MLB

Pittsburgh Pirates at New York Yankees

· Major League Baseball
Pittsburgh Pirates
76-85, 37-43 Away
Final
9 - 4
New York Yankees
93-68, 43-37 Home

Skenes 2 perfect innings in Bronx debut, Yankees clinch AL home field despite 9-4 loss to Pirates

New York (93-68) later clinched home-field advantage throughout the American League playoffs when Cleveland (92-69) lost to Houston. The Yankees won the season series against the Guardians and hold the tiebreaker.

Yasmani Grandal and Nick Gonzales hit solo homers in the first four innings off Gil (15-7). Rookie Billy Cook in the fifth and Jared Triolo in the sixth added two-run drives. Nick Yorke hit a two-run homer in the ninth against Will Warren.

New York has lost four of five and opens the AL Division Series at home Oct. 5.

Aaron Judge followed his third game off this season with his third five-strikeout game, his first since May 5, 2021.

In front of 46,069, New York’s 17th home sellout, Skenes threw 23 pitches to six hitters. He threw four over 100 mph, including three to Juan Soto and Aaron Judge.

“He was outstanding,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We knew it was going to be a shorter start. This is a really tough lineup and he executed pitches throughout the first six hitters.”

With girlfriend and LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne in the stands, Skenes threw a 99.8 mph fastball on the high, outside corner that Soto took for a called third strike. Judge struck out swinging at a sweeper that was outside.

A top contender for NL Rookie of the Year, the 22-year-old right-hander finished 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts and 133 innings — 29 innings shy of qualifying for the National League ERA title. He struck out 170 and walked 32.

“It was cool definitely glad to be able to finish the season,” Skenes said. “Cool to do it here, cool to do it against this lineup.”

Skenes is the first rookie pitcher with a sub-2.00 ERA and at least 23 starts in a season since Scott Perry for the 1918 Philadelphia Athletics, according to STATS,

“I wish I saw some more pitches,” Yankees catcher Austin Wells said. “He looked good out there and got six outs and that’s all I really saw.”

Gil allowed six runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings, finishing with a 3.50 ERA. He had only allowed 14 homers in his first 28 starts.

“He’s had a great year,” Wells said. “Being a rookie starting pitcher for the Yankees and putting up what he did, he’s been amazing.”

Gonzales homered for the second straight game, a drive after his bat slipped away taking a practice swing in the on-deck circle. Yorke clanged his second career homer off the left-field foul pole.

“The guy that started for them is probably going to be the Rookie of the Year in the American League and is a special young arm, special pitcher and the fact that we had good at-bats and was able to grind, I was really proud of our group,” Shelton said.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. broke up Pittsburgh’s no-hit bid in the fifth with his 11th homer since being acquired from the Marlins on July 27 and then added an RBI double in the eighth. Soto hit an RBI single but ended the seventh by overrunning second base.

Mike Burrows (1-0), who underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow April 26, 2023, followed Skenes and threw 68 pitches over 3 1/3 innings to win in his major league debut. David Bednar struck out Chisholm to strand the bases loaded in the sixth.

Former Yankee Aroldis Chapman struck out Judge and retired Wells with the bases loaded for his 14th save in 19 chances.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: Anthony Rizzo fractured the fourth and fifth fingers of his right hand when he was hit by RHP Ryan Borucki’s 88.2 mph slider in the seventh. Rizzo was replaced by INF Oswaldo Cabrera starting the eighth. Rizzo’s postseason status is uncertain.

UP NEXT

LHP Bailey Falter (8-9, 4.26) closes the regular season for the Pirates. RHP Clarke Schmidt (5-5, 2.55), a candidate for New York’s postseason rotation, makes his fifth start since returning a strained lat that sidelined him for more than three months.

How can I watch Pittsburgh Pirates vs. New York Yankees?
  • TV Channel: Pirates at Yankees 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.TV.
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Matchup Prediction

Yankees: 62.8%
Pirates: 37.2%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Wells lined out to left.
9th Inning Judge struck out swinging.
9th Inning Chapman relieved Beeks
9th Inning Soto walked, Berti to second, Cabrera to third.
9th Inning Domínguez struck out swinging.
9th Inning Berti singled to center, Cabrera to second.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/pit.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originPIT https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/nyy.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originNYY
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
0 Hit By Pitch 1
0 Ground Balls 0
12 Strikeouts 11
9 Runs Batted In 3
0 Sacrifice Hit 0
8 Hits 7
1 Stolen Bases 0
2 Walks 6
0 Catcher Interference 0
9 Runs 4
0 Ground Into Double Play 0
0 Sacrifice Flies 0
35 At Bats 33
5 Home Runs 1
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
4 Runners Left On Base 23
0 Triples 0
0 Game Winning RBIs 0
0 Intentional Walks 0
0 Doubles 1
0 Fly Balls 0
0 Caught Stealing 0
141 Pitches 166
0 Games Started 0
0 Pinch At Bats 0
0 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
1 Is Qualified In Steals 0
23 Total Bases 11
37 Plate Appearances 40
810.0 Projected Home Runs 162.0
5 Extra Base Hits 2
6.7 Runs Created 4.5
.229 Batting Average .212
.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.657 Slugging Percentage .333
.514 Secondary Average .303
.270 On Base Percentage .350
.927 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .683
0.0 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.0
6.7 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 4.7
60.0 Batter Rating 26.0
7.0 At Bats Per Home Run 33.0
1.00 Stolen Base Percentage 0.00
3.81 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 4.15
.429 Isolated Power .121
0.17 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.55
.054 Walks Per Plate Appearance .150
.286 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average .091
18.0 Runs Produced 7.0
1.0 Runs Ratio 0.8
0.7 Patience Ratio 0.5
0.2 Balls In Play Average 0.3
99.0 MLB Rating 76.5
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Yankee Stadium

Location: Bronx, New York
Attendance: 46,069 | Capacity:

2024 National League Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Milwaukee 93 69 .574 - L1
St. Louis 83 79 .512 10 W1
Chicago 83 79 .512 10 L1
Cincinnati 77 85 .475 16 W1
Pittsburgh 76 86 .469 17 L1

2024 American League East Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
New York 94 68 .580 - W1
Baltimore 91 71 .562 3 W3
Boston 81 81 .500 13 W1
Tampa Bay 80 82 .494 14 L1
Toronto 74 88 .457 20 L3
Full Standings