The Yankees are .500 against teams above .500. They dropped three of four this weekend to the Red Sox, against whom they have won just two of 10 contests this season. Aaron Boone’s bunch has been smacked around by the class of the American League this season, a combined 7-19 against Boston, Toronto, Houston and Detroit.
But beating the best is a challenge for another day. Wrecking the worst can get them to October, too.
That is exactly what they did Monday, when the Yankees made the Nationals pitching staff look as if it does not belong in a 10-5 series-opening destruction in front of 36,939 in The Bronx.
The Yankees (71-60) have won a pair since dropping three straight to the Red Sox, remain 5 ½ games back of the Blue Jays and have to be more comfortable playing the NL East cellar dwellers than the AL contenders.
Ben Rice, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Jasson Domínguez drilled home runs, Cody Bellinger drove in three with a couple clutch at-bats and every Yankees starter tallied at least one hit for eight of the most encouraging, dominant, cleanly played innings of the club’s season. The ninth inning — in which Yerry De los Santos and Mark Leiter Jr. combined to allow five runs — was less aesthetically pleasing.
On a night that celebrated the musical “Hamilton,” Cam Schlittler (six scoreless innings) and the Yankees lineup (12 hits, four walks) got the job done.
There were the hallmarks of the 2025 (and 2024 and 2023 and …) Yankees with the long balls present. Rice cracked a no-doubter deep into the bleachers beyond right-center field in the third inning, the 435-foot shot the deepest of his career.
“When you’re penciled in as catcher, you’re going to prioritize handling your pitcher and getting through that game,” said Rice, who has taken more and more time from Austin Wells. “But you’re also in the lineup to go hit.”
Chisholm added his own, a stylish swing and bat drop in the fifth for his career-best 25th homer of the year and sixth in his past 13 games.
He said his outburst of late is largely because he is healthy, but “70 percent Jazz” also deserves credit.
“I’m trying to keep that swing there,” Chisholm said with a smile.
Domínguez added on with a three-run shot (his first homer since July 23) to turn the game into a laugher in the seventh inning. The Yankees’ 218 home runs are easily the most in the majors.
But there also were encouraging, smaller moments for a team that faces criticism of being too dinger-dependent. Their scoring began in the first, when Bellinger stepped up with runners on the corners.
Watching from the dugout, Boone said “Mr. Sac Fly” was now at the plate before Bellinger, so good at simply putting the ball in play, lifted a sacrifice fly to deep right-center.
During a five-run fifth, José Caballero — starting in place of Anthony Volpe — got a rally started with a single, moved to second on a Trent Grisham single, moved to third on a daring tag-up on a fly out from Rice then scored when Aaron Judge doubled into the right field corner.
Against a drawn-in infield, Bellinger again did well to make contact and knocked a two-run single through the middle before Chisholm’s blast made the rest of the proceedings elementary.
“In those situations, it’s OK, how am I going to try to win this at-bat?” said Bellinger, who is hitting .321 with a .377 on-base percentage with runners in scoring position this year, “and ultimately just try to put the best swing on the pitch I’m looking for.”
The Yankees offense was far better than it needed to be with Schlittler on the mound.
For six strong innings, the hard-throwing righty allowed virtually nothing and technically four hits and three walks while striking out eight.
He came out firing — his 100.6 mph heat that punched out James Wood in the first inning was Schlittler’s fastest pitch of the season — and he returned to that four-seamer when he (infrequently) found himself in trouble.
“He’s good,” Boone said before chuckling to himself. “I mean, he’s good.”