Daily Report – 6/6/25
Here is today’s report:
Yankees
Vote here to send Aaron Judge to Atlanta this July!
The best way to extinguish the pain of a 4-0 loss is with a 4-0 win. Last night, Max Fried and the Yankees took the rubber match from the Cleveland Guardians. Fried threw a season-high 103 pitches, and after getting out of a first-inning jam, he finished with a six-inning one-hit gem.
In the first inning, Fried hastily eliminated Steven Kwan and Angel Martínez with a couple of strikeouts, but José Ramírez prevailed with a 38.8 mph infield single. Fried tried to pick Ramírez off at first base, but a fielding error by Ben Rice sent him to second base. Ramírez then stole third before Fried walked David Fry, putting runners at the corners for Carlos Santana. Fry managed to steal a base of his own, but Fried didn’t waver, forcing Santana to pop out to Rice.
Fans at Yankee Stadium were relieved to see Fried recover against the top of Cleveland’s order, something Clarke Schmidt couldn’t do the night before. Not only did Fried work magic in the first inning, but he didn’t give up a single hit after that infield single to Ramírez.
Fried struggled in Los Angeles on Friday night, giving up a three-run lead to the Dodgers, which led to his first earned loss of the season. “Last time I let the lead go, so I wanted to make it a point to keep them in it and hold the lead as long as I could,” said Fried. “For me, it was just important getting back to doing what I do really well.”
In the seventh inning, Mark Leiter Jr. relieved Max Fried and gave up hits to José Ramírez and Carlos Santana. With runners at first and second base, Gabriel Arias grounded a pitch to Anthony Volpe, who made a fielding error on the throw to Jazz Chisholm Jr. at third base. Scary memories of the fifth inning of Game 5 of the World Series. And then, Tim Hill entered the game. He struck out Bo Naylor and got Jhonkensy Noel to fly out to right field, leaving the bases loaded without allowing a run.
“You’ve just got to trust yourself,” said Hill. “In past situations, I’ve walked a guy with the bases loaded, and I was pretty disappointed in myself.” On X, Katie Sharp posted that batters are 0-14 this season with the bases loaded against Tim Hill. That stat makes fans wish desperately that in Game 1 of the World Series, Aaron Boone would have summoned Tim Hill from the bullpen instead of Nestor Cortes to face Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman with the bases loaded. Hindsight is 20/20, but remember, Cortes hadn’t pitched in a month, and Hill had been dominant throughout the postseason.
On the other side of the ball last night, Jazz Chisholm Jr. sparkled for the Yankees, finally raising his batting average above .200 (.207). Chisholm finished the night with three hits in four at-bats, the most on the team. He also stole his seventh bag of the season, and he was quick to praise Max Fried after the game. “He knows how to pitch,” said the former Miami Marlin, who is 2-for-16 against Fried in his career. “I think my batting average against him is lower than my batting average right now, so it’s kind of crazy.”
The Yankees scored their first runs in the fourth inning. Aaron Judge doubled down the right field line, and Cody Bellinger crushed a home run into the right field bullpen. That home run came after Bellinger made a brilliant leaping catch in right field in the top of the fourth inning. “It’s a fun place to play,” said Bellinger. “The home fans, the energy, the excitement, I’m really enjoying it. The fans are right there. I’m just making sure I get a good jump and trying to reach the ball as best I can.” The Yankees were thrilled to see Bellinger produce behind Aaron Judge, which made Cleveland nervous both times they intentionally walked the heavy-hitting captain.
Working with a 4-0 lead, Jonathan Loáisiga secured the final three outs for the Yankees, who are preparing to host the Boston Red Sox tonight for the first time this season. Boston currently holds a 30-34 record, sitting 9.5 games behind the Yankees for the American League East lead. Alex Bregman, the long-time Yankees killer, is out with a quad injury this weekend, but Boston isn’t short of pitching talent. They will throw Walker Buehler and Garrett Crochet at the Yankees this weekend, and Aroldis Chapman will be their closer.
Tonight, at 7:05 PM, for the first time since securing the final three outs of the 2024 World Series, RHP Walker Buehler (4-3, 4.44 ERA) will return to Yankee Stadium (YES). He will face the righty Will Warren (3-3, 5.19 ERA), who is coming off an awful start against the very Dodgers that beat the Yankees in last year’s championship.
