Stumblin' Along 5/31 '26
Low Rider
Low Rider
- Yanks Week 10 Notes
- YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
Today’s tune is Stab the Matador’s Low Rider.
Stab the Matador formed as a band out of Westchester, New York, in 2005 during their senior year of high school. They performed at Arlene’s Grocery on Manhattan’s Lower East Side for a few years. Their most notable song is Low Rider, which was featured on MLB ‘06 The Show.
I hadn’t heard the song in 20 years. Nice sound to it.
On to the Yanks…
Game 53
- Rain-filled Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, but the Yankees aren’t postponing another game after Saturday with the Rays. Aaron Judge snaps an 0-for-15 streak with a single in the 1st, but then gets doubled off on a Ben Rice fly ball into Right Center in the 1st inning. Ryan Weathers, in my weather, gives the Yankees 7 innings of shutout ball. In the 8th inning, Fernando Cruz gets bailed out of a jam when Cody Bellinger makes a great throw to nail a Rays runner at 3rd before Tampa Bay’s go-ahead run crosses the plate. Through 8 innings, the offense can’t get a guy past 2nd base until Judge walks it off in the 9th. Yanks win 2-0 as Tim Hill picks up the win.
Game 54
- On Memorial Day Monday, the Yankees are out in Kansas City for an afternoon matchup. Yanks strike first with a Cody Bellinger solo shot followed by a Jose Caballero RBI single to plate Anthony Volpe in the 2nd. Will Warren tosses a nice six innings, allowing just two runs. The Royals take the lead in the 8th inning when Bobby Witt Jr. takes Jake Bird deep. In the Top of the 9th with one out, Paul Goldschmidt gets a rally going with a weakly hit infield chopper to Witt Jr. Jazz Chisholm Jr. follows that up by lacing a double down RF. Down 1-2 in the count, Anthony Volpe loops one into left field to plate Goldy and Jazz. Up 4-3, Bednar closes things out while allowing just one Royal base runner. Yanks win.
Game 55
- The Royals decide to go with an opener to start the game, and it immediately backfires in the 1st. Cody Bellinger hits his 2nd home run of the series, followed by a Paul Goldschmidt double, a Ben Rice line drive that’s initially called an out but overturned, and capped off by an Amed Rosario home run into the Royals’ waterfall, making it 4-0. Volpe goes yard to start the 2nd inning, then has an RBI single in the 3rd inning, and later scores on a Bellinger single of his own. All the while, Cam Schlittler cruises along for 6 innings of 1-run ball and Ryan Yarbrough does his job as the long man for the final 3 innings of a 15-1 win. The team’s 24 hits in the game were the most since 2011.
Game 56
- With Gerrit Cole on the hill for his 2nd start, he strikes out 6 of the first 10 Royals he faces and is helped out by an Aaron Judge assist from RF. The Yankees’ lineup responds to the Judge throw with a Ben Rice triple that plates Goldschmidt. That would. be all the offense Cole would need as he goes 6.2 innings of shutout ball, striking out 10 batters. Yanks blow open the game in the 7th when Ben Rice hits a 2-run single and Ryan McMahon joins the party with a 2-run home run in the 8th. Yanks win 7-0 and sweep the Royals in Kansas City.
Game 57
- Facing their former ace Luis Severino out in Sacramento, the Yankees get to Sevy right away with 4 runs in the 1st. This included an RBI single from Judge and a 3-run blast from Paul Goldschmidt. Unfortunately, Sevy would leave the game in the 2nd with arm issues. Facing the A’s bullpen for 8 innings, the Yankees pour on 4 more runs, including Ben Rice’s 17th home run of the season. Carlos Rodon goes 6 innings of 1-run ball to earn his first victory upon his return to the mound. Yanks win 8-2.
Game 58
- Ryan Weathers gives up a 1st-inning 2-run home run to Shea Langeliers to get late Saturday night going. The Yanks manufacture a run in the 4th inning as Cody Bellinger goes 1st to 3rd on a Jazz single to center and then scores when Jazz steals 2nd base. Weathers pitches into the 7th inning before giving up a 2-run home run to make it 5-1 A’s. Down 6-1 in the 9th, the Yanks get a bit of a late-night two-out rally going thanks to 5 walks that plate 3 runs, but ultimately fall 6-4 to the A’s, snapping their 5-game winning streak.
Next
- The Yanks got a rubber match in Sacramento this afternoon, followed by a travel day back to the Bronx, where they’ll host Cleveland. The 1st-place team in the AL Central leads MLB in strikeouts, as Cleveland pitchers have combined to average over a strikeout per inning. New York will counter with Schlittler, Cole, and Rodon.
Around the Majors
- The Rays deserve the most attention, but the Blue Jays have snuck back up to nearly a .500 record. Unfortunately for Toronto, they lost yesterday in Baltimore after allowing 5 runs in the 9th inning. Pete Alonso played hero with an RBI single. Although the former Met 1st baseman had a slow April with the O’s, he’s since recovered in May with 7 dingers and 22 RBIs.
- Cleveland is back on top of the AL Central thanks to their pitching staff’s high frequency of strikeouts. One of their frontman leading that effort is their closer Cade Smith. He became the first closer in the MLB this season to pick up 20 saves, as he’s thrown 27.2 innings with 42 Ks.
- The AL West has been pretty lousy through two months of baseball, but the Mariners have picked up the pace of late, winning 5 straight. Randy Arozarena appears to be in the midst of a comeback season. After a promising start to his career with Tampa Bay, Arozarena had regressed as a hitter the past couple of seasons in Seattle. Things are looking up for the outfielder again as he’s batting .292 with an impressive .376 OBP. What else is impressive for Seattle is the fact they’re in 1st place and Cal Raleigh is batting .161 while on the shelf.
- The Atlanta Braves continue to run away with the NL East. They rank inside the Top 3 in hits, homers, batting average, runs, and OPS. One of their stars is Michael Harris II. The 25-year-old CF is off to a career-year pace, batting just over .300 with 13 homers and 36 RBIs. He should be an All-Star come July.
- The Pittsburgh Pirates are hovering over .500 as we enter June. While, of course, the dominance of Paul Skenes is the team’s headliner, Pittsburgh’s actually lost the last three times their ace took the hill. Surprisingly, the Pirates are one of the best offenses in baseball, having scored the 4th-most runs, stolen the 4th-most bases, and collected the 2nd-most hits. For the month of May, rookie SS Konnor Griffin has been excellent. The 20-year-old hit over .300 for the month while stealing 7 bags and scoring 20 runs. Griffin is already considered one of the best and most aggressive base runners in the sport, ranking near the top of Baseball Savant’s new Extra Bases Taken stat.
- The MLB owners have reportedly proposed a hard cap of $245 million with a hard salary floor of $171.2 million to the MLBPA. As of 2026 payrolls, only 18 of the 30 teams have a payroll over $150 million, so 12 teams would have to start spending a bit more in free agency. On the flip side, the LA Dodgers would be most affected by the proposal, as they’d have to shed nearly $200 million from their current $420 million payroll, which doesn’t include the $170 million they pay in luxury tax.
