Daily Report – 4/2/25
Here is today’s report:
Yankees
Last night, the Yankees kindly reminded us that it can’t always be about torpedo bats. The Yankees lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-5 last night thanks to a grand slam by Eugenio Suárez, the reigning National League Player of the Week. His towering four-run blast propelled Arizona over the reigning American League Player of the Week and his team.
The Yankees had an excellent night offensively. They forced Corbin Burnes to elevate his pitch count early, and he exited the game after throwing 98 pitches through 4.1 innings. The Yankees scored four runs against him (two earned) thanks to home runs from Jasson Domínguez and Anthony Volpe.
Will Warren was excellent for the Yankees last night too, giving up two runs in five innings. He threw 85 pitches, and his new five-pitch arsenal looked fantastic. He allowed just one hit last night. He flashed his new changeup 18 times to lefties. This is a very different Will Warren than the one we suffered through watching last season. This is a strong, confident homegrown talent whom the Yankees kept despite trade requests from other teams.
“I’m here to take the ball every five days and give us a chance to win,” Warren said. “I was just filling it up, putting them on their heels. Later in the game, I fell behind and [Corbin Carroll] hit the home run because of the two-out walk [to Geraldo Perdomo]. But overall, I think making quick work was mainly from getting ahead and just trusting guys behind me.”
His pitching arm aside, Will Warren reminds me a lot of Whitey Ford. I saw this picture a couple of weeks ago taken by Charles Wenzelberg of the New York Post, and Warren looks a lot like Ford:
Left Photo Credit: Charles Wenzelberg; Right Photo Credit: Google Images
Do you see it?
Anyway, Fernando Cruz relieved Warren in the sixth inning and threw 22 pitches over two innings, striking out four batters and permitting zero runs. In the 8th inning, Aaron Boone decided to call Tim Hill out of the bullpen, despite his relatively weekend workload. Boone intended for Hill to face the lefty Alek Thomas, but instead, the righty Randal Grichuk hit in his place. Grichuk has put up good numbers against the Yankees throughout his career, and he led off the eighth inning with a 111.6 mph double to left field.
Typically, when a relief pitcher receives insufficient rest, it is unwise to keep him in a game for more than three outs. If that pitcher gives up a well-barreled hit, he should get relieved as soon as possible. Tim Hill is a workhorse, but there was no reason for him to face more than the minimum three batters last night. After Grichuk’s double, Geraldo Perdomo RBI singled to right field. Hill then forced the No. 1 hitter Corbin Carroll to ground into a force out at second base because the throw to first was too late. Hill threw four pitches to three batters before Aaron Boone summoned Mark Leiter Jr. to relieve him.
Boone was correct to relieve Hill. Given Leiter’s record so far this season, Boone was also right to expect him to get through the eighth inning. Leiter walked Ketel Marte to put runners at first and second with one out. Leiter struggled with his command throughout his outing, and he threw several pitches well outside the strike zone, including a mishandled splitter above Austin Wells’s head. Leiter then walked Pavin Smith to load the bases for Josh Naylor, who has had some big hits against the Yankees before, but not against Mark Leiter Jr. Naylor struck out swinging, and Eugenio Suárez stepped up to the plate.
Suárez was sitting on Leiter’s splitter throughout his at-bat, and Leiter was struggling to spin the pitch all night, especially with runners on base. After watching a splitter hit the dirt, Suárez launched a high one 142 feet into the air, and it landed 376 feet away in the first row of the left-center field seats. The go-ahead eighth-inning grand slam was Suárez’s fifth home run of the season.
“He put a good swing on [my splitter] and unfortunately, it got out,” said Mark Leiter Jr. “We had a chance to win that game. I’ve got to make better pitches.”
In a baseball game, it’s hard to recover from a three-run deficit with six outs remaining. In the bottom of the ninth, with two outs and nobody on base, Ben Rice hit a towering blast off AJ Puk that soared into the second deck in right field. Thanks to Rice’s homer, the Yankees set the MLB record for home runs through a team’s first four games of a season. Their 18 home runs surpassed the 16 hit by the 2006 Detroit Tigers. Also, the Yankees’ 41 runs scored through their first four games are the second most through the first four games of any season in franchise history, behind 48 runs scored in 1950.
“We think we’ve got a resilient team that can dig ourselves out of any holes. Unfortunately, tonight we weren’t able to,” said Ben Rice.
But doesn’t it feel nice to have Yankees baseball back? Season 123 of our favorite reality television show is only just getting interesting!
Tonight at 7:05 PM (6:05 PM CDT) at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees will try to force the rubber match as LHP Carlos Rodón (1-0, 1.69 ERA) gets the start against star RHP Zac Gallen (0-1, 9.00 ERA) (Prime Video).
