Luis Gil Leads Yanks in Game 1 in St. Louis
Lineups as Luis Gil Battles Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals had Lars Nootbaar leading off and playing left field. Masyn Winn was playing shortstop and batted second. Alec Burleson batted third and was the first baseman. Iván Herrera batted fourth and was the designated hitter. Garrett Hampson pinch ran for him in the eighth inning and stayed in the game as the designated hitter. Nolan Gorman was the third baseman and batted fifth. Jordan Walker was the right fielder and batted sixth. Thomas Saggese was the second baseman and batted seventh. Pedro Pagés was the catcher and batted eighth. In the ninth inning, Yohel Pozo pinch-hit for him. Victor Scott II was the center fielder and batted ninth.
For the Yankees in support of Luis Gil, Trent Grisham played center field and led off. Ben Rice was the catcher and batted second. He was replaced by Austin Wells in the ninth inning. Aaron Judge played designated hitter and batted third. Cody Bellinger was the first base. He moved to left field in the eighth inning. He batted fourth. Jazz Chisolm Junior was the second baseman and batted fifth.Â
Anthony Volpe was the shortstop and batted sixth. Jasson Dominguez was the left fielder and batted seventh. Paul Goldschmidt (he must be okay) came in for him in the eighth inning. He played first base. Ryan McMahon was the third baseman and batted eighth. José Caballero was the right fielder and batted ninth.
News and Notes
The Cardinals are exactly a .500 team. They have been mediocre all season. They did not trade many of their players at the trade deadline, as they were rumored to do. And most of their players, for the once proud franchise, have been having a poor season.
The Yankees probably have a pitching advantage in this game. Luis Gil appeared to be getting healthy in his last start, pitching much better than he did in his first outing. A healthy Luis Gil is important to the Yankees. In 2026, imagine a Yankee starting pitching rotation with Garritt Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, and a healthy Luis Gil. With the emergence of youngsters Will Warren and Cam Schlittler, the Yankees are in good shape next season.
Ben Rice is drawing rave reviews for his work at catcher. He has worked hard on his defense, and it shows. Austin Wells has played so poorly this season that Rice could end up as the starting catcher before the end of this season.
Game Reaction
Even though this game was at 8:15 at night, it was 95 degrees in St. Louis. Thank God, there is no longer artificial turf at Busch Stadium.
It is Major League Baseball players’ weekend. We saw all manner of brightly colored bats, gloves, arm sleeves, pads, and cleats.
Interestingly, the St. Louis Cardinals’ starting pitcher, Andre Pallante, has gotten worse as the year has gone on.
The first inning home run by Chisolm Jr. was the Yankees’ league-leading 35th. The Cardinals have 7, last in baseball.
Scoring Summary
In the first inning, Judge grounded out and Grisham scored. The Yankees led 1-0. Then, Chisolm Jr. hit a two-run home run, scoring Rice. The Yankees led 3-0.
In the third inning, Dominguez singled and Chisolm Jr. scored. The Yankees led 4-0.
In the sixth inning, Winn and Nootbaar scored. It was 4-1 Yankees.
In the seventh inning, Scott II doubled and Walker scored. It was 4-2 Yankees. Then, on a wild pitch from Weaver, Pages scored, and it was 4-3 Yankees.
Conclusion
Luis Gil continued to pitch well; he is getting healthier. That is good news for the Yankees going forward. However, serious problems on this team continue to exist. The Yankees find themselves in a spot where they need to win almost every game. The Yankees do not practice fundamentals, and it shows. With that managerial shortcoming, Yankee fans wonder whether Yankee manager Aaron Boone is trying to deliberately sabotage the Yankees. The Yankees and Cardinals play again tomorrow at 7:15 p.m., which is the Fox game. The game has a fascinating pitching matchup. Max Fried is pitching for the Yankees, and former Yankee Sonny Gray pitches for the Cardinals.
