The Yankees enter this Diamondbacks series with a setup that at least gives them a fighting chance on the mound. Aaron Boone can roll out two of his better arms in the first two games, and that matters when the offense has been uneven and the margin for error feels razor-thin.
The opener features Gerrit Cole against Eduardo Rodriguez, and that matchup puts the spotlight right where it’s been lately for Cole: the home run ball. Rodriguez has looked every bit like a frontline starter, posting a 2.62 ERA across 178.1 innings.
He works efficiently, leans on contact, and has limited opposing hitters to an 87.3 MPH average exit velocity and a 33% hard-hit rate. In other words, he’s the kind of pitcher who can keep the Yankees pounding the ball into the ground for seven-plus innings.
Cole, by contrast, has been hurt by the long ball, and that problem has lingered since the game against the San Diego Padres. If he doesn’t clean that up, the edge in this one could swing toward Rodriguez despite Cole’s reputation. Rodriguez, for his part, will be looking to channel the kind of form he showed in his Boston days and shut the Yankees down.
Game two sets up as Cam Schlittler against Brandon Pfaadt, and the source material is blunt about the Yankees’ side of that matchup: Schlittler is the better pitcher. Pfaadt isn’t a soft target, though.
The 27-year-old owns a 68th-percentile groundball rate, holds hitters to a 35.5% hard-hit rate, and carries one of the best walk rates in baseball with a 5.7% BB%, which ranks in the 91st percentile. That means he’s going to make the Yankees put the ball in play, and that’s where this lineup has been tough to trust.
If Aaron Judge is out, the offense can get even more stagnant, and that makes the path pretty clear for Arizona. The Yankees may need Schlittler to deal and turn the game into one of those 2-0 or 3-0 finishes.
The final starter named in the series is Corbin Burnes, who has thrown just 7.2 innings this season while working back from Tommy John surgery from last June. He’s likely to be on a pitch limit, but getting him back in action sooner rather than later matters for the Yankees.
On the New York side in that matchup, Warren has shown both sides of the coin all year, which is why this start carries so much weight. The hope is for the sharper version after he turned in a solid outing against the Twins earlier this week, allowing five hits, two runs, zero earned, two walks, and six strikeouts over 5.2 innings.
If Warren can give the Yankees length, the advantage shifts their way. But as this series keeps reminding you, it still comes back to the same question every night: can they score enough to make the pitching edge matter?
In Other News...
Yankees Needed This From George Lombard Jr More Than Ever
With Aaron Judge on the injured list because of a right calf strain, the Yankees needed someone young to step into a larger spotlight in Arizona, and George Lombard Jr. answered with one of the best games of his brief big league run. The rookie collected two hits and drove in three runs in a 9-2 win over the Diamondbacks at Chase Field, giving New York some much-needed production from a lineup suddenly missing its biggest bat.
Lombard Jr. delivered both a two-run single and a home run, the kind of timely damage that can change how a game feels when the Yankees are trying to keep moving without Judge. Gerrit Cole also provided a steadying presence, working six innings and allowing two runs while striking out six, adding another milestone to a night that gave New York a cleaner look at how its depth can hold up when the roster gets tested. [Read more 🡒]
Bernie Williams Is Giving Yankees Fans A Whole New Reason To Watch
Bernie Williams has never really been just a former Yankees center fielder, and this fall he is adding another high-profile stage to a second career that has quietly become part of his identity. Beginning Oct. 22 and running through Nov. 29, Williams will perform with the Tony- and Grammy-winning band behind Broadways Buena Vista Social Club at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, giving fans another chance to see him in a setting far removed from the old Yankee Stadium outfield.
For Yankees followers, it is a neat crossover that brings one of the franchises most beloved alumni into the Broadway spotlight at the same time former major league infielder Jose Iglesias is also in the show. The result is a rare baseball-to-theater connection that fits Williams longstanding music background and adds a little extra intrigue for anyone who still associates him with the pinstripes. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Suddenly Face A Brutal Aaron Judge Timeline
Aaron Judges trip to the 10-day injured list has put the Yankees in a familiar but unwelcome spot, waiting on the health of the player who still shapes nearly everything they do. The calf strain, specifically in the soleus muscle, is the latest setback in a season where the margins around Judge have mattered constantly, and Boone said the club will try to get him back before the year is over. Judge has said he wants to return by the postseason, but for now there is no firm timeline.
What makes this latest pause so tricky is the lack of clarity around just how long the Yankees may be without him. Boone did not offer any further detail on the severity of the injury, leaving the team to manage both the roster and the uncertainty that comes with losing its centerpiece. For a club built to contend now, the question is no longer only when Judge can swing again, but how much time the Yankees can afford to spend guessing. [Read more 🡒]