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Giants' 2026 MLB season schedule features rare home opener vs. Yankees originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants will begin their 2026 MLB season with one of the year’s most interesting series, and in a twist, they’ll do it at Oracle Park. 

MLB released the 2026 schedule on Tuesday, revealing that the Giants will open at home against the New York Yankees next March 25 with a night game that’ll be the first game of the MLB season. It’ll be just their second opening day at Oracle Park since 2009.

The matchup won’t thrill the organization’s business side. Opening weekend usually sells very well no matter what, so the Yankees visit won’t provide the same boost that it would in the middle of the season. 

But it’s a nice change of pace for a fan base that has grown accustomed to having to wait an extra week to see the Giants in person. It’ll also be an easier week for the players, who get to stay home at the start of the year and also have two early days off since they’re kicking off the season on a Wednesday. 

The Giants traditionally have preferred to open on the road so they can finish at home, but next year they’ll do both. Their final three games will be at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Here are some other highlights from the 2026 schedule … 

Very Rare Home Opener

It actually hasn’t been that long since the Giants opened at Oracle Park, although that wasn’t by design. They originally were supposed to begin the 2022 season at Petco Park, but the lockout led to games being pulled off the schedule and they began that season at home on April 8 against the Miami Marlins.

This will be their first planned Opening Day at Oracle Park since 2009, when the Milwaukee Brewers visited. Tim Lincecum started that game and Randy Winn — who now runs the Giants farm system — was the leadoff hitter. Winn, Bengie Molina and Aaron Roward all homered in a 10-6 win. 

The Giants opened at Yankee Stadium in 2023, which was some cheeky scheduling after years of rumors that Aaron Judge might return to his hometown team. Instead, he homered against the Giants. 

Aside from Judge returning to the Bay Area and the whole Yankees thing, there should be plenty of storylines. Carlos Rodón almost certainly will pitch at Oracle Park for the first time since his one season in San Francisco. There’s also an outside chance the Giants host Gerrit Cole’s return to the big leagues, although the ace has said that he expects a 14-month recovery after having Tommy John surgery on March 11. It also should be Camilo Doval’s return to Oracle Park.

Homecoming for Bryce?

If top prospect Bryce Eldridge doesn’t debut this September, there’s a very strong chance he does it next March 25 against the Yankees. How’s that for a memorable first big league game?

Something would have to go wrong for Eldridge to not be the starting first baseman or DH by the middle of next April, which means he should get a nice stretch to play in front of family members and friends. The Giants visit the Baltimore Orioles on April 10 and the Washington Nationals the next weekend. In between, there are three games against the Cincinnati Reds. 

It’s an odd trip, since the Cincinnati part will keep them from simply driving from Baltimore to the nation’s capital, but it should provide six early games back home for Eldridge, who grew up in Vienna, Virginia. He went to high school about half an hour from Nationals Park and grew up cheering for Bryce Harper and the Nats. Camden Yards is a little over an hour away from his hometown. 

Rafi’s Return

What kind of reception will Rafael Devers get in his return to Fenway Park? He’ll find out on August 21 when the Giants visit Boston for a weekend series. Devers has 92 career homers in 519 career games at Fenway Park. 

It also could be a #RevengeSeries for former Giants top prospect Kyle Harrison. He has been in Triple-A since the stunning trade but should be part of Boston’s pitching plans next season. 

Division Rivals

The Giants went 3-10 against the San Diego Padres this year. They’ll get an early look at them next season, visiting Petco Park (and its new banana pudding) right after the season-opening series against the Yankees. (In another oddity, they’ll then return home for the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies, so they face both New York teams in the season’s first 13 games). 

This season, the Giants had to wait until June 13 to see the Dodgers, which just felt wrong. They’ll host them next April and visit Dodger Stadium in the middle of May. The Giants also will spend deadline day in San Diego, which is convenient for beat writers who fear being on a long flight without Wi-Fi that time of year. 

