Chris Sale strikes out eight in loss to Yankees

Basallo threw from 90 feet for a second straight day today. Barring a setback, he’s probably 10 days away from being activated.

Lombard drew a walk to lead off the fifth inning and scored on a triple by Spencer Jones. He then started the bottom of the seventh with a solo homer off Victor Mederos to extend the Yankees’ lead. He later added a hit in the eighth. The home run was the second in four games for the 21-year-old shortstop, getting his Yankees career off to an excellent start.

Jones put the Yankees on the board with a base hit in the second inning to drive in a run, then stole second for his fourth steal of the season. He then plated his second RBI on a triple in the fifth before scoring on a balk. Jones would draw a walk in the eighth, reaching for a third time. It was an excellent day at the plate for the 25-year-old outfielder after going hitless in his last five games.

Ramírez played the last two days after missing games Tuesday and Wednesday with left wrist inflammation, but three straight is too much right now, apparently. Angel Genao is playing third base tonight, and Travis Bazzana, who figures to do more sitting against lefties with Genao up, remains at second base versus southpaw Anthony Kay.

Rice came into this one cold at the plate, going 3-for-34 over his last ten games and zero homers since July 26. He broke the drought with a home run off Danny Young in the eighth inning to give the Yankees an insurance run. The 27-year-old slugger is up to 32 homers and 75 RBI while hitting .260/.353/.550 across 479 plate appearances.

Acuña cut into the Yankees’ lead in the eighth inning with a solo homer off Brent Headrick. It was his fifth home run in 12 games since returning from the injured list. The 28-year-old outfielder is up to 12 homers with 15 steals while hitting .247/.358/.444 across 288 plate appearances.

Bednar was summoned in the top of the ninth inning to close out the game against the Braves with a two-run lead. He issued a walk and allowed a base hit that scored a run before recording the final out to secure the win and his 26th save of the season.

Cole stranded two baserunners through four scoreless innings before running into some trouble in the fifth. The Braves brought two runs in on four straight hits to start the inning. Cole would settle down, striking out two of the last three batters to get out of the jam. He gave the Yankees two more scoreless frames, ending his day after seven innings with nine strikeouts in an excellent performance. The 35-year-old right-hander will take a 3.35 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, and an 87/17 K/BB ratio across 80 2/3 innings into a start against the Blue Jays in Toronto on Friday.

The Yankees drew first blood in Saturday’s contest against the Braves, putting a run on the board against Sale in the second inning on two hits. A walk, triple, and a balk brought two more runs in for New York in the fifth before Sale got out of trouble. Sale would return for one more inning, ending his day after six innings with a quality start. He struck out eight. The 37-year-old left-hander will take an outstanding 2.20 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and a 151/28 K/BB ratio across 123 innings into a start against the Diamondbacks in Atlanta on Friday.

Henry Davis will catch in his place against the Mets. Rodríguez was also absent Friday, but that just seemed to be a day off. If Rodríguez lands on the IL, the Pirates will probably call up a non-catcher (most likely Tyler Callihan or Billy Cook) and let Davis and Rafael Flores Jr. split time.