So, as is my way, I have a writing commission to specifically cover the whole month of Yankees baseball in September. So, I headed out from England to take up my seat in The Stadium.

However, when I first arrived this year the Yankees were still on their road trip, so my opening article will just briefly cover that period.

It would be the 5th before the Yankees returned home and prior to that they had a series against Houston. We all know the rivalry that has existed between the teams and their fans for the last several year – they were charged with using artificial methods to steal signs in 2017 and 2018 and found guilty – and that is not easy to forget.

(September 2nd) So, the Yankees entered this series at 76-61 and in second place in the American League East. This meant they were in first place for a Wildcard with Toronto most likely to take the division title.

In the first game, Max Fried led the team to close the gap on Toronto to 2.5 with a 7-1 win. Fried pitched 7 innings , gave up 1 run on 4 hits. This was a second consecutive excellent performance. Paul Blackburn, then, came on for the last two innings. He really is the Yankees mop up guy and in this instance he was used to preserve a strong and clear lead. He gave us just one hit.

Frember Valdez was hard hit by the Yankees offense, giving up 6 runs on 8 hits for his eighth loss of the season. The Yankees who led the way with the bats were Aaron Judge with 2 singles, Jazz Chisholm Jr with 2 homers and a single, and Trent Grisham with a home run and a single.

(September 3rd) The Yankees took an early lead 3-0 in this second game of the series. Jason Alexander who was the Houston starter gave up all those three runs, but things were not going to continue in such a smooth direction. Yankees’ starter, Will Warren was to concede 1 run in the fourth and 1 in the 5th and all of a sudden the Astros were back in it.

Fernando Cruz was to pitch the 6th and Cruz who had been so good since his return from injury in July, gave up the run that tied up the game. Then it was Luke Weaver who gave up a run in the 7th after the Yankees had sneaked 4-3 in this nip-and-tuck game. One of the Yankees’ most frequent mistakes this season has been introducing Devin Williams in tight games, but Aaron Boone never seems to learn by his mistakes when they concern Williams. In this game, Williams was to allow Houston to blow it wide open as he gave up 4 runs on 1 hit and 3 walks to make it 8-4 to the home team. Camilo Doval had to be brought in to get Williams out of his self-created mess.

Even more sadly, there was clear evidence here that if the Yankees had brought in someone else or Williams had been able to do slightly better, then this game was here for the inning. In the 9th, The Yankees were able to take three runs from Bryan Abreu, but fell just short 8-7.

The Yankees’ seven runs came off some strong hitting performances. Giancarlo Stanton hit a home run, Austin Wells who played well in the first game proved what a great clutch hitter with two doubles and a homer. Cody Bellinger was the big guy in that almost recovery in the 9th with his 27th home run. Ryan McMahon who has struggled with the bat since becoming a Yankee, provided a single, a double and a sacrifice fly. Ben Rice had 2 singles in 4 at-bats.

And the series was tied 1-1

(September 4th) So, with the series hanging in the balance, the Yankees nominated Carlos Rodon to go to the mound. He pitched 6 innings for 2 runs (only 1 earned). He gave up 3 hits and 2 walks. In the fifth, he conceded a home run to Yordan Alvarez, which was Alvarez’s fifth of the season.

Luke Weaver replaced him in the 7th with the Yankees ahead 4-2. Weaver is being inconsistent at the moment, and he gave up three hits including an innings opening homer to Jesus Sanchez. Before the end of the seventh, he was replaced by Fernando Cruz who finished out the 7th and stayed on throughout the eighth. He gave up only ine hit and struck out three as the Yankees expanded their lead to 8-3.

Closer, David Bednar was chosen for the 9th even though no save was on the line. He disappointed giving up a run on three hits, but the Yankees won regardless 8-4.

On the offensive side, the key hits came from Ryan McMahon and Trent Grisham. McMahon had a home run (in the 5th) and two singles, and three RBIs. He balanced this though with a fielding error. Grisham had a three-run home run in the eight and a single and displayed exemplary fielding as always.

The Yankees clinched the series and headed back to New York.