Happy Flights

The staff hasn’t been thrilled with some of the travel the last couple of years, but next season looks relatively easy on players, at least on paper. The Baltimore-Cincinnati-Washington D.C. trip would be a lot simpler if the Nationals and Orioles were back-to-back, but the other three-city trips at least make geographic sense. 

There’s a 10-game trip in May, but it’s Los Angeles, Sacramento and then Phoenix. The only other three-city trip is Colorado, Milwaukee, Chicago, and the Giants can take buses between the latter two cities there. 

They also finish the first half at home against the Rockies and then begin the second half in Seattle. That’s a hell of a lot easier than getting everyone to Toronto after the break, which they did this year. 

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The Dodgers continued their season-long celebration of last year’s World Series triumph by handing out championship rings Monday. The 49,702 people who bought tickets got replicas while Gavin Lux, who played for the Dodgers last season and is now with the Cincinnati Reds, got a real one.

If the team hopes to win more jewelry again this fall, the next five weeks will be key. Because after Monday’s 7-0 win over the Reds, the Dodgers lead the Padres by a game in the National League West with 30 left in the regular season for both teams.

And if the Dodgers (75-57) continue to play as they did Monday, when Andy Pages homered twice, driving in four runs, and Emmet Sheehan threw a career-high seven scoreless innings, they’ll be tough to catch.

The Reds nearly went ahead in the second after Lux doubled to the wall in right-center with one out. But Michael Conforto took extra bases away from Spencer Steer with a leaping catch in left field and Teoscar Hernández made a running catch of Ke’Bryan Hayes’ drive to the foul pole in the right-field corner to end the inning.

Sheehan was never in danger again.

Read more:Hernández: Repeat champions or October duds? Dodgers identity crisis keeps everyone guessing

Pages, meanwhile, got the offense started in the third by driving a 102-mph fastball from Hunter Greene into the bullpen in left field for his 22nd home run of the season, second-most on the team behind Shohei Ohtani’s 45.

Pages hit another one in the fifth inning, following Conforto’s double into the right-field corner with another first-pitch homer into the seats next to the Dodgers bullpen to make it 3-0.

Greene (5-4) made it into the sixth but left after giving up a leadoff double to Freddie Freeman and a walk to Will Smith. Hernández followed by drawing a walk from reliever Scott Barlow and two outs later a grounder from Pages got under shortstop Elly De La Cruz’s glove, scoring two more runs.

A Mookie Betts’ homer, his second hit of the game, with one out in the seventh and a Pages’ sacrifice fly in the eighth closed out the scoring.

ANDY AGAIN! pic.twitter.com/C9FUkIIPPF

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 26, 2025

Sheehan (5-2) didn’t throw as hard as Greene but he pitched much better, holding the Reds (68-64) to two hits.

Sheehan also matched a career high with 10 strikeouts to win his third straight decision while relievers Jack Dreyer and Anthony Banda completed the shutout, the team’s fourth in the last 23 games.

The Dodgers had only three shutouts in the first 109 games.

The team is getting healthier. Over the weekend, reliever Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates returned from the injured list and utility player Kiké Hernández was activated Monday. Third baseman Max Muncy and infielder/outfielder Hyeseong Kim could be back by the next road trip, if not before. Utilityman Tommy Edman and pitcher Roki Sasaki likely aren't far behind.

Kiké Hernández almost didn’t make it, he said Monday. After going on the injured list July 6 with left elbow inflammation, he tried three injections and non-invasive rehab procedures, but nothing seemed to work.

Read more:Dodgers Dugout: A 31-game race to the finish for the Dodgers and Padres

“I got to a point where I didn't know if it was going to happen. We were pretty close to it not happening,” he said of his return. “There are some procedures that I went through that didn't do anything. I went through four shots in a month, and first three didn't do anything, and luckily the fourth one was the answer.

“After the last shot, I was pain free.”

