ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Yankees got the early burst they’d been chasing for weeks, then rode it to a 7-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night at Angel Stadium. Spencer Jones launched a two-run homer before an Angel stepped in to bat, Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed with a drive into the left-field corner, and New York had a three-run cushion before the home half of the first even started.
It was the kind of opening that made the rest of the night feel manageable. New York’s offense had been stuck in the first inning for a month, but this time the bats came alive immediately.
The Yankees piled up 14 hits, Jones reached base four times and drove in three runs, and Chisholm finished with three hits. For much of the game, the 10-1 loss from the night before looked like it belonged to some other stretch entirely.
Then the sixth inning showed up again.
That’s where Gerrit Cole’s night bent, just like it did in his previous start against Houston. Cole, making his first full season back from Tommy John surgery, gave up three runs and eight hits over 5⅓ innings with five strikeouts and one walk.
For five innings, he looked like the pitcher New York wants anchoring things in October. But in the sixth, the Angels put together the same kind of trouble that has started to stand out.
Wade Meckler led off with a single. Moises Ballesteros followed with another.
Then Christian Moore lined a two-run triple to right, and a diving Jones couldn’t get there. The Yankees’ 4-1 lead was suddenly 4-3, and the tying run was standing at third.
Cole was lifted after that, his night ending with the game still hanging in the balance.
The inning is the part that matters now. One rough frame is one thing.
Two straight starts with the same late-inning fade is another, especially for a pitcher whose workload has been monitored closely all year after his May debut following elbow surgery. It’s not a crisis.
It is, though, the kind of recurring note a team headed for October cannot just shrug off.
The Yankees escaped the jam thanks to Brent Headrick, who came in and struck out pinch-hitter Jose Siri before getting Oswald Peraza to fly out. The tying run never moved. Headrick has now stranded 38 of 42 inherited runners this season, a quietly huge number for a bullpen that has been asked to protect leads like this one.
“That’s everyone doing a little something tonight,” Aaron Boone said.
Jones, who has kept forcing his way into the conversation, said the early offense changed everything.
“Scoring in the first in any game, especially a game bouncing back after a loss, is huge,” Jones said. “Just being able to play with a lead for the majority of the game and bring the offense early is big for the team.”
Chisholm, who homered right after Jones, had praise for the young outfielder.
“[Jones] is a great player, he’s a great kid,” Chisholm said. “We’ve heard about him for years and now he’s getting a chance to show it. I’m really happy for him.”
The bullpen did more than just clean up Cole’s sixth. Across the last two Yankees games, every runner Cole left behind in the sixth inning has been stranded.
On Monday and Tuesday combined, New York’s relief corps kept those inherited runners from scoring, even while the Angels threatened enough to make things uncomfortable twice in this game. That’s part of why the Yankees haven’t paid for the late-inning issue yet.
It’s also why the issue matters now, before the calendar turns.
The win moved New York to 79-60, still 4½ games behind Tampa Bay in the American League East with 23 games left. The Rays also won, so there was no gain in the division race. But Boston lost, and that pushed the Yankees four games ahead of the Red Sox for the top AL wild card.
Jones kept rolling at the plate, homering for the second straight night and batting .348 with a 1.044 OPS over his last 15 games. Cody Bellinger had three of New York’s 14 hits.
Trent Grisham, who had been stuck in a 2-for-42 slump, fouled off two bunt attempts before lining an RBI single in the eighth. Paul Goldschmidt chipped in with a sacrifice fly.
Aaron Boone also used newcomer John Schreiber, claimed off waivers from Kansas City, and the right-hander retired the side in order in his Yankees debut. That allowed Boone to rest closer David Bednar while Schreiber handled the ninth. Mike Trout went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, ending a 13-game hitting streak against the Yankees.
Grayson Rodriguez took the loss for the Angels, who have dropped nine of 11 and played their first game since Kroenke Sports & Entertainment agreed to buy a controlling interest in the club from Arte Moreno.
The Yankees send Cam Schlittler to the mound Wednesday night against Angels left-hander Reid Detmers in the series finale. Cole’s next outing, and whether the sixth inning turns into a real pattern, will have to wait.
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