The New York Yankees have thrown the first two punches in their series with the Philadelphia Phillies.
The visiting Yankees will go for a three-game sweep of the Phillies on Sunday night when the teams conclude their weekend series.
New York comes into this one having captured five of its last six games. The Yankees notched a 1-0 victory in Friday’s series opener and then followed that up with a 3-1 triumph on Saturday.
Austin Wells and Jasson Dominguez each homered in Saturday’s win, while Ryan Weathers pitched into the sixth inning. For Wells, his third homer in nine games came amid rumors that the team could look to upgrade at catcher before the trade deadline.
“All I can do is go play and try to win,” Wells said. “I feel that being behind the plate for our staff and the guys is giving us the best chance to win. I tell myself that. I can’t control anything other than that.”
Cody Bellinger delivered the go-ahead RBI single in the sixth inning, although he later exited with a hamstring injury that will require further testing.
“It just feels a little tight,” Bellinger said. “I really don’t think it’s anything too serious. I feel like it’s on the smaller side.”
Kyle Schwarber, Bryan De La Cruz and J.T. Realmuto each recorded two of the seven hits for the Phillies, who have dropped six of eight since the All-Star break.
“Obviously it hasn’t been great,” Philadelphia interim manager Don Mattingly said. “We haven’t really scored, but the one thing you can rest assured (about) is that nobody is going up there not trying to get hits. … We’ve got to continue to work and keep fighting through it.”
Left-hander Cristopher Sanchez (12-4, 2.65 ERA) takes the mound for his second start since a shaky effort in the All-Star Game. He needed 99 pitches to get through 5 1/3 innings Monday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, although he limited the damage to three runs (two earned) in a 10-7 victory.
“I would have liked to finish that inning up in my last inning out, but those things you can’t control,” Sánchez said via an interpreter.
In two career appearances (one start) against New York, Sanchez is 0-1 with a 10.80 ERA. He also faced Bellinger and Ben Rice in the All-Star Game and allowed run-scoring singles to both Yankees stars.
New York will give the ball to Will Warren (7-4, 4.00), who made a relief cameo in Wednesday’s double-header against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The right-hander threw two-thirds of an inning in the nightcap, allowing one hit and one walk in a 16-pitch effort.
Now, Warren will make his first start since July 12, when he yielded one run in five innings against the Washington Nationals. He originally was slated to start Tuesday’s affair against the Pirates before that game was rained out.
“As a starter, I feel like I’m being crafty and pitching a little more than just the blacked-out adrenaline, throwing as hard as I can in the ninth,” Warren said after facing Pittsburgh.
Warren has made two career starts against the Phillies. He has yet to factor into a decision against Philadelphia while posting a 4.91 ERA.
–Field Level Media
