New York Yankees v Washington Nationals / Brandon Sloter/GettyImages

After ending the weekend horribly with back-to-back losses to the St. Louis Cardinals in the Bronx, the New York Yankees bounced back to capture an 8-4 victory on the road against the Texas Rangers. They are now 31-37 over their last 68 games. Yay.

For the most part, things were going well until the top of the seventh inning. With the Yanks up 7-1, Gerrit Cole took the mound for what was expected to be his last frame of the night, but he abruptly called for the training staff after throwing one warmup pitch.

Initially, fans were thinking, “Oh no. It’s the elbow. Season over.” But upon replay review, it was evident Cole’s calf was bothering him. He left the field promptly and went into the locker room, but nothing was going to calm fans down until there was an announcement.

Thankfully, it was confirmed Cole was dealing with a calf cramp and he’ll be monitored on Tuesday. With the Yankees up six runs, it was smart of the right-hander not to push it because he needs to be pitching through the end of the 2024 campaign for New York to have any sort of chance.

Stay tuned for updates throughout the day.

Yankees have confirmed that it’s a right calf cramp, per @ChrisKirschner

Cole will be monitored tomorrow https://t.co/FkbgTvoJ94

— Talkin’ Yanks (@TalkinYanks) September 3, 2024

Yankees News: Gerrit Cole injury scare, Giancarlo Stanton milestone, Anthony Rizzo

The offense gave us a scare for a moment, too. Going up against Jack Leiter, who has a 10-something ERA on the season, the Yanks could only muster two runs through five innings while the young right-hander logged just 75 pitches. Another one of those nights, huh?

But the Yankees erupted for five runs in the top of the sixth, chasing Leiter from the game and seemingly putting things out of reach for the Rangers. After Gleyber Torres got the scoring started back in the third, all of Aaron Judge, Jazz Chisholm and Anthony Rizzo contributed more to make it a 7-1 game.

After Cole left the game and Aaron Boone had to quickly change his plans and get Luke Weaver warmed up, the Rangers found a shred of momentum. Weaver surrendered a two-run homer to make it a 7-3 game and it no longer felt like a rout.

But Giancarlo Stanton was there to respond emphatically. In the top of the eighth, he slugged his 25th homer of the season to make it 8-4. The significance? He’s the only active player to have 10 seasons with at least 25 home runs. Pretty incredible. And he was one away in 2023, had injuries not derailed his season.

Big G going deep in the heart of Texas 💪 pic.twitter.com/qfaWD6Ay5T

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 3, 2024

Another breath of fresh air in the meantime has been Anthony Rizzo, who returned from the injured list over the weekend when rosters expanded. He’s gone 3-for-8 with two runs scored, two doubles and three RBI in his two games.

Can we count on above-average production through October? We’re not sure, but fans are hopeful, because any sort of improvement over what we’ve seen at first base since the All-Star break would be a major offensive boost. And it would mean less DJ LeMahieu, who was only playing regularly because of rookie Ben Rice’s presence.

Anthony Rizzo’s return means murky Yankees future for DJ LeMahieu https://t.co/1kLnyxGgK5 pic.twitter.com/Vj2zHqUG1E

— New York Post (@nypost) September 1, 2024

With Rizzo likely entrenched at first base and Jazz Chisholm taking over as the starting third baseman, LeMahieu could finally shift into a part-time utility role, which is where he belongs. Unfortunately, the veteran has fallen off a cliff due to injuries in his twilight years, and it’s resulted in a decline nobody could’ve ever expected.

LeMahieu’s situation isn’t one of Joey Gallo’s or Josh Donaldson’s. He was an ultimate fan favorite at one point whose long-term stay in New York was widely supported and celebrated. But after four straight seasons of cumulative below-average play interrupted by injuries, time is finally up, assuming the rest of the infield can remain healthy. Someone hitting .202 with a .525 OPS can’t be getting everyday reps, and the only way that was going to change was if Aaron Boone was forced to insert somebody else into the lineup.

So, yeah, fans are thankful Rizzo’s return finally forced the passive manager’s hand.