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**Note:** Click the headline or visit the website for postgame notables.

Game: 126
Score: New York 5, Baltimore 3
Records: New York [71-55], Baltimore [61-66]
Season Series Record: New York leads 7-2

Starting Pitcher Lines
➡️ New York: Will Warren [4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 90 pitches]
➡️ Baltimore: Chris Bassitt [5.2 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 95 pitches]
Winning Pitcher: Brent Headrick [7-2]
Save: David Bednar [29]
Losing Pitcher: Cam Sanders [1-1]

Box Scores: Statcast | MLB | ESPN

Game: 126
Date: Wednesday, August 19, 2026
Time: 6:35 p.m. ET
Weather: Dugout Radar | Forecast
Venue: Camden Yards, Baltimore, Maryland
Records: New York [70-55 overall; 39-28 away], 2nd, AL East, 5.0 GB; Baltimore [61-65 overall; 32-31 home], 5th, AL East, 14.5 GB
Season Series Record: New York leads 6-2
New York’s Last Game: New York 3, Baltimore 1 | The Ticket: G125
Watch: MLB Network / Amazon Prime Video
Listen: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280

New York – Baltimore Probable Starters | Results
▪️Tonight
New York: RHP Will Warren [8-6, 4.42 ERA, 1.41 WHIP]
Baltimore: RHP Chris Bassitt [4-4, 5.11 ERA, 1.62 WHIP]

▪️Game 3 | Thursday, August 20 | 6:35 p.m. ET
New York: RHP Gerrit Cole [6-6, 3.22 ERA, 1.08 WHIP]
Baltimore: RHP Kyle Bradish [7-11, 3.65 ERA, 1.36 WHIP]

▪️Game 1 | Tuesday, August 18 | New York 3, Baltimore 1
New York: Carlos Rodón [ND; 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 66 pitches]
Baltimore: Shane Baz [L, 4-13; 6.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 10 K, 104 pitches]

MLB: Schedule | Standings

ON DECK
Thursday, August 20: New York at Baltimore, 6:35 p.m. ET | YES Network
Friday, August 21: Toronto at New York, 7:05 p.m. ET | YES Network
Saturday, August 22: Toronto at New York, 1:35 p.m. ET | YES Network

Projected W-L: 90.1-71.9 [⬆ 0.3]
Rest of Season Win Percentage: .544 [⬇ 0.2; 4th-best, MLB; 2nd, AL]
Strength of Schedule: .495 [— ; T19th-strongest, MLB; 8th, AL]
Make Playoffs: 99.6% [⬆ 0.2%]
Clinch Wild Card: 83.3% [⬇ 3.2%]
Clinch Bye: 16.3% [⬆ 3.4%]
Win Division: 16.3% [⬆ 3.4%]
Win World Series: 8.2% [⬆ 0.1%]

[]: Change is over previous day

1️⃣ This morning’s perusal of New York Yankees coverage around the internet was much the same as it has been for a while. Most of the names and numbers change, but the storylines remain constant: the offense is mired in a deep funk and the starting pitching is elite. Oh, and George Lombard Jr. may be the Yankees’ savior.

But The Right Field Porch came across the following excerpt from Ethan Sears in the New York Post’s Beyond The Back Page newsletter:

“The ability to go down to a four-man rotation in the playoffs and move starters to a bullpen that’s been underwhelming plays in the Yankees’ favor as well.”

Sears was analyzing the Yankees’ pitching depth as the regular season winds down, especially now with Carlos Rodón’s return coupled with Max Fried’s second stint on the injured list.

Ideally, a four-man rotation of Gerrit Cole, Cam Schlittler, Fried and Rodón is as stout a gauntlet as a manager can produce. With that postseason alignment, the thought is that Will Warren and Ryan Weathers would transition to the bullpen. And while that move would give the Yankees added depth, The Right Field Porch has been fixated on Sears calling it “a bullpen that’s been underwhelming.”

Is that a typo? We did some research.

▪️Heavy Workload: New York’s bullpen is heavily taxed, ranking 10th in the majors in relief outings (420) and save situations (127). The Yankees rank fourth in high-leverage entries (148) and first in games entered with runners on base (152). Also, they rank third in pitch appearances on zero days’ rest (84).
▪️The Flaws: Sears may be fixating on the bullpen’s 22 blown saves (tied for fifth-most) and 63% save percentage (19th). Those numbers are far from ideal, so Sears has a point — to a degree.

However, New York’s bullpen has also been largely dominant.

