With the Yankees having beat up on inferior opponents throughout the last few weeks of August, the start of September features their toughest remaining stretch of schedule.
It begins with a three-game series against the Astros in Houston on Tuesday. The Yankees already lost 2-of-3 to their nemesis in the Bronx from Aug. 8-10, but the Bombers were in the midst of a months-long skid at that point.
The Yankees have played much better since then, going 14-5 dating back to Aug. 11. No team has a better record over that period.
While the Yankees lost to the lowly White Sox on Sunday, they won seven straight before that and entered Monday’s off day just three games back of the Blue Jays in the American League East and in possession of the top Wild Card spot.
Of course, a lot of the Yankees’ recent wins have come against bad teams, including Minnesota, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Washington and Chicago. The Red Sox, breathing down the Yankees’ necks in the standings, won 3-of-4 at Yankee Stadium during that 14-5 stretch.
There has been a narrative that the 2025 Yankees, 76-61 this season, capitalize against bad teams but have trouble against better teams. While that felt true throughout the club’s annual summer swoon, their 37-37 overall record against .500-or-better teams was the 10th-best in baseball on Monday. Their 39-24 record against sub-.500 teams ranked sixth.
Now the Yankees have a chance to put that narrative to rest, as more tough opponents will follow the Astros.
When the Yankees return home on Sept. 5, the AL East-leading Blue Jays will be waiting for a pivotal three-game showdown. Then the first-place Tigers will visit New York for three more games.
After that, it’s another matchup with the Red Sox, who will host the Yankees for three games at Fenway Park, wrapping up what has been a one-sided season series thus far.
From there, the Yankees will end their season in favorable fashion, as they play 13 straight games against the Twins, Orioles and White Sox.
It’s a nice way to end what has been an up and down season for the Yankees, but they will face a few challenges before that final slate.
The Astros are first on the docket, as is an intriguing pitching matchup.
Tuesday’s series-opener will include two left-handed aces, as Houston’s Framber Valdez will oppose Max Fried. Valdez is coming off a strong start against the abysmal Rockies, but he had allowed 19 earned runs over 23.1 innings in his previous four outings. That includes a four-run, 5.2-inning start against the Yankees on Aug. 9.
Fried, meanwhile, has permitted just one earned run over 13 innings in his last two starts, though he had a 6.80 ERA over eight games from July 1 to Aug. 16. He surrendered four runs over five innings to the Astros on Aug. 10.
Wednesday’s game will see Jason Alexander toe the slab for the Astros, while Cristian Javier will start the finale for them.
Will Warren and Carlos Rodón will take the ball for the Yankees in the final two games as the pinstripers look to take down another contender.
