Yankees clinch 32nd straight winning season by blanking the Cubs for the 2nd straight day
CHICAGO -- Clarke Schmidt and Nestor Cortes combined on a four-hitter, and the New York Yankees clinched their 32nd straight winning season by blanking the Chicago Cubs 2-0 on Saturday.Schmidt pitched 4 2/3 innings of four-hit ball in his first big league game since May 26.Cortes (9-10) closed it out in his first relief appearance since 2021.Coupled with Baltimore's 7-1 loss to Tampa Bay, New York moved back into first in the AL East.
The Yankees (82-60) lead the Orioles by a half-game.Cortes admitted he was upset when he learned he was going to pitch in relief.“I’m never going to back down from a challenge,” Cortes said.“I’m never going to leave my teammates out to dry.
You’re always going to get my best effort no matter if I’m happy or not.That’s what I did today.
I came out there and proved I can be put in any situation.From here on out, if that’s my role, I’ll accept it.”Schmidt had been sidelined by a right lat strain.
He threw 75 pitches, 44 for strikes."I felt like I still had a lot of strength and I wasn’t fatiguing at all,” Schmidt said.New York posted its second straight shutout to secure its first series win since it took two of three against Colorado from Aug.
23-25.The 32 straight seasons with a winning record is the second-longest such period in major league history, trailing a run of 39 consecutive seasons for the Yankees from 1926-64.Chicago (72-70) has lost four of five on a crucial homestand as it tries to rally in the race for the third NL wild card.
It beat Pittsburgh 12-0 on Wednesday, but it has managed a total of three other runs in its last five games, getting shut out three times.“We feel like we have a good enough ballclub to be in the playoffs and in the picture, but we’re going to have to play a little bit better and keep pushing here,” left fielder Ian Happ said.Cubs right-hander Javier Assad (7-5) allowed one earned run and three hits in 5 2/3 innings.New York scored its first run when Austin Wells ...