Tomorrow, at 7:35 PM, the dominant southpaw Garrett Crochet (5-4, 1.98 ERA) will face off against the crafty lefty Ryan Yarbrough (3-0, 2.83 ERA) (FOX).
Then, on Sunday at 7:10 PM, Boston will send RHP Hunter Dobbins (2-1, 4.06 ERA) to square up against LHP Carlos Rodón (8-3, 2.49 ERA) (ESPN).
Rangers
David Quinn is back in New York. Yesterday, Mike Sullivan named Quinn, Joe Sacco, and Ty Hennes to his coaching staff.
Quinn was the Rangers’ head coach between 2018 and 2021, and he also coached the San Jose Sharks between 2022 and 2024 before joining Sullivan’s staff in Pittsburgh as an assistant coach. Now that Dan Muse has taken over Sullivan’s previous post in Pittsburgh, and Michael Peca has moved to Chicago, there are three new assistant coaches behind the Rangers’ bench.
Joe Sacco spent his previous 11 seasons with the Boston Bruins, most recently as their associate coach last season and their interim head coach for last season’s final 62 games. He was an assistant coach in Buffalo in 2013-14 and the head coach in Colorado between 2009 and 2013.
Ty Hennes has been a member of the Penguins organization for the last seven seasons, serving as an assistant coach for the previous three. He rounds out a highly experienced crew of Rangers coaches.
Knicks
On Tuesday, it seemed like the Knicks had a plan when they fired Tom Thibodeau. Now, that’s not so clear. As written in this report, there are reasons to believe Jalen Brunson’s loyalty toward Thibodeau stems from Thibodeau’s loyalty to Brunson’s father, Rick. Reports came out as early as June 4 stating that several Knicks players were “unhappy” with Rick Brunson’s presence on their team. One source told Sam Amico of Hoops Wire that Rick Brunson “holds the most power in the entire organization,” per Mike McDaniel of Sports Illustrated.
However, it seems likely that Brunson will remain on the Knicks’ coaching staff next season, and if he does, that raises questions about the team’s locker room culture. If Jalen Brunson puts his father before his team, it could negatively impact the Knicks.
Today, reports were released from sources like Gary Woelfel, Tim McMahon, and the New York Post suggesting the possibility of a New York City reunion between Jason Kidd and Giannis Antetokounmpo. It seems the Dallas Mavericks are permitting the Knicks to ask for “formal permission” to speak with Kidd, per NBA writer Mark Stein. Kidd is a former Knicks player and a former coach of Antetokounmpo, and he was the runner-up for the Knicks head coaching job in 2020 before they hired Tom Thibodeau. According to Gary Woelfel, the Knicks are preparing to make a “tsunami-style type offer” to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo from Milwaukee.
So, is Giannis the plan? Is Jason Kidd the plan? If so, the plan doesn’t sound too bad.
Schedule
Tonight 6/6:
7:05 PM: NYY vs. BOS; YES; SP: RHP Will Warren (3-3, 5.19 ERA)
8:00 PM: 2025 Stanley Cup Final, Game 2 – FLA (0-1) at EDM (1-0); TNT, TRUTV, MAX
Saturday 6/7:
9:00 AM: 2025 Roland Garros, Ladies Singles Final – Aryna Sabalenka [1] vs. Coco Gauff [2]; TNT, TRUTV, MAX
6:30 PM: 157th Running of the Belmont Stakes; FOX
7:35 PM: Baseball Night in America – NYY vs. BOS; FOX; SP: LHP Ryan Yarbrough (3-0, 2.83 ERA)
Sunday 6/8:
9:00 AM: 2025 Roland Garros, Gentlemen’s Singles Final – Carlos Alcaraz [2] vs. (Novak Djokovic [6] or Jannik Sinner [1]); TNT, TRUTV, MAX
7:10 PM: Sunday Night Baseball – NYY vs. BOS; ESPN; SP: LHP Carlos Rodón (8-3, 2.49 ERA)
8:00 PM: 2025 NBA Finals, Game 2 – IND (1-0) at OKC (0-1); ABC
