Marcus Stroman gives Yankees exactly what they needed in win over Braves
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees. Try it free
ATLANTA — On a day the Yankees had little available in the way of relief, Marcus Stroman provided it in his best start of the season.
After the first two Yankees starters this series put the team in early holes and did not last long, Stroman was sharper than he's been all season to help send the Yankees into a divisional showdown full-steam ahead.
Advertisement
Stroman tossed six innings of one-run ball to keep the Braves at bay and lift the Yankees to a 4-2 win that claimed the series on Sunday afternoon at Truist Park.
Aaron Judge gave Stroman a lead to work with before he even stepped on the mound by crushing his 351st career home run as a Yankee, pulling him into a tie with Alex Rodriguez for sixth-place all-time.
3 Yankees starter Marcus Stroman (l.) and catcher Ben Rice (r.) celebrate during the third inning against the Braves on July 20, 2025.
Getty Images
Advertisement
The Yankees (55-44) will now try to take this momentum into a big series against the Blue Jays in Toronto that starts Monday.
They suffered a four-game sweep at Rogers Centre just two and a half weeks ago, which dropped them out of first place in the AL East, and now the Yankees head back there trailing the Blue Jays by three games.
In the first two games of this series coming out of the All-Star break, the Yankees bullpen had to cover 13 ¹/₃ innings.
Advertisement
Eight of those came in Friday's bullpen game, when Ian Hamilton put them in a 3-0 hole in the first inning, before Will Warren could not make it out of the fourth inning on Saturday.
But Stroman delivered his longest start since last August, scattering five hits and no walks (for the first time this season) while striking out four.
The only damage was Matt Olson's 442-foot solo blast in the sixth inning that landed on the roof of the Chop House in right field.
3 Marcus Stroman pitches for the Yankees against the Braves on July 20, 2025.
Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
Advertisement
In four starts since returning from the injured list for knee inflammation, Stroman has pitched to a 3.00 ERA across 21 innings, providing the Yankees some much-needed stability.
Hamilton relieved Stroman and pitched a quick seventh inning before Tim Hill tossed a scoreless eighth.
Devin Williams then gave up a leadoff home run to Ronald Acuña Jr. in the bottom of the ninth but retired the next three batters for his 14th save.
CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS
Giancarlo Stanton enjoyed another strong day at the plate, going 3-for-5 with three singles that came off the bat at 115.4 mph, 112.8 mph and 94 mph.
The softest of those came with two outs in the first inning, after Judge had already made it a 1-0 game, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Paul Goldschmidt followed with singles to double the lead at 2-0.
3 Aaron Judge reacts after hitting a home run during the first inning in the Yankees' win over the Braves on July 20, 2025.
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Advertisement
In the sixth inning, the Yankees loaded the bases with one out and missed a chance to blow the game open, but settled for one run when Jorbit Vivas was hit by a pitch.
Then, after Olson homered in the bottom of the sixth, the Yankees immediately got the run back in the top of the seventh on Chisholm's RBI double that scored Judge.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
4 minutes ago
- New York Post
Luis Gil could need one more rehab start before Yankees return
Access the Yankees beat like never before Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees. Try it free Luis Gil might need one more minor-league rehab start before the 2024 AL Rookie of the Year comes back to the Yankees for his season debut. Aaron Boone said there's 'probably a good chance' Gil will make another start for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after allowing five earned runs over 3 ¹/₃ innings Wednesday night for the RailRiders. Advertisement 'We haven't made any final decisions on that,' Boone added before Friday's 12-5 loss to the Phillies. 'We'll kind of work through it with this next side [session] and everything.' Gil has been sidelined all season after suffering a lat injury in spring training. Wednesday's outing was his first at Scranton after making two appearances for Double-A Somerset. Luis Gil has not yet pitched in the big leagues this season. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post Advertisement Boone was a midseason pickup by the Yankees in 2003. Like new third baseman Ryan McMahon, who was acquired Friday from MLB-worst Colorado and is expected to be available for Saturday's game, Boone was thrust into a pennant race from the out-of-it Reds. Ryan McMahon is heading to the Yankees in a trade. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Advertisement 'I think it helps having gone through it as a player,' Boone said. 'I was acquired at the deadline, so it's something that I'm very sensitive to, and I try to be really understanding that everyone is different, and you're leaving a place, maybe, where you've been your entire career. CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS 'Just go, do your thing, and go find the role. But it's our job, my job, staff, coaches, players to make sure they're, first of all, welcomed, and and get them as comfortable as possible, as soon as possible.' Advertisement Following the game, the Yankees optioned Scott Effross and Jorbit Vivas to Triple-A. Ryan Yarbrough (oblique strain) was slated to throw what Boone described as a 'touch-and-feel' bullpen session Friday. 'He finally feels like he's through it now, and it's just getting built up,' the manager said. Fernando Cruz (oblique strain) also has resumed his throwing program 'with the hope he would be on the mound sometime next week,' according to Boone. Giancarlo Stanton ripped his 435th career home run to tie Carlos Beltran for 47th on the all-time list, one more than Andruw Jones and Juan Gonzalez.