Hernández, who has played every position but catcher and right field for the Dodgers this season, watched Monday’s game from the bench but said he would start Tuesday in left field, wearing a brace to protect his left elbow.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Mets are still 0-for-the season when trailing after eight innings, an indication they’ve been searching for that 2024 OMG magic. But this was the next best thing as they showed some toughness in an impressive comeback win against the first-place Philadelphia Phillies and Cristopher Sanchez, one of the best pitchers in the game.

On a night when Kodai Sengalasted only four innings, calling into question the decision to have him make a rare start on four days rest (more on that to come), the game could have easily gone the other way for the Mets.

But after they rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to blow out the Phillies 13-3 on Monday night at Citi Field, you could hear it in Carlos Mendoza’s voice at his postgame presser. This is the team he has continued to hope would show up before it was too late.

“It was good to see the guys fight back,” Mendoza said. “We’ve been having a hard time fighting back. To do it against a good pitcher like that, it’s a good sign.”

In August, the Mets’ bats have come alive, for the most part. Yet, in just the last week, they’ve also gone silent after losing leads against the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves, again calling into the question the grit of this team.

So rallying for 13 unanswered runs against Sanchez and the Phillies was no small feat. Especially considering how the Phillies had been 17-2 when scoring two or more runs for Sanchez, a legit NL Cy Young candidate.

It doesn’t change the fact that the Mets still have a huge hill to climb to chase down the Phillies, as they’re still six games back in the NL East. And they’re still only 8-14 in August, rarely looking like a playoff team for several weeks.

Still, maybe a win like this does offer reasons to believe they can get back to playing at a high level.

Perhaps most importantly, the offense is finally clicking, and Mark Vientos is starting to resemble the 2024 version of himself that was such a huge factor in the Mets’  success. With a pair of RBI doubles on Monday, he extended his hitting streak to eight games, during which he’s hitting .387 with five home runs and 13 RBI.

“We’ve been missing that bat,” Mendoza said. “When he’s doing that, taking the ball the other way when he’s pitched that way, we’re pretty dangerous. If we get that version of Vientos, we’re going to be in a good place.”

It’s not just Vientos, however. The Mets are getting more contributions from the lower part of the lineup, especially on Monday night, with Luis Torrens chipping in with a career-high five RBI, including a three-run home run to blow the game open.

As such, the Mets have scored an MLB-leading 93 runs in 13 games since Aug. 12, and their 133 runs scored in August are the second-most.

More to the point, they’re actually hitting with runners in scoring position, which has been their biggest issue all season. They went 11-for-19 in RISP opportunities on Monday, and they’re hitting .351 as a team in those situations this month.

Mendoza said he believes it’s more than just the law of averages evening out over the course of a season. After criticizing his team publicly for not making in-game adjustments to the way they were being pitched, he said he is seeing better at-bats now, especially in the clutch.

“We’ having good approaches,” he said. “We’re using the whole field. We’re not just trying to hit a home run in those situations. We’re trying to be good hitters.”

Indeed, on this night the biggest hits of the game were to the opposite field, from Jeff McNeil’s game-tying single in the fourth inning to Vientos’ go-ahead double to right in the fifth, and finally to Torrens’ RBI double and three-run home run as well.

And to do much of it against Sanchez and his elite change-up was even more impressive, as the Mets’ hitters did make adjustments to taking that change-up the other way.

As Torrens said of Sanchez, “He’s a great pitcher. He’s one of those guys where the entire team has to make adjustments on the fly.”

Perhaps that’s an indication the Mets’ hitters responded to Mendoza’s criticism. In any case, they put up six runs against Sanchez, only the third time all season he has allowed more than three earned runs in a start.

So the offense is where it started. Then the bullpen finished it with five innings of brilliance from five different pitchers, an indication of the deep bullpen David Stearns envisioned when he traded for three relievers at the July 31 deadline.

Yet when Mendoza was asked if the game went according to script, he laughed and practically howled in protest.

“That’s not the plan,” he said emphatically. “We’re going to need our starters.”

