As you will have seen in our batting coverage, the Yankees had another bad month in July. They are very thankful indeed for the start they had before June.

July was 11 wins and 13 losses. Imagine how it would have been if it wasn’t for the 5 straight wins they racked up between the 27th and the 31st of the month. They bounced back from a one game deficit in Boston to take the series 2-1, and then swept the National League’s strongest, Philadelphia 3 games to zero.

During that period the pifching started to bounce back after what had been otherwise a very weak month – especially for the starting rotation.

Let’s take a look at the pitching stats:

* indicates left-handed pitcher. No * indicates right-handed pitcher

Name/Pos	W	L	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	WHIP
Yoendrys Gomez rp	0	0	0.00	2	0	2	0	0	3.2	4	0	0	1	1	1.36
Tommy Kahnle rp	0	1	1.50	13	0	2	0	0	12.0	8	3	2	4	15	1.00
Jake Cousins rp	0	0	2.77	12	0	2	0	0	13.0	6	4	4	4	19	0.77
Luis Gil sp	2	2	3.33	5	5	0	0	0	27.0	20	10	10	8	33	1.04
Clay Holmes rp	1	1	3.38	10	0	8	0	3	10.2	11	7	4	4	11	1.41
Josh Maciejewski rp*	0	0	3.60	2	0	2	0	0	5.0	4	2	2	1	6	1.00
Luke Weaver rp	0	1	3.60	11	0	1	0	0	15.0	10	6	6	6	17	1.07
Caleb Ferguson rp*	0	0	3.68	9	0	5	0	0	7.1	7	5	3	3	9	1.36
Carlos Rodon sp*	2	2	4.05	5	5	0	0	0	26.2	19	12	12	10	37	1.09
Tim Hill rp*	2	0	4.09	8	0	0	0	0	11.0	9	5	5	2	5	1.00
Mark Leiter jr rp	0	0	4.50	2	0	0	0	0	2.0	4	1	1	1	2	2.50
Gerrit Cole sp	2	1	4.91	4	4	0	0	0	22.0	26	12	12	6	27	1.45
Michael Tonkin rp	1	1	5.02	10	0	2	0	0	14.1	10	9	8	7	16	1.19
Marcus Stroman sp	0	2	5.50	4	4	0	0	0	18.0	26	14	11	5	13	1.72
Will Warren sp	0	0	6.75	1	1	0	0	0	5.1	4	4	4	2	6	1.13
Nestor Cortes sp*	1	2	6.93	5	5	0	0	0	24.2	30	19	19	9	24	1.58
Name/Pos	W	L	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	WHIP

Starters

The Yankees used 6 starters across the month. Clarke Schmidt is still out injured. Gerrit Cole missed a start at the end of the month because of body fatigue. Will Warren was brought up from Scranton to stand in the gap. It didn’t work out too well. He lasted 5.1 innings for 4 runs on 4 hits. Consequently, he came away with a 6.75 ERA.

Cole came away with 2 wins and 1 loss despite a below par month. A WHIP of 1.45 was higher than Warren’s. He achieved 27 strikeouts but also conceded 26 hits. He’s still not really bounced back from his injuries.

Other starters were little better. Marcus Stroman and Nestor Cortes struggled badly. Stroman’s WHIP of 1.72 was the worst on the team. Between them they were only 1-4 with Cortes taking the only win. Cortes’ 6.93 was the weakest ERA on the team.

It could be argued, and it is probably true, that the best starter in June was Nestor Cortes. However, despite this he was heavily criticised in the New York press and whether because of that or some other reason, he fell appart in July. His ERA was as mentioned the worst on the team and his WHIP second worst with only Marcus Stroman suffering more in that category. Across 3 of his 5 games, Cortes lasted less than 5 innings per game and conceded an aggregate of 15 runs. He took two losses and the one win was more than a little fortunate.