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Adding Ryan McMahon was a start. Now the Yankees need a bullpen boost
NEW YORK – In-transit to New York, the newly acquired Ryan McMahon solid glove and lefty swing might not have saved the Yankees on Friday night. '(He's) a really good player, great defender,'' said Paul Goldschmidt. 'He's a good hitter and he's going to help us.'' Beginning Saturday afternoon, McMahon at least addresses the Yanks' glaring third base problem, but there's still a rotation that needs upgrading and a bullpen that badly needs a transfusion. And there was just enough lousy defense – though not from the usual suspects – to further lament a 12-5 Philadelphia Phillies' win at Yankee Stadium, though Kyle Schwarber did the heavy lifting. Kyle Schwarber's perfect Stadium swing wrecks Yankees With his built-for-the-Bronx swing, the lefty hitting Schwarber mashed a pair of two-run homers, most notably to extend a one-run Philly lead in the eighth. That homer came with two out, after the unreliable Ian Hamilton unforgivably walked Trea Turner ahead of Schwarber and then fell behind a hitter with (now) 36 home runs. And the Yankees had no lefty reliever to combat Schwarber (or Bryce Harper behind him), because they'd already employed their lone overworked lefty, Tim Hill. 'It's a challenge right now, but we've got to have guys step up,'' Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of a worn bullpen that isn't as deep or dynamic as in recent pinstriped seasons. In the Phils' four-run seventh, Weaver yielded a tie-breaking three-shot to J.T. Realmuto – the sixth homer Weaver has surrendered since May 31, preceding a hamstring injury. By the ninth inning, Scott Effross (4 runs, 8.44 ERA) was backing up bases, then soon packing for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, optioned with Jorbit Vivas to accommodate McMahon and a fresh bullpen arm. Yankees' internal, external bullpen help Relievers Fernando Cruz (oblique), Mark Leiter Jr. (leg stress fracture) and Yerry de los Santos (elbow) are trending toward August returns, and lefty Ryan Yarbrough (oblique) is building up again. Luis Gil (lat) is likely looking at one more minor league rehab start before he's added to the rotation, and maybe Friday's starter Will Warren moves to the 'pen, though that's merely speculative. But that doesn't help the Yankees right now as they watch the AL East-leading Toronto Blue Jays slip further away, with a 5.5 game division cushion entering Saturday. So, getting McMahon from the Colorado Rockies for two not-top-tier minor league pitchers (and absorbing a $16 million annual salary through 2027) was a pinstriped start. 'All lines are in the water right now. There's a lot of talk, you never know what's going to happen,'' said Boone, on the topic of acquiring bullpen help before the July 31 MLB trade deadline. In that realm, the likes of right-handers David Bednar (costly), Jhoan Duran (more costly) and Ryan Helsley could be in play, along with lefty Danny Coulombe, but the demand is high. And what's your strategy to add a starter? Is it to try to pry away controllable pitchers like Joe Ryan, Mitch Keller or Edward Cabrera? Is it to land one of the Arizona free agent walk year starters, Merrill Kelly or Zac Gallen? Or do you just try to add relatively less expensive veteran depth like Charlie Morton or Adrian Houser? Yankees' on-field mistakes continue 'We're in a good spot to make a run here,'' said Austin Wells, who launched one of four Yankee solo home runs – along with Cody Bellinger, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Volpe, on his bobblehead night. But Warren, who was otherwise efficient, yielded a two-strike hit to Trea Turner ahead of Schwarber's homer in the fifth – two costly mistakes. Warren's throwing error on a potential double play comebacker didn't cost him runs, and all four Philly runs in the seventh were still earned despite Goldschmidt's rare throwing error. Instead of pocketing a slowly hit, wide of first grounder, Goldschmidt threw wide of home, where the fast Turner was likely to score anyway. It just allowed Nick Castellanos to take an extra base, and he soon trotted home on the Realmuto three-run blast. 'Too aggressive of a play by me. A mistake,'' said Goldschmidt, whose defense is the least of worries in the Bronx. 'There's really good teams in our division,'' said Goldschmidt, with the Yanks now in jeopardy of losing their top AL wild card spot. 'We still have a lot of confidence in ourselves.'' This article originally appeared on Adding Ryan McMahon was a start. Now the Yankees need a bullpen boost
San Francisco Chronicle
34 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Eovaldi pitches 5 scoreless innings as Rangers beat Braves 8-3
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Nathan Eovaldi pitched three-hit ball over five scoreless innings in his first start since the All-Star break and the Texas Rangers beat the Atlanta Braves 8-3 on Friday night. Eovaldi (8-3) threw 53 of his 86 pitches for strikes as Texas won its fourth straight and handed Atlanta a third straight loss. He struck out seven but walked a season-high four. It was also Eovaldi's first start since the Rangers paid him a $100,000 All-Star Game bonus even though the 35-year-old wasn't selected despite a 7-3 record and a 1.58 ERA. He missed his first start after the break — a matchup with AL All-Star starter Tarik Skubal and the Tigers — with back tightness. Sam Haggerty singled leading off the first against Joey Wentz (2-2) before stealing his 10th base and scoring on a sacrifice fly by Marcus Semien for a 1-0 lead. Jonah Heim hit his ninth home run — a two-out shot in the second for a 2-0 lead. Wyatt Langford had a two-out RBI double in the fourth and Sam Haggerty doubled in a run in the fifth for a 4-0 advantage. Three singles, two walks, a hit batter and a sac fly led to four runs in the eighth. Michael Harris II hit his eighth home run — a leadoff shot off Jacob Latz in the seventh to cut it to 4-1. Austin Riley went 0 for 4 in his first game for Atlanta since suffering an abdominal strain on July 11. Key moment Texas had allowed two runs or fewer in a club-record-tying seven straight games until Caleb Boushley surrendered two in the ninth to end the run. Key stat Seager is the only player to have an on-base streak of 24-plus games in each of the last three seasons. Up next ___
