Coming off a doubleheader in which every reliever except Kervin Castro pitched, the Yankees could have used more from Ryan Weathers on Monday when he lasted just 4 ²/₃ innings.
But after rough second and third innings, Weathers bore down and managed to record 14 outs, salvaging a night that could have gone much worse.
Weathers gave up one lead but held the next, pitching better as the game wore on and solving a pitch-tipping issue on the fly in what became an 8-5 win over the Pirates in The Bronx.
“I love those outings when it’s a grind, when it’s tough,” manager Aaron Boone said, “and you still give yourself, give your team a chance to win.”
That is what Weathers did in allowing five runs in the second and third innings but settling down afterward.
In the second, the first three Pirates tallied hits, the third of which was an RBI double from Jared Triolo.
From second base, Triolo appeared to be relaying signs to batters concerning when a changeup would be coming.
“I made an adjustment in-game,” Weathers said. “I fired a fastball, and that kind of shut it down.”
The issues were not over, though, with one more RBI single in that inning and a two-run homer from rookie sensation Esmerlyn Valdez in the third.
The homer came off a down-the-middle slider, a pitch Weathers said he struggled with and should have moved away from sooner.
But after Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s second home run of the night keyed a four-run third that gave the Yankees an 8-5 edge, Weathers allowed just a single in the fourth and a walk in the fifth, when he was pulled with two outs and watched Angel Chivilli escape the bit of danger.
“Wasn’t a great one for him, got hit around early on a night we’re up against it pen-wise,” Boone said, “but I love the fact that he hung in there.”
The Yankees still did not have any clarity regarding a timeline for Giancarlo Stanton’s return or rehab assignment or when he will run the bases again.
“I do know he’s continuing the running progression, it’s going pretty well,” Boone said. “But I don’t have a timeline.”
Little is known publicly about the status of Stanton, who Boone said was “moving again with more intensity and hitting against [velocity] again” way back June 29 after his second calf strain.
Since then, the Yankees have said Stanton has continued a running progression but offered little detail otherwise.
The loss of Aaron Judge for an indefinite period has shone a further light on Stanton because the club has not been able to hit without the pair of sluggers.
Stanton played just 24 games this season before going down and had launched three homers while posting a .724 OPS.
The Yankees signed all 20 of their draft picks.
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Their first two selections — Arkansas’ Hunter Dietz and Sean Duncan, out of a high school in Canada — are lefty starters. The other five sole pitchers they selected are righties. They also announced Luke Pettitte as a two-way player, a righty pitcher and first baseman. Andy’s son had been a righty pitcher and slugger at Dallas Baptist.
Otherwise, they selected six infielders, four outfielders, one catcher and one utility player.
The backup catcher for Pittsburgh on Monday was Rafael Flores, whom the Yankees signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022, and who rose through a system that is well-regarded for developing catchers and touched Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last season.
Flores was dealt to the Pirates in the trade that brought David Bednar to The Bronx.
He debuted briefly in June and was called up again earlier this month, showing promise (1.167 OPS) in his early days.
“I really enjoyed Rafa,” Boone said. “We had him in camp [in 2025], before we ended up trading him, and I really liked him, liked his upside. He had a joy for the game that was fun to be around. You could tell he loved the game.”
