Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees Win Pitcher’s Duel to Take Series From Phillies

Gerrit Cole out dueled Aaron Nola while the Yankee bats provided just enough offense.
Joe Najarian|
Yankees Win Pitcher’s Duel to Take Series From Phillies
Yankees Win Pitcher’s Duel to Take Series From Phillies

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New York Yankees

In a hard-fought rubber game on a hazy Wednesday, the New York Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2.

The game had “pitcher’s duel” written all over it, as both teams were starting their respective aces. Coupled with wet, cold and foggy weather, it was a difficult day in the batter’s box, but the Yankees were able to generate just enough runs to win.

Gerrit Cole, making his second start of the year, dazzled once again. Compared to his previous start on Opening Day, Cole didn’t overpower the Phillies’ bats; he had to battle through several at-bats and allowed three walks, the last of which came on a pitch clock violation against Nick Castellanos that ended his day. However, Cole allowed just three hits, struck out eight, and gave the Yankees six scoreless innings before departing with one out and a runner on (Castellanos) in the seventh inning. That run came around to score, but Cole still picked up his second win.

Aaron Nola was the hard-luck loser for the Phillies, going toe-to-toe with Cole and keeping his team in the game. Nola pitched six innings and allowed three runs, seven hits, just one walk, and struck out five. However, he was taken out of the game after walking Oswaldo Cabrera to lead off the seventh; Cabrera would end up scoring.

Offensively, the Yankees were led by the hot bat of Gleyber Torres, who had a three-hit day and drove in his team’s first two runs, while stealing two bases for good measure. Jose Trevino also came up big, as his two-run home run in the seventh inning gave the Yankees much-needed breathing room, and wound up being the decisive blow.

Before Nola settled in, the Yankees got to him in the bottom of the first. Aaron Judge singled with one out, and then challenged J.T. Realmuto’s strong throwing arm by stealing second base. This immediately became important, as Torres followed with a broken-bat single to left field, driving in the Yankee captain for an early 1-0 lead. Torres also tried to swipe a bag, but this time Realmuto’s throw was on the money to end the inning.

After both teams wasted doubles in the second inning, the Phillies got a runner on with two outs in the third; Trea Turner, one of the fastest players in the league, beat out a grounder to Isiah Kiner-Falefa (IKF had replaced Josh Donaldson at third base, as Donaldson left the game with left hamstring tightness). But Cole wouldn’t need to throw any extra pitches, as he promptly picked off Turner at first to end the frame.

Cole got some help from his defense in the fourth inning; with two outs, Darrick Hall ripped a line drive to the right field wall. But right fielder Franchy Cordero played the carom well and fired a strong throw to shortstop Anthony Volpe, who made a lunging tag on Hall to negate an extra-base hit and end the inning.

In the top of the fifth inning, Cole got into a two-out jam by walking Alec Bohm and Jake Cave, but escaped by inducing Cristian Pache to pop out behind home plate. In the bottom of the sixth, the Yankees, who had been dominated by Nola since the first inning, finally broke through with another run. DJ LeMahieu led off with a double into the left-center field gap; after Nola got the next two outs, Torres delivered again with an RBI single up the middle to make it 2-0 Yankees. Torres then successfully stole second, but wound up stranded there.

The Yankees barely escaped danger in the top of the seventh. After Cole struck out Edmundo Sosa, he received a pitch clock violation on a 3-2 count to Castellanos, resulting in a walk. This prompted Aaron Boone to remove his ace and bring in Jonathan Loaisiga, but he quickly got into trouble by allowing a single to Bryson Stott and drilling Bohm in the back to load the bases. Fortunately, Loaisiga managed to limit the damage, only allowing a sacrifice fly to Cave that made it 2-1; pinch-hitter Josh Harrison (batting for Pache) hit a hard grounder to third that was gobbled up by Kiner-Falefa, who stepped on the bag to end the threat.

In the bottom of the seventh, Cabrera worked a leadoff walk to knock Nola out of the game. Gregory Soto replaced him and after striking out Cordero, he got ahead on Trevino with two quick strikes. But the Yankee catcher then fouled off five straight pitches before hammering a down-and-in slider over the left field wall, giving the Yankees some key insurance and a 4-1 lead.

Trevino’s homer immediately became important when Kyle Schwarber made it 4-2 against Loaisiga in the top of the eighth, hitting a screaming line drive into the short porch. The Yankees also missed out on getting that run back in the bottom of the frame, wasting a ground-rule double and a steal of third from Torres, who was stranded despite reaching third with nobody out.

This ultimately wouldn’t matter, though, as Clay Holmes slammed the door in the ninth inning. He struck out Castellanos, Stott, and Bohm in order to pick up his first save of the season and give the Yankees the series win.

The Yankees will travel to Baltimore to play the Orioles; due to a rain-out on Thursday, they will play on Friday instead, which was originally scheduled as an off-day. First pitch will be at 3:05 pm ET.

Follow Joe Najarian on Twitter (@JoeNajarian). Be sure to bookmark Inside The Pinstripes and check back daily for news, analysis and more.

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Joe Najarian
JOE NAJARIAN

Joe Najarian is the Deputy Editor and a writer for the New York Yankees and New York Mets On SI sites. He got his bachelor’s degree in journalism with a specialization in sports from Rutgers University, graduating in 2022. Joe has previously written for Jersey Sporting News and for the New York Giants On SI site. You can follow him on Twitter/X: @JoeNajarian

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