Gerrit Cole made sure Brian Cashman got his flowers after the Yankees finished off Boston.
In the clubhouse after Wednesday’s 9-2 win at Yankee Stadium, Cole backed the general manager and the roster he put together, pointing to the mix of additions, holdovers and homegrown pieces that carried New York through a two-game Wild Card Series sweep.
“You’ve got to go out and buy the tools,” Cole said via Chris Kirschner. The roster looks really good at this point.
We’re very competitive, and we have a lot of different ways that we can beat you. A lot of credit goes to a lot of people in this building.”
That message came after the Yankees put together a second straight emphatic win over Boston, this time behind a six-run sixth inning that broke the game open. Cody Bellinger delivered the biggest swing of the night with a three-run homer in that frame, finishing with four RBIs as New York moved on.
The Yankees also got a steady start from Max Fried, who worked six innings and allowed one run. Sonny Gray took the loss, and no pitcher recorded a save. Luis García Jr. got the scoring started earlier with a fourth-inning homer.
The sixth inning was a snapshot of the roster balance the Yankees have been trying to show all season. Spencer Jones sparked the rally by reaching on a wild-pitch strikeout after a successful replay challenge.
Rookie George Lombard Jr. added an RBI single, and Austin Wells chipped in with a sacrifice fly. By the time Bellinger stepped in and launched his homer, the game had slipped well beyond Boston’s reach.
That followed Tuesday’s opener, when the Yankees rolled 9-0 behind Cam Schlittler and Ben Rice. Schlittler struck out 10 over 6 1/3 scoreless innings, while Rice homered twice and drove in six runs, according to Field Level Media’s game report.
Taken together, the first two games of the series told the same story in different ways: the Yankees advanced with contributions from players they developed and players they brought in from outside. Schlittler and Rice supplied Game 1.
Bellinger and García did the damage in Game 2. Fried handled the middle innings.
Wells kept adding value. The whole thing added up to a roster that found answers from multiple places.
Cashman’s fingerprints were all over that mix. He re-signed Bellinger in January to a five-year, $162.5 million contract.
He acquired García from Washington in August for four pitchers, according to Associated Press and Reuters reporting. He also pursued Adley Rutschman, who wound up in Boston instead, but could not match Baltimore’s asking price, according to the AP’s deadline reporting.
Wells remained part of the Yankees’ answer behind the plate, another internal piece in the sweep.
The pitching numbers from the first two games also underscored the balance. Schlittler and Fried combined for 12 1/3 innings, or 37 outs, while allowing one earned run.
That works out to a 0.73 ERA. Schlittler delivered 19 outs.
Fried delivered 18. One was developed inside the organization, the other arrived through free agency.
That split is exactly what Brandon Tierney highlighted after Game 1, when he argued the Yankees’ development deserved more respect.
“Because everywhere you looked, it was somebody that his organization drafted and his organization developed.”
Tierney pointed to Schlittler, Rice and Lombard, and he also credited Damon Oppenheimer and the scouts who identified Schlittler at Northeastern. He said criticism involving Jasson Domínguez and Anthony Volpe should not wipe out those successes.
He stuck with his earlier criticism, but said the results had to be acknowledged too:
“But you’ve got to give credit where it’s due and how things are shifting and they’re shifting.”
Tierney also praised Cashman’s willingness to push back in interviews, comparing his tone favorably with Mets executive David Stearns’ recent press conference. Of Cashman, Tierney said:
“It’s fun and I really respect that. He’s a scrapper.”
He then described what Cashman’s response to critics felt like after Game 1, saying:
“Last night was a night where Cashman’s saying bleep you. Bleep you.”
Now the Yankees move on to Tampa Bay for a best-of-five series starting Saturday, carrying a roster that has already shown it can win in more than one way.
In Other News...
Jets Enter Bears Game With Aaron Glenn Facing A Major Problem
Aaron Glenns first few weeks on the job have already featured the kind of injury churn that can test a new coaching staff, and the Week 4 trip to face the Chicago Bears brings another round of roster uncertainty. The Jets ruled out wide receiver Adonai Mitchell, running back Breece Hall, guard Dylan Parham, tight end Mason Taylor and linebacker Francisco Mauigoa, trimming depth on both sides of the ball as they try to keep the season moving in the right direction.
Hall and Parham were already expected to miss after the previous game, but Mitchell and Taylor had been in limbo for much of the week, leaving Glenn to sort through a lineup that keeps shifting late in the process. Edge rusher Kingsley Enagbare is also dealing with a knee injury and remains limited in practice, adding another question mark to a defense that can least afford to be thin going into a matchup with the Bears. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Fans May Not Be Done Hearing About Tom Brady Yet
Tom Bradys name keeps finding its way back into the conversation, even after his retirement following the 2022 season. In a recent interview, Lars Anderson, author of a Brady biography, suggested the seven-time Super Bowl winner may look back on the way his career ended and feel some regret, raising the kind of speculation that never really dies when Brady is involved.
For Jets fans, it is the sort of chatter that brings an old rival back into the frame, at least hypothetically, because any comeback discussion would immediately invite thoughts about scheduling and what it could mean for New York. Brady has not responded to the comments, and there is no real sign of a return, but the very fact the possibility is being floated is enough to keep the topic alive a little longer. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Defense Gets A Needed Boost At The Perfect Time
Minkah Fitzpatrick is set to rejoin the Jets for their Week 4 matchup with the Bears after missing time with a groin injury, giving New York a defensive presence it has been missing. He was a full participant in practice and said he is ready to go, a welcome development for a unit that has been looking for more takeaways lately.
Fitzpatricks return comes at a timely moment for a Jets defense that has had trouble creating interceptions, and his ability to track the ball could help change that. Against Chicago, the Jets will be counting on him not just to fill a spot, but to lift a secondary that needs a jolt. [Read more 🡒]