Around the Empire: Yankees news - 8/31/22

New York Post | Dan Martin: Frankie Montas has gotten off to a rocky start with the Yankees, with an ERA over seven, and surrendered three home runs to the Angels in his outing Monday night. Despite the poor results, Montas isn’t concerned about his long-term outlook just yet, retaining confidence in the quality of his stuff and trying to block out thoughts of any bad luck hurting his numbers.

New York Daily News | Kristie Ackert: There are precious few baseball players that can understand the season that Aaron Judge is having, and the pressure he’s under as he hunts 61 home runs. The last player to make a run at a total like that is Judge’s own teammate, Giancarlo Stanton, who swatted 59 in 2017. Although the slugger was cagey about giving an exact prediction for Judge’s power output, Stanton did promise that the end of Judge’s likely MVP campaign will be “incredible”.

Sports Illustrated | Gary Phillips: One of the problems plaguing the Yankees in the second half has been the onslaught of injuries, particularly in the pitching staff. At least one of those hurt arms looks to be well on the way to returning, with Nestor Cortes scheduled to throw a bullpen session today and the club optimistic the lefty will be able to rejoin the team for next week’s homestand.

FanGraphs | Dan Szymborski: Familiarity may breed contempt, but does it give one team an advantage over the other come October? That’s exactly the question Dan tries to suss out, looking at how predictive head-to-head records in the regular season are when it comes to playoff matchups. Those most concerned about the Yankees performance against the Astros this year might be most interested in the findings.

Also, Jameson Taillon was removed from last night’s start against the Angels after two innings with a right forearm contusion. The Yankees tweeted after his departure that X-Rays were negative on a fracture.