Yes, the starting pitching remains the most pressing problem for these Mets, as Senga continued his pattern of struggling since returning from a hamstring injury in July. He hasn’t looked the same and spoke afterward about needing to pitch with more power.

With that in mind, it was strange the Mets allowed him to make a rare start on four days rest, as they’ve almost always given him an extra day, going back to his routine in Japan. Mendoza indicated they won’t do it again when his turn comes up Saturday during this stretch of 16 games without an off day.

That likely means the Mets will call up either Brandon Sproat or Jonah Tong from the minors to be a sixth starter, and from there who knows. Both have pitched with dominance in Triple-A lately and, like Nolan McLean, could give the ballclub another boost in the rotation.

Tuesday offers another potentially revealing moment as Sean Manaea tries to find his 2024 form. If he continues to be a three- or four-inning pitcher, it’s possible that the Mets would have a need for both Sproat and Tong, either as starters or bulk relievers.

As such, this looms as both a pivotal and intriguing week for these Mets. If they can do more to fix the pitching, well, the offense is offering hope the best is still ahead for their season. That and the grit they showed Monday night could still go a long way.

Cam Schlittler's early-July promotion to the Yankees has aged well. 

The 24-year-old RHP is 2-2 with a 2.76 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in eight starts, and in New York manager Aaron Boone's words before Monday's 10-5 win over the Washington Nationals, "a future staple of our rotation."

"That's the first time I'm hearing it," Schlittler said of Boone's comments. "So, for me, that's a great feeling.

"Again, as a rookie, you can't get too comfortable. So, just important for me to go out there and continue to do my job. Like I said last week, try to get to six, seven innings and put the team in a spot to win."

Schlittler threw 63 strikes on 96 pitches in six scoreless innings, striking out eight and walking three while allowing four hits. Schlittler followed his MLB-best start last Wednesday, a 6-4 Yankees win in 10 innings against the Tampa Bay Rays, where he allowed one hit while striking out eight and walking two over 6.2 IP.

"I don't even want to go as far as to say he was unexpected, because he was very highly thought of going into spring training -- albeit, at that point, still a prospect," Boone said after Monday's game, which saw Schlittler become the first rookie in franchise history with consecutive starts of eight-plus strikeouts through 6+ innings.

"He showed some really good things in spring training when he got real opportunities, and he's put together a great minor-league season earning his way up here, and he's continued that at the big-league level. So, yeah, I think, coming out of spring training, it's a pleasant surprise to say he's a key part of our rotation now going down the stretch. But way stranger things have happened."

Schlittler's spring training saw him allow nine runs (eight earned) on 15 hits (two homers) while striking out 13 and walking 10 in 16.1 IP over five games with four starts. In his five starts this season with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, he scattered 11 runs (10 earned) on 20 hits (three homers) while striking out 35 and walking nine over 23.2 IP.

"The interesting thing about him was he wasn't always this kind of guy," catcher Ben Rice said of Schlittler, who started the season with Double-A Somerset before his June 3 promotion to Triple-A. "The first year of professional baseball he was in, he started in extended spring training. He was not a velocity guy by any means.

"But to his credit, he put in the work. He put his head down, put on weight, put on muscle and really made himself into just a really good pitcher. Obviously added velocity, but was able to work on his command as well and we're seeing it translate at this level."

The Yankees selected Schlittler, from Northeastern University, with the No. 220 overall pick in the seventh round of the 2022 MLB Draft. The 6-foot-6, 225-pounder has since developed into a key cog for New York's starting rotation -- now and potentially in the years to come.

"I think it comes down to really hard work and just kind of putting in that work in the offseason and putting weight on and trying to figure out my body a little bit, just kind of growing into myself as a player, as a person," Schlittler said.

"So, at the end of the day, people tell you what to do.  But you've got to be able to go do it when no one's watching, so I just put on myself in the offseason, making sure I come into spring training ready to go."

On a night the Mets needed him to be at his best, Kodai Senga struggled again.