▪️ERA Leaderboard: The bullpen boasts a 3.04 ERA — second-best in the majors (0.11 behind Boston, 0.71 ahead of Detroit). Over the last 65 games, the relievers have an MLB-best 2.50 ERA.
▪️Base Quality: The bullpen’s 1.20 WHIP and .221 opponent batting average rank third-best in MLB.
▪️Stranding Runners: Yankees relievers have inherited a major league-high 219 runners and hold an MLB-best 21% inherited runners scored rate — either Tim Hill (6.7%), Brent Headrick (10.3%) and Fernando Cruz (13.6%) ranking first, fourth and sixth, respectively, individually.

Right now, New York’s postseason prospects hinge more on the offense than the pitching. If the Yankees could score more runs in clusters, then some of the negative numbers above would be reduced.

Moving long-relief candidates like Warren or Weathers into multi-inning bullpen roles in October won't just add depth; it will insulate high-leverage arms (David Bednar, Cruz, Headrick) from overuse, keeping them fresh for true high-stakes spots.

So the bullpen might not be as underwhelming as it is overworked.

2️⃣ Cody Bellinger is scheduled for an MLB rehab assignment Thursday with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

➡️ New York, following Tuesday’s 3-1 win at Baltimore, is:
▪️53-46 with Giancarlo Stanton on the injured list
▪️34-32 with Aaron Judge on the injured list
▪️11-10 with Cody Bellinger on the injured list
▪️7-5 with George Lombard Jr. in the lineup
▪️16-13 post-All-Star Game
▪️35-28 in games decided by two or fewer runs
▪️59-35 when hitting at least one home run

➡️ New York won its 70th game of the season Tuesday, marking the 35th consecutive season (excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign) that the franchise has reached that mark. The 1990 team (67-95) was the last Yankees squad that failed to reach 70 wins.

➡️ George Lombard Jr. recorded two hits Tuesday at Baltimore. He has hit safely in nine of his first 12 career games, slashing .293/.370/.463 (12-for-41) with eight runs, a double, two home runs, and three RBIs. … According to FanGraphs, his eight defensive runs saved are tied for third-most among MLB shortstops this season.

➡️ New York’s pitching staff has allowed 467 runs this season—their second-fewest through 125 games in the last 46 162-game seasons, trailing only the 437 allowed in 2022 (excludes the 2020 60-game season and strike-shortened 1981 season).

➡️ Will Warren makes his 13th road start of the season tonight. He’s 4-3 with a 4.45 ERA and 46 strikeouts on the road, having allowed two earned runs or fewer in eight of those 12 outings. The Yankees are 9-3 in his road starts, with those nine wins tied for fifth-most in MLB.

NEW YORK: RHP Will Warren vs. Baltimore (Current Hitters)
Regular Season: 6 GP, 32.0 IP, 3-2 W-L, 0 SV, 3.94 ERA, 37 SO, 9 BB

BALTIMORE: RHP Chris Bassitt vs. New York (Current Hitters)
Regular Season: 9 GP, 56.2 IP, 5-2 W-L, 0 SV, 2.06 ERA, 64 SO, 15 BB

New York
1, Trent Grisham (L), CF
2, Ben Rice (L), DH
3, Luis García Jr. (L), 1B
4, Heliot Ramos (R), LF
5, Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L), 2B
6, Spencer Jones (L), RF
7, Ryan McMahon (L), 3B
8, George Lombard Jr. (R), SS
9, Austin Wells (L), C

Baltimore
1, Jackson Holliday (L), 2B
2, Pete Alonso (R), DH
3, Gunnar Henderson (L), SS
4, Samuel Basallo (L), 1B
5, Coby Mayo (R), 3B
6, Dylan Beavers (L), LF
7, Leody Taveras (S), RF
8, Colton Cowser (L), CF
9, Carlos Narváez (R), C

Catcher (2): Ali Sánchez, Austin Wells.
First base (2): Paul Goldschmidt, Ben Rice.
Second base (1): Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Shortstop (2): José Caballero, George Lombard Jr.
Third base (1): Ryan McMahon.
Infield (2): Luis García Jr., Amed Rosario.
Outfield (3): Trent Grisham, Spencer Jones, Heliot Ramos.
Starting pitchers (5): Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, Ryan Weathers.
Relief pitchers (8): David Bednar, Paul Blackburn, Fernando Cruz, Bradley Hanner, Yerry de los Santos, Brent Headrick, Tim Hill, Ryan Yarbrough.

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G126: New York 5, Baltimore 3

[]: Change is over previous day

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