The Yankees are about to spend a lot more time seeing National League teams, and Monday night’s opener against the Pirates is the next stop in that run.
After entering the weekend with the fewest interleague games in baseball this season, New York now finds itself in a stretch that features six series against NL opponents in seven series through Aug. 9. The Dodgers kicked it off by taking two of three at Yankee Stadium, and every one of the six teams on that slate is above .500.
Pittsburgh comes in at 52-48 and opens a three-game set in the Bronx while sitting in a three-way tie with St. Louis and Miami for the final NL wild card spot.
On the mound, the Pirates will go with right-hander Braxton Ashcraft (9-3, 3.49), while the Yankees counter with lefty Ryan Weathers (3-7, 4.15). Weathers last pitched on July 10, and his scheduled start Saturday against the Dodgers was washed out, leading the Yankees to push him to Monday’s series opener.
There’s a draft connection between the two starters, too. Both were part of the 2018 MLB draft class, with Weathers going seventh overall to the Padres and Ashcraft landing in the second round, 51st overall, with Pittsburgh.
That same draft also brought the Yankees switch-hitting catcher/infielder Anthony Seigler into the organization. He’s now with the surging Red Sox, who have won 13 straight.
New York is 11-10 in interleague play this season.
In Other News...
Yankees Suddenly Face Three Roster Calls They Cant Put Off
The Yankees left their split doubleheader against the Dodgers with the same uneasy feeling they brought in, because the roster questions around them are getting harder to ignore. Even after taking the nightcap, the bigger picture still points toward a club trying to stabilize itself while weighing whether some of its current pieces fit the way the front office hoped when the season began.
One of those calls is in the bullpen, where Camilo Doval has slid so far down the hierarchy that a move may be coming sooner rather than later, especially with his options situation adding pressure. The position-player side has its own debate, too, with Jasson Domnguez and Jazz Chisholm Jr. both at the center of suggested adjustments as the Yankees look for a cleaner mix and a little more certainty in the lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Just Pushed The Yankees Toward A Brutal Trade Deadline Choice
With Aaron Judge still out and Giancarlo Stanton dealing with injuries, the Yankees are staring at a trade deadline that may demand more than a routine tweak. Brian Cashman has a roster that can still compete, but it looks incomplete enough that the front office may have to weigh moving everyday contributors and pitching depth to shore up the club before the deadline passes.
The rotation picture is part of what makes the decision so tricky. With several starters on the way back from the injured list, the Yankees could soon find themselves with more arms than spots, creating a path to deal from a position of depth while trying to cover the holes left by the lineup's injuries. The challenge is finding the right balance between preserving what the Yankees already have and making enough of a splash to keep pace in a crowded race. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Just Ran Into A Bigger Problem Than One Bad Series
The Yankees split with the Dodgers did more than expose a rough offensive weekend. It reinforced how much the lineup still leans on Aaron Judge, and how thin the margin gets when he is not there to carry the middle of the order. New York managed only five runs across the series, and manager Aaron Boone said the club needs more consistent offense, a reminder that one hot stretch from the bats can hide a lot of underlying issues.
Cody Bellinger is one of the players expected to help steady things, but there is also a broader roster conversation hanging over the club as the trade deadline approaches. If the Yankees are going to keep pace, Brian Cashman may need to look beyond internal fixes and consider upgrades at catcher, along with other moves that could reshape the infield mix. The series in Los Angeles did not just cost them a chance at a cleaner result, it sharpened the question of whether this roster has enough reliable offense as currently built. [Read more 🡒]