The right-hander was picked up nicely by his offense and bullpen, but he had to battle through traffic in each of his four innings of work during Monday’s 13-3 win over the division-leading Phillies at Citi Field.

New York found themselves trailing almost immediately, as Trea Turner led off the game with a triple after a missed strike three, and he scored a few pitches later on an RBI groundout.

Senga stranded a pair in the second, but Philly was able to strike again in the top of the third, as Alec Bohm dropped a two out two-run single just in front of Juan Soto in right to make it a three-run ballgame.

The first two batters reached against him in the fourth, but he did a nice job retiring Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper in order to escape without further damage.

Senga returned to the mound with a clean slate after the Mets’ offense rallied to even things up, but he was quickly pulled after hitting the leadoff man.

Newly recalled left-hander Jose Castillo entered and rolled a double play ball to close his final line with the three runs allowed on six hits and three walks while striking out four over four innings of work.

“It was a struggle for him,” Carlos Mendoza said. “A lot of noncompetitive pitches, a lot of balls coming out of the hand -- just not being able to get ahead, and when you’re falling behind hitters especially against a lineup like that it’s going to be hard to find success.”

This is just latest in a string of shaky showings from Senga since returning from the injured list.

The 32-year-old is still yet to earn in a victory over his eight starts since then.

Senga also hasn’t been able to complete six innings over that span, and he’s pitched to an ugly 5.40 ERA.

He explained the biggest difference in his eyes over the past few outings.

“The sensation of delivering power to the ball,” Senga said through a translator. “I’ve been lacking in that aspect a little bit of late -- whether it's power or movement or anything along those lines near home plate where the batter sees it it's lacking just a little bit.

“That's why I'm getting the hitters off balance, but it's landing for a hit instead of going foul, those are the minor differences that I feel might be relating to the results on the field -- despite that I’m still out there everyday trying to make it a winnable game for the team.”

Mark Vientos?

Oh, yeah, he’s definitely back.

It wasn’t too long ago that the youngster was losing out on playing time to Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio. Of late, he’s been delivering big hits when the Mets have needed it the most.

On Monday, he got the offense going against Phillies ace lefty Cristopher Sanchez.

After Pete Alonso singled and advanced his way into scoring position on a balk, the righty was sure to make Sanchez pay, as he laced an opposite-field RBI double down the left-field line.

He scored just one pitch later on Brandon Nimmo’s RBI single.

Vientos came through again one inning later with things knotted up at three, this time making the Phillies pay for an error, lining a go-ahead two out RBI double into the right-field corner.

He was hit by a pitch in the seventh before being lifted for a pinch-runner, finishing the night 2-for-3 with his first career two double game.

“[Sanchez] is a phenomenal pitcher,” Vientos said. “I was just trying to be as simple as possible. His stuff moves a lot, he has a good changeup, good slider, good fastball so it’s really was just trying to stay as simple as possible up there.”

The Mets' offense tacked on in each of the final six innings to secure the 13-3 victory.

With another big day, Vientos is now hitting a whopping .342 with a 1.223 OPS over his past 10 games.

He’s riding an eight-game hitting streak and has extra-base hits in three straight games.

His OPS has quickly risen past the .700 mark (.709) for the first time since the middle of May.

“My hard work is paying off right now and I’m just thankful,” Vientos said. “It definitely feels pretty good. Whatever I can do to help the team, especially contributing with the bat it just feels good.”

For the Mets to make any noise down the stretch, they’ll need Vientos to continue swinging it this way.

“We’ve been missing that bat,” Carlos Mendoza said. “We saw it last year how important he is and when you add that type of bat to the middle of our lineup, we’re gonna be dangerous -- it’s just good to see him having that confidence in himself.

“It was a struggle for him, but when you watch him here the past two weeks, the at-bat quality using the whole fields and driving the ball, if we get that version of Vientos, we’re going to be in a good place.”