Carlos Rodon was better than most. He came away with 2 wins, 2 losses and 1 no-decision. He led the team with 37 strikeouts. His WHIP of 1.09 was also one of the better stats on the team. He produced an average of a little over 5 innings per outing. However, the less obvious factors were that he lost the first two starts of the month. In the second and third starts he lasted less than 5 innings. The good news is that he took a turn for the better in his 4th and 5th starts (7 innings and 6 1/3 respectively) during which he conceded only 3 runs. He took the win in both games. As a pitcher who struggled in 2023 and has had an uneven season so far this year, this may indeed be a crucial turning point for Rodon.

The best of the starters this month was Luis Gil, but on some occasions he does look a little laboured. He has exceeded his previous inning total for a season by nearly 83 innings, so it is hardly surprising that he looks more comfortable in shorter outings. In July, his longest outing (6.2 innings) resulted in a loss. He pitched more innings this month than any of the other starters and his WHIP of 1.04 continues to be commendable.

Relievers

The Yankees brought some new relievers in before the trade deadline.

One, Enyel De Los Santos arrived too late to make an appearance. Another, Mark Leiter jr has strong family connections in the Bronx with both Mark sr and uncle Al having both played for the Pinstripes.

Leiter hasn’t had the best of times at his new club. He gave the Yankees 2 innings in 2 appearances, but also gave up 4 hits and shows a markedly poor 2.50 WHIP. Sometimes a move to a new city brings an upswing in fortune, This hasn’t been the case so far for Leiter. During his time this season with the Chicago Cubs, he took 4 losses and a 4.21 ERA but a solid WHIP. Leiter cost the Yankees two minor leaguers – Benjamin Cowles (shortshop) and Jack Neely (pitcher). The Yankees will be looking for a better return for their investment.

Outgoing in the De Los Santos trade was outfielder Brandon Lockridge. Incoming with De Los Santos was Thomas Balboni jr, a right handed pitcher.

The Yankees also took the opportunity to give up on LHP Caleb Ferguson, who has been a washout since he joined the Yankees from the Dodgers. He has now joined Houston and the Yankees have received minor league pitcher, Kelly Austin, as well as cash considerations which are designated for the international pool in return.

Most used relief pitcher and also the most dependable was Tommy Kahnle. He played in 13 games and contributed 12 innings. He took his first loss of the season in a home game when the Yankees were facing the Red Sox. However, there were 6 games in which he gave up no hits and no runs, including 4 of the 5 wins that came in sequence at the end of the month.

Jake Cousins and Luke Weaver who have been the great surprises out of the bullpen this year. Between them they appeared in 23 games this month and continued to excel. Cousins’ 0.77 WHIP and 2.77 ERA show just how strong he is. Weaver took a loss, but again his 1.07 WHIP and 17 strikeouts (second only to Cousins) show his continuing value.

Clay Holmes and Michael Tonkin played in 10 games each. Tonkin had his weakest month since becoming a Yankee, and Holmes continues to be a confidence player who wobbles as soon as things start to go wrong, In 8 finishes to games, he achieved 3 saves, but also blew 3 saves. He also lost a game.

Ferguson, who we have already mentioned, had a reasonably good month with a 3.68 ERA in 9 games. However, it was too little, too late and the Yankees had already decided his fate.

Another lefthander, Tim Hill was not on his best form this month. He pitched in 8 games. He took two wins. He had a WHIP of 1.00 in those games, but more problematic was the fact that his appearances in the game on Independence Day when the Yankees faced Cincinnati and 20 days later against the Mets saw him concede 2 earned runs in each game. This left him with an ERA of 4.09 on the month.

The rest of the bullpen were merely bitplayers. Yoendrys Gomez and Josh Maciejewski both appeared in 2 games. They both did well. Maciejewski pitched to a count of six strikeouts in 5 innings. Both gave up 4 hits, but Gomez pitched less innings. Ultimately, both had their merit as they became one of the 26th players on the roster.