Spencer Jones HR & Great Max Fried Start Blown by Bullpen. Chicago Cubs 5 NY 2

August 2, 2026 paperbacklou 2026 0
Spencer Jones HR in 7th put Yanks ahead 2-1.

Spencer Jones hit Another HR — his 2nd in 2 days — to put NY ahead 2-1 in the 7th inning after Max Fried threw down a great start into the 6th — but the Yankee bullpen blew it in a 5-2 loss to the Cubs on a Saturday afternoon in Chicago, with the wind blowing in.

Fernando Cruz allowed a HR in the bottom of the 7th to tie the game, then Brent Headrick allowed a triple and single to give Chicago a 4-2 lead, and Yovanny Cruz allowed a run in the 8th to give Chicago their final 5-2 cushion.

Cruz and Headrick have been two of the best relievers in the league this year — but they may be showing signs of wear as the trading deadline approaches (Monday at 6pm) with the Yankees rumored to be looking to bolster their bullpen.

Before the game the Yankees announced they had traded Camilo Doval to the Pirates for 2 prospects — the first shoe to fall.

But the good news to come out of the loss was Spencer Jones — who continues to hit hit hit. He went 2-4 on the day with the HR. And Max Fried is looking like his old self in this his 3rd start since being sidelined 2 months with a bone bruise in his left elbow.

“Max was great,” said manager Aaron Boone afterwards about Fried. “I really thought, even in the 1st inning — a couple of wild pitches and the walk — his stuff was really good, and then he really got dialed in and settled in. To get us an out into the 6th on a pitch count was big. We were set up just couldn’t finish it off.”

NY falls to 62-49 and are 3.5 behind Tampa and 2.5 ahead of the Red Sox. The Cubs improve to 63-48, 6.5 behind Milwaukee in the NL Central.

1. Fried Great

Max Fried threw down.

The only run he allowed was in the 1st, when he walked former-Met and super-fast Pete Crow-Armstrong to lead off. Crow-Armstrong — who currently has 26 stolen bases and 7 times caught — puts pressure on pitchers and he seemed to affect Fried, who threw a wild pitch, allowing Crow-Armstrong to take 2nd. Crow-Armstrong moved to 3rd on a groundout, and scored on another Fried wild pitch for a 1-0 Cubs lead.

After that Fried dialed in — and retired 10 in a row before a single by Alex Bregman broke up his no hitter in the 4th. Fried got 3 straight outs after a leadoff single by 2nd baseman Nico Hoerner in the 5th and struck out Crow-Armstrong to start the 6th — leaving as his pitch count hit 78 in a 1-1 tie. He struck out 7 and walked only the 1 (Crow-Armstrong).

2. Peterson Tough Too

Meanwhile former Met David Peterson was on the mound for Chicago and he was tough too. Peterson has righted his season after being traded by the Mets on June 25th for minor leaguer Cole Mathis.

Peterson threw 6.1 innings of 5-hit ball, allowing 3 runs — 1 earned — while striking out 8 and walking 0. It was the 4th straight strong start for Peterson, who was traded by the Mets with a 3-6 6.09 record, and is now 3-1 4.36 with Chicago. And that is after a horrible 2nd start with Chicago where he allowed 10 earned runs in 3.2 innings. He’s been masterful after that and has lowered his ERA to 5.52.

Peterson retired the first 7 Yankees before Ali Sanchez singled to right in the 3rd, then retired 6 more in a row to have a 1-0 shutout going with 2 outs in the 5th.

“The strike throwing was pretty good,” said Boone about Peterson. “Mixed the sinker and the 4-seam with the changeup. Commanded the zone with both his fastball and his changeup.”

3. Caballero RBI Single Ties Game 1-1 in 5th

But with 2 outs in the 5th Spencer Jones reached on an error by Cubs 1st baseman Michael Busch, Ali Sanchez singled for his 2nd hit of the game — the only 2 off Peterson to that point — and Jose Caballero ripped a 2-out single to right for a 1-1 tie.

Peterson got the final out of the 5th and retired the first 2 Yanks of the 6th when Jasson Dominguez ripped a 2-out double to left — but Peterson struck out Jazz Chisholm Jr. to end the inning.

4. Chivilli Holds Court Despite Some Walks

After Fried struck out Crow-Armstrong to start the 6th in a 1-1 tie, he was relieved by Angel Chivilli, who has been great for NY but promptly walked the first 2 batters he saw, before getting a fly out and groundout to end the inning.

5. S Jones HR Puts NY Up 2-1 in 7th

With 1 out in the 7th, Spencer Jones hit a first-pitch 90-MPH fastball from Peterson 370 feet to opposite-field left — against the wind that was blowing in — for a solo HR and 2-1 Yankee lead.

Trent Thornton — a 32-year-old, 6’0 righty — relieved Peterson, and was greeted by Ali Sanchez who singled for his 3rd hit of the day. Sanchez however was caught trying to steal 2nd. Too bad because Thornton proceeded to walk Jose Caballero and Trent Grisham — before Paul Goldschmidt fouled out to 1st to end the threat.

6. F Cruz & Headrick Blow It in 7th

In came Fernando Cruz in the bottom of the 7th to hold the 2-1 Yankee lead — but first batter Nico Hoerner hit a 2-2 splitter 372 feet to left for a tie game. Crazy because Cruz rarely allows HR’s.

Cruz got the next 2 outs but walked pinch-hitter Pedro Ramirez and was relieved by Brent Headrick.

Pete Crow-Armstrong slashed a 2-out shot to the right-field corner to score Ramirez and give Chicago a 3-2 lead; the ball got by Jasson Dominguez in the right-field corner allowing Crow-Armstrong to go to 3rd.

Seiya Suzuki then singled to center to make it 4-2 Chicago; he was thrown out at 2nd trying to leg it into a double.

7. Y Cruz Buries Yanks in 8th

Yovanny Cruz pitched the 8th — and allowed a run to make it a 5-2 game — walk to Alex Bregman, single by catcher Carson Kelly, and RBI single by Busch. Cruz then got a doubleplay and groundout to end the inning but it was damage done.

Spencer Jones singled to lead off the top of the 9th against lefty Caleb Thielbar; it was the 2nd hit of the game for the left-handed hitting Jones, both off lefties.

But Ali Sanchez grounded into a double play and Jose Caballero grounded out to 2nd for the old ballgame.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401816354

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*