In one of their most impressive wins of the season, the Mets rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 13-3 at Citi Field on Monday night, taking the first game of this three-game series.

In doing so, they cut the Phillies’ lead in the NL East to six games.

The comeback was led mostly the lower part of the Mets’ lineup, as Mark Vientos, Tyrone Taylor, Jeff McNeil, and Luis Torrens combined for 10 hits and 11 RBI.

Torrens had the biggest night, going 3-for-5 with a three-run home run and a career-high five RBI.

Here are some takeaways...

- The Mets bucked the odds by coming back from a 3-0 deficit against lefty Cristopher Sanchez and his 2.46 ERA -- the second best in National League. In fact, in games the Phillies scored two or more runs for Sanchez, they had been 17-2. Yet, the Mets responded in a big way, taking a 6-3 lead and knocking him out in the sixth inning. It was only the third time all season that Sanchez has allowed more than three earned runs in a start.

- Vientos had the key hits, a run scoring double in the fourth in the middle of a three-run rally, and an opposite-field double to right in the fifth to put the Mets ahead 4-3.

- Torrens blew the game open in the seventh with a three-run home run, only his third home run of the season.

- Kodai Senga made a rare start on four days rest (he usually gets an extra day) and it didn’t go well, as he pitched four-plus innings, allowing 10 baserunners on six hits, three walks, and a hit batsman. He was down 3-0 early but it could have been worse.

He left runners at second and third in the third inning, and struck out Bryce Harper to end the fourth, leaving two more runners on base. When he hit JT Realmuto with a 3-2 pitch leading off the fifth, Senga was at 93 pitches and Carlos Mendoza quickly pulled him.

Senga’s ERA rose to 2.73 from 1.47 before he gave up 21 earned runs in his last seven starts, all since coming back from his hamstring injury.

- The Mets’ bullpen had an outstanding night, as five relievers held the Phillies in check the rest of the way, getting 15 outs without allowing a hit. It started with lefty Jose Castillo, called up from the minors on Monday to replace Reed Garrett, who went on the IL with an elbow injury. In relief of Senga, he got a double play ball against Alec Bohm, the first hitter he faced, and pitched a hitless fifth.

Tyler Rogers and Brooks Raley did likewise, getting the game to the eighth inning with the score at 6-3.

Mendoza had Ryan Helsley up for the eighth, which would have been a bit of a gamble in a close game, considering how he’s been struggling, but the Mets scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to take the pressure off and Helsley responded with a 1-2-3 inning, including one strikeout.

Finally, another struggling reliever, Ryne Stanek, pitched a clean ninth to close out the game.

- The hot-hitting Vientos had another big night, going 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI. Over his last eight games Vientos has five home runs, four doubles, and 13 RBI. In doing so, Vientos has his OPS up to .709 for the season, the first time it has been over .700 since May 16^th.

Game MVP: Luis Torrens

Now the regular catcher again with Francisco Alvarez on the IL, Torrens responded with perhaps the biggest offensive night of his career.

He went 3-for-5 with a three-run HR and a career-high five RBI. His double in the sixth delivered an important run, putting the Mets up 6-3, and his home run in the seventh broke the game open, making it 10-3.

Highlights

Mark Vientos gets the Mets on the board! pic.twitter.com/f8YHt8umgu

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 26, 2025

Brandon Nimmo brings home Mark Vientos!

The Mets are within one! pic.twitter.com/yiYHCSvwY5

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 26, 2025

JEFF McNEIL TIES THE GAME IN THE 4TH! pic.twitter.com/og5Ea9QeFJ

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 26, 2025

Ron Darling on José Castillo: "He pitches to double plays"

Next pitch: pic.twitter.com/qsFuljHcLP

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 26, 2025

SWAGGY V AUGUST.

MARK VIENTOS GIVES THE METS THE LEAD! pic.twitter.com/cuu4xgMWDF

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 26, 2025

LUIS TORRENS DELIVERS!

