Yankees win as Ernie “Let’s play two” Banks gets his wish

The Yankees and Cubs must have sworn that Mr. Cub was in the ballpark last night as they “played two” for the price of one in an epic Sunday Night Baseball battle that ended on Monday. Oh, by the way, the Yankees won.

The Yankees limped into Cincinnati in the wee hours of the morning with the best record in baseball at 20-9, comforted only by the fact that they are not the Cubs who lost an epic 18-inning battle that stretched well into Monday morning for fans on the East Coast.

In a game filled with oddities, Aroldis Chapman did the unthinkable when he blew his first save of the year forcing the game into extra innings. The game also included the following:

****The Cubs used three different starting pitchers as pinch hitters

****Forty-eight batters came to the plate and struck out, a new record for two teams. Aaron Hicks and Chase Headley took home the door prizes with four apiece.

****Fifteen pitchers combined to throw 583 pitches and both starting pitchers, Luis Severino (111) and Jon Lester (120) accounted for a good portion of them as they each hurled seven effective innings.

****Starlin Castro, Didi Gregorius, Chase Headley, and Austin Romine went a combined 0-30 in the game.

****Combined, the Yankees (1-13) and Cubs (2-15) went 3-28 with runners in scoring position, leaving a total of twenty-nine runners stranded on the basepaths.

And that’s only from a quick scan of the box score. The Yankees win completed an unlikely sweep of the Cubs at Wrigley Field and further solidifies the team’s dominance as they climb to eleven games over .500 for the season.

Tanaka needs a save

Following last night’s marathon, the good news is that Masahiro Tanaka is scheduled to make the 7:10 P.M. start against the Reds. Hopefully, the Yankees put him on a plane yesterday afternoon to give him a full night’s rest, because he’s going to need it given the Yankees depleted bullpen.

More from Yanks Go Yard

• Red Sox living in different financial ‘galaxy’ than Yankees Killer Rafael Devers
• Yankees slice surprising fan favorite off roster to make room for Tommy Kahnle
• Yankees announce corresponding move, make Carlos Rodón signing official
• Aaron Judge puts more pressure on Yankees after being named Captain
• Carlos Correa-Giants-Mets bombshell makes Aaron Judge’s return to Yankees even better

Tanaka is the right man for that job as he is averaging a little over six innings in each of six starts this season.

For Joe Girardi, he needs to rest a few of his regulars and especially some of the “older” guys like Brett Gardner, Chase Headley, and possibly Jacoby Ellsbury. The problem for Girardi, though, is that everyone else played most or all of the game too.

It’s likely that a roster move will be made before tonight’s game using the Scranton Express, but that will be to bring a fresh arm in case this game gets out of hand too.

For the rest of the players, though, it’ll be time to suck it up, enjoying life playing baseball for a living in the major leagues.

Yankees: 40-Man Roster Crunch Makes Them Explosive At The Deadline

The Yankees have a problem and it has nothing to do with on the field play. They have too much talent and they're going to be looking to deal with it.

Girardi will do all he can to assist his players though, perhaps by scheduling a late bus to the ballpark today. And if you have a ticket to the game tonight, don’t expect to see Aaron Judge or any other Yankee, take batting practice.

Meanwhile, it’s business as usual for the Yankees who arrive home following the two-game set with Reds to play four games against the AL West division leading Houston Astros.