Daily Report – 4/28/25
Here is today’s report:
Yankees
Devin Williams is no longer the Yankees’ closer. He has fallen into one of those pressure traps that often plague New York newcomers. On Friday night, he entered the bottom of the ninth inning against Toronto with a one-run lead and gave up three runs without securing any outs. He was awarded his first blown save of the season, and his ERA increased to 11.25.
“For now, I’m gonna take him out of that role,” said Aaron Boone. “As I said to him, ‘You’ve still got everything to be great.’ This is a guy who’s in the prime of his career and is just going through a little bit. It happens.”
Aaron Boone has moved Luke Weaver to the closer position in Williams’s place, a situation with which Weaver is familiar. Late last season, he filled in for Clay Holmes, who slid from the best closer in baseball during the first half of the season to one of the worst down the stretch. At the back end of their bullpen, Weaver helped the Yankees win their 41st American League pennant. He is currently pitching to a 0