Here is tonight’s starting lineup for the New York Yankees:
1B Paul Goldschmidt (R)
CF Cody Bellinger (L)
RF Aaron Judge (R) (C)
2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L)
SS Anthony Volpe (R)
C Austin Wells (L)
LF Jasson Domínguez (S)
DH Ben Rice (L)
3B Oswaldo Cabrera (S)
P: LHP Carlos Rodón (1-0, 1.69 ERA)
Rangers
Tonight at 7 PM (6 PM CDT), the Rangers will return to the Garden to play the Minnesota Wild (MSGSN).
The Rangers will welcome Connor McDonald and his family to the ice tonight to announce the 2024-25 Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award winner. Steven McDonald was an NYPD detective, and this award will be given in his honor for the 37th consecutive season.
I voted for Will Cuylle to win the award this year. Since February 1, Cuylle, JT Miller, and Vincent Trocheck are three of seven NHL players with at least five goals, 10 points, and 65 hits. Cuylle’s 275 hits rank second in the NHL and third among Rangers in a single season. He also has five points (1 goal, 4 assists) in five of his last nine games and 12 points (5 G, 7 A) in his last 20 games. His 18 goals are tied for fifth on the Rangers.
Next, Gabe Perreault will make his Broadway debut tonight, skating on the right side of Alexis Lafrenière and JT Miller at Madison Square Garden. After his buddy Ryan Leonard skated with Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals last night, the Boston College star is raring and ready to make his NHL debut.
Despite speculation about his future with the Rangers, the former Boston College skater Chris Kreider has taken Perreault under his wing. Their lockers are located right next to each other. On April 11, 2012, Kreider made his practice debut with the Rangers, and former Boston College player Brian Boyle mentored him. Kreider’s first NHL game was in the playoffs, and he scored a goal that night. He finished 18 playoff games with five goals that year.
“I think, definitely, physically [I] took a big step,” said Perreault when asked why he decided to enter the NHL this season. “I think the other biggest thing I was focused on going back to school was the details in my game. I think offensively and defensively I took a big step in that part.”
But, as Larry Brooks pointed out this morning, just like Brian Boyle in 2012, Chris Kreider knows his days with the Rangers are ending.
It’s a bit sad how the circle game unfolds.
All the more reason for the Rangers to complete their playoff push.
Here are the current Eastern Conference Wild Card standings, courtesy of the Rangers:
Photo Credit: New York Rangers website
Knicks
Tom Thibodeau is alternating his centers tonight as the Knicks travel to Cleveland for the second game of a back-to-back set. Karl-Anthony Towns missed last night’s game against Philadelphia, but Mitchell Robinson balled out on his birthday. The Knicks beat the 76ers 105-91 last night, and their 15 games allowing fewer than 100 points are the eighth most in the NBA.
Mitchell Robinson recorded 14 points and 14 rebounds last night, including seven offensive rebounds. Robinson said this was the best birthday game of his career.
“Still got a lot of work to do,” said Robinson. “But as of right now, I mean, it’s heading in the right direction.” The shorthanded Knicks were without Karl-Anthony Towns, Jalen Brunson, Cameron Payne, or Deuce McBride, but Philadelphia had worse injuries to overcome. They lacked Joel Embiid and Paul George, so led by former Knick Quentin Grimes, they were rather easy to beat.
The Knicks beat Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs last year, and they have now swept them in the 2024-25 regular season series.
This win also marked Tom Thibodeau’s 223rd as the Knicks’ head coach, tying Pat Riley for the fourth most in franchise history. “All that individual stuff,” said Thibodeau, “It’s a byproduct of having great players, and you share that with your team.”
Meanwhile, OG Anunoby led the Knicks in points last night with 27, and Landry Shamet followed suit with 20. Shamet impressively went six-for-11 from behind the line.
“They are a hard-playing team,” Shamet said regarding the 76ers. “They weren’t going to go away.”
OG Anunoby is known as the Knicks’ best defender, but recently, amid Jalen Brunson’s absence, his offense has shown why he is worth $42.5 million per year. After last night’s game, Tom Thibodeau said, “OG’s got a great mix going right now. Attacking the rim, getting to the line, high-volume threes. He’s not hesitating. It’s really, really good basketball and his defense is elite.”
But one big question remains for the Knicks, and due to injuries, they might not be able to answer it tonight in Cleveland: Can they beat the league’s best teams? Specifically, the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Also, congratulations to former Knick Carmelo Anthony on being elected to the Hall of Fame!
Tonight at 7 PM (6 PM CDT), the Knicks will visit the 60-15 Cleveland Cavaliers (MSG, ESPN).
In their last matchup on February 2, Cleveland beat the Knicks 142-105. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 26 points, but Donovan Mitchell scored 27 for Cleveland and Evan Mobley added 21. The Knicks could not defend Cleveland from three-point range.
Schedule
7:00 PM (6:00 PM CDT): NYR vs. MIN; MSGSN
7:00 PM (6:00 PM CDT): NYK at CLE; MSG, ESPN
7:05 PM (6:00 PM CDT): NYY vs. AZ; AmazonPV; SP: LHP Carlos Rodón (1-0, 1.69 ERA)
That will conclude this report. Enjoy your evening!
