Yankees hang on for much-needed win over Cardinals

ST. LOUIS — Roughly two hours before first pitch Friday, Brian Cashman laid out a simple task for his scuffling club over the final quarter of the season. 

“We just need to win,” the general manager said. “We’ve got to win tonight’s game and keep it simple, one game at a time, but then string together win after win after win to get to where we want to go.” 

For one night at least, that was accomplished, though they did not make it easy on themselves. The stringing together part is what has largely escaped the Yankees over the past two-plus months, but they have to start somewhere, and they gave themselves another chance Friday. 

The Yankees raced out to an early lead, and Luis Gil and the bullpen made sure it just barely stood up in a 4-3 win over the Cardinals at a steamy Busch Stadium. 

Coming off a series in which they took two of three from their perennial punching bag, the Twins, the Yankees (65-57) won for the third time in four games and fourth time in six games as they try to scrape some momentum together for an extended run. For now, they kept pace in the division race, remaining 6 ¹/₂ games behind the Blue Jays, while gaining some breathing room for the final AL wild-card spot, now 1 ¹/₂ games ahead of the Guardians. 

The Yankees led 4-0 by the third inning and hung on late to fend off the middling Cardinals (61-62) as Luke Weaver and David Bednar combined for the final seven outs in a one-run game. Bednar picked up his second save in four chances since coming over to the Yankees at the trade deadline. 

A 3-for-17 showing with runners in scoring position kept the Yankees from giving their pitchers some more breathing room in the late innings. 

Gil, who gave up just one run across 5 ¹/₃ innings, was the beneficiary of three inning-ending double plays through the first three frames, helping him avoid any real trouble while also keeping his pitch count in check. Two of them were started by first baseman Cody Bellinger — a 3-6-3 twin killing in the first before he snared a line drive and stepped on the bag in the third. 

In the fifth inning, Gil flirted with trouble by putting runners on second and third with no outs. But he escaped without any runs scoring, in part thanks to reaching back for a 99 mph fastball that got Thomas Saggese looking at strike three for the second out. 

The Cardinals finally got to Gil in the sixth as he gave up back-to-back doubles that made it a 4-1 game, at which point Aaron Boone called on Mark Leiter Jr. The reliever walked the first batter he faced on a full count before taking a page out of Gil’s book and generating an inning-ending double play. 

Camilo Doval entered for the seventh and got a pair of three-pitch strikeouts around a four-pitch walk. But he followed by hitting Pedro Pages on a 1-2 pitch, and Victor Scott made it hurt with an RBI double that made it 4-2. 

Boone then went to Luke Weaver, who got ahead 0-2 on Lars Nootbaar before spiking a changeup that got past Ben Rice and allowed Pages to score from third to cut the lead to 4-3. 

The Yankees wasted little time in jumping out to a lead that became 3-0 against Cardinals right-hander Andre Pallante before Gil threw a pitch. 

Trent Grisham led off the game with a walk, Rice doubled, and Aaron Judge grounded out to score Grisham from third. 

One out later, Jazz Chisholm Jr. hooked a two-run shot down the right field line for his 21st home run of the year. 

In the third inning, Chisholm walked, stole second, took third on a wild pitch and came in to score on Jasson Domínguez’s two-out single that made it 4-0.