he held through his first 17 outings.
Though Fried initially calmed after allowing three runs to Machine Winn, he faltered again, giving up a two-run homer to Nolan Gorman that cut the Yankees’ lead to 9-7 before Devin Williams took over.
Briefly on Judge, he had been struggling, hitting just .172 with a .627 OPS since returning from a right elbow flexor strain. His performance against former teammate Sonny Gray was a welcomed change, as the Yankees were able to score six runs off him over five innings.
Once again, the Yankees took an early lead, needing just three batters to score in the first inning. Grisham led off with a single, followed by Rice’s walk, and Judge then knocked an RBI hit into the left field corner.
After Jasson Domínguez added another single to put the Yankees up 2-0, the Cardinals managed to respond in the bottom half of the inning, aided by a misplay from Domínguez that allowed Alec Burleson to reach third base.
Before long, Iván Herrera’s single tied the game, and the Cardinals even took the lead with a three-run shot from Winn. However, Judge quickly answered back with a homer, bringing the score to 5-3.
In the fourth inning, the Yankees continued to push, with Caballero and Grisham getting bunt singles before Rice launched a massive 429-foot homer, further boosting the Yankees’ hopes for the series.
