Yankees ready for battle against the Reds

When and where to see

Tonight: Coverage on YES and the YES app begins at 6:00 p.m. with today’s Yankees batting practice

Tomorrow: YES and the YES app will air the postgame show after the game on Prime, where coverage begins at 6:30 p.m.

Thursday: Coverage on YES and the YES app begins at 12:00 p.m. with today’s Yankees batting practice

Pinstripe Pulse

The Yankees begin their final home stand before the All-Star break, a six-game series that includes three games against Cincinnati followed by three against Boston. At 54-32, the Yanks have the third-best record in the American League and are just a few percentage points behind Baltimore for first place in the AL East. Aaron Judge has already clinched a berth in the All-Star Game by leading the AL in Phase 1 of voting, now Juan Soto is vying for a berth in Phase 2, which runs through noon tomorrow. Gleyber Torres has recorded three straight games with multiple hits after taking a few days off during the last week of June. DJ LeMahieu recorded two extra-base hits during the Yankees’ final series in Toronto after going 73 at-bats without a single hit in his first 23 games this season. Ben Rice has recorded an extra-base hit in two back-to-back games, the first of his career. Trent Grisham had a .938 OPS in 46 at-bats in June, a huge jump from his .341 in 48 at-bats from the start of the season through May. Tommy Kahnle has thrown 6.1 scoreless innings in his last eight appearances.

How about that

What a month Aaron Judge just had. His .409 batting average, 37 RBI, .514 OBP and .864 SLG all led the majors. He now has 82 RBI for the season, the fourth-most in Yankees history for a player through June, and if, as expected, he wins the AL Player of the Month award again like he did in May, Judge would be the first Yankee to earn the honor in back-to-back months since Don Mattingly did so in August and September of his 1985 MVP season. With 31 home runs in 86 team games, he’s one home run faster than he was at the same time in 2022, when he was on his way to 62 and the all-time AL crown for most home runs in a season.

Know the enemy

At 39-45, the Reds are 4.5 games below the cut-off in the National League wild card picture. After his impressive debut last season, 22-year-old Elly De La Cruz has continued to electrify baseball, setting an MLB record with 40 total bases. No one else has even managed 30. De La Cruz has also had 35 extra-base hits this season, including 14 home runs, which puts him tied for the team lead with Jeimer Candelario. Jonathan India and Jake Fraley have the club’s two best batting averages at .278 and .274, respectively. Fraley, Stuart Fairchild, Will Benson and Spencer Steer all have double-digit steals, along with De La Cruz. Cincinnati’s 2.65 bullpen ERA since May 18 is third-best in the major leagues behind the Phillies (2.21) and Guardians (2.54). Closer Alexis Diaz has allowed only three earned runs in his last 15 appearances and has used all ten of his save opportunities during that time.

Possible starters

Luis Gil will face Graham Ashcraft, who allowed six runs to the Pirates last Wednesday in his return to the major leagues after being demoted to the minors three weeks earlier, in the series opener. Carlos Rodón will face Andrew Abbott tomorrow. Marcus Stroman is scheduled to face Thursday’s series finale in a July 4 matinee; Cincinnati will face Frankie Montas, who was signed by the Reds in the offseason after spending over a year with the Yankees but was limited to 44 innings, including one postseason appearance, due to shoulder problems.

Major League Cricket with MI New York

YES and Willow by Cricbuzz, which offers more live, streaming and on-demand cricket than any other sports service, have partnered to broadcast seven matches featuring reigning Major League Cricket champions MI New York in the upcoming MLC season. These matches will be available on both YES and the YES app, as well as Willow by Cricbuzz’s TV network and streaming platform from 3:30pm on Friday. MI New York’s season opener will see the club, led by elite West Indian batsman Kieron Pollard, take on the Seattle Orcas, who were runners-up in 2023.

Yankees News and Views: Mike Mills

Last Friday a new edition of Yankees news and views was released on the YES app! Jack Curry speaks with Mike Mills, a co-founder of REM, a band that has been nominated for 13 Grammy Awards over three decades. Mills talks about a variety of other topics, including his childhood as a passionate sports fan in Georgia, his experiences as an Atlanta Braves fan, and his work with The Baseball Project, a band that writes songs about life using baseball as a metaphor. You can watch the video version exclusively on the YES app, or listen to an audio-only version on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.