NEW YORK — Clarke Schmidt didn’t hesitate. The New York Yankees starting pitcher was asked if his club had just experienced its best win of the season. Not its biggest or most important. But the win that felt like the best.
“I would say this may be the most memorable win of my career so far here,” he said.
Schmidt didn’t appear to be speaking in hyperbole — or at least not intentionally.
The Yankees’ 5-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox likely boasted some of the loudest moments Yankee Stadium has experienced all year.
Probably the best image of the Yankees’ dugout after Aaron Judge’s grand slam.
Pandemonium. pic.twitter.com/BN0gCKOXeg
— Brendan Kuty 🧟♂️ (@BrendanKutyNJ) September 14, 2024
The tale of the tape?
• A go-head grand slam from Aaron Judge that erased a 4-1 deficit in the seventh inning and snapped the slugger’s 16-game homeless streak — the longest of his career. It was Judge’s MLB-most 52nd home run. The Yankees were down 4-0 to start the frame, and their four-run deficit matched their biggest comeback in a win this season (also four runs on March 28 at the Houston Astros).
• Some of the loudest moments of the season, including Judge’s post-homer curtain call and the final out of Luke Weaver’s scoreless two-inning save. The Yankees have been searching for their next closer, and Weaver may be showing signs that he can handle the role.
• Another impressive start from Schmidt, who’s making a strong case to be included in the postseason rotation. Schmidt allowed two runs over 5 2/3 innings, striking out five while walking one and giving up five hits, including a two-run homer to Masataka Yoshida. Schmidt was bested by his counterpart Richard Fitts, who threw five scoreless innings. It was payback for Fitts, who was traded by the Yankees to Boston in the deal that brought Alex Verdugo to the Bronx last offseason.
• The Yankees’ lead atop the American League East extended to three games over the second-place Baltimore Orioles — their biggest division cushion since June. The Yankees (86-62) own the best record in the AL and the third-best in the majors. They have 14 games remaining.
At one point Friday, third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., who was traded to the Yankees from the Miami Marlins at the deadline, walked up to manager Aaron Boone.
“This is pretty sick,” Chisholm told Boone.
What did Boone think?
“It felt pretty turned up, as the kids like to say,” he said.
But was it the Yankees’ best win?
Baseball Reference features a statistic it calls its Championship Leverage Index. How it works is simple: “The importance of (each) game to the team’s probability of winning the World Series.” For example, a 1.0 would be an average win.
Entering Friday, the Yankees’ biggest win of the season was their July 13 road win over the Orioles, according to Baseball Reference, which gave it a 1.79 in its Championship Leverage Index.
The website hadn’t assigned a value to Friday’s win as of late Friday night. But it figures to rank high.
Other candidates for the Yankees’ best win this season? A subjective list:
July 27: The Yankees were down 8-7 going into the ninth, but Trent Grisham’s RBI double sent it to extra innings and Austin Wells (sacrifice fly) and Gleyber Torres (two-run double) played heroes to seal it in extras.
July 30: The Yankees beat the Phillies, 7-6, on the road in 12 innings. Will Warren filled in admirably in his MLB debut for Gerrit Cole, who was scratched with general body fatigue. Clay Holmes blew the save, but the Yankees scored once in the 11th and again in the 12th to win it. Michael Tonkin finished the game with two innings and no earned runs.
June 2: A 7-5 win over the San Francisco Giants on the road in which the Yankees were down 5-3 going into the ninth inning and scored four runs to win. Juan Soto’s two-run blast put the Yankees ahead for good.
As for Friday?
“That was one of those cool regular-season moments you get at Yankee Stadium,” Boone said.
(Photo of Aaron Judge: Luke Hales / Getty Images)