He brings home Tyrone Taylor with an RBI double! pic.twitter.com/RHwbUoBlXB

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 26, 2025

IT'S A MARTE PARTAY!

Starling Marte makes it 6-3 Mets! pic.twitter.com/cs5D3unE0G

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 26, 2025

WE'VE GOT SUPER LUIS TORRENS!

10 STRAIGHT RUNS FOR THE METS! pic.twitter.com/qmoS0leYdb

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 26, 2025

Ryan Helsley got kudos from his teammates after throwing a scoreless 8th pic.twitter.com/fvcu9kwRQ4

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 26, 2025

A 5-RBI NIGHT FOR LUIS TORRENS! pic.twitter.com/0tIsFF96GT

— SNY (@SNYtv) August 26, 2025

What's next

Sean Manaea (1-2, 5.15 ERA) takes the mound against Jesus Luzardo (12-6, 4.10 ERA) as the Mets and Phillies continue this crucial three-game set on Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. on SNY.

The Yankees opened their three-game series against the Washington Nationals with a 10-5 win Monday as they started a soft spot of the schedule by handling business.

Takeaways

1. Cam Schlittler is for real. The 24-year-old rookie, in his eighth start, followed this past Wednesday's career-best outing with a close second. Behind Schlittler (2-2, 2.76 ERA), who struck out eight and walked three while scattering four hits on 96 pitches (63 strikes) over six scoreless innings, the Yankees (71-60) handled the Nationals (53-78). On an inconsistent team, Schlittler has developed into a rock for the rotation and serious candidate to be in the mix this postseason as he progressively shows his top-of-the-line potential.
2. The Yankees continue to lead MLB in home runs with 219 afterBen Rice, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Jasson Domínguez mashed three more across the second, fifth and seventh innings. Among them, Chisholm's 25th of the season -- a two-run shot that followed Sunday's two-homer game -- is his new single-season career high. Chisholm has had his ups and downs, but he is showing glimpses of why Brian Cashman traded for him at last year's deadline while slashing .240/.335/.492 with 64 RBI through 99 games.
3. Rice, meanwhile, launched his 21st of the year with a second-inning solo shot that doubled the Yankees' 1-0 lead to 2-0. He started at catcher and batted second. Especially as Austin Wells struggles, Rice -- whose caught-stealing throw to second base for Josh Bell ended the fourth inning with runners at the corners -- is flashing his ability at the plate and behind the dish. He is slashing .241/.339/.488 with 21 home runs and 48 RBI in 111 games.
4. After losing three of their four games against the Boston Red Sox this past weekend, the Yankees need to pounce on a soft spot in the schedule. They get the Nationals at home through Wednesday before heading to the Chicago White Sox for a four-game series Thursday. New York has its questions about contending with teams above .500, but it can keep afloat by beating the lower-end opponents over this seven-game stretch -- and should.

Who's the MVP?

Schlittler, whose six scoreless innings set the tone while the Yankees built an eventual 10-run cushion before the Nationals' five-run ninth inning.

Highlights

Cam Schlittler gets the pickoff! pic.twitter.com/Tdkarw2yEq

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 25, 2025

Ben Rice's 21st home run of the year 💪

It's also the longest home run of his MLB career! pic.twitter.com/Dond9HfOJR

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 25, 2025

Ben Rice throws out Josh Bell trying to steal 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZhO9lxLnkh

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 26, 2025

Aaron Judge drops in an RBI double! pic.twitter.com/R7bK7gMLAC

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 26, 2025

JAZZ. CHISHOLM. JR.

His 25th home run of the year! pic.twitter.com/JhfCWY16so

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 26, 2025

Jasson Domínguez for three 👽 pic.twitter.com/7s2XGlP2b8

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) August 26, 2025

Whats next

Tuesday's 7:05 p.m. game at Yankee Stadium. New York RHP Luis Gil (1-1, 4.26 ERA) and Washington LHP MacKenzie Gore (5-12, 4.11 ERA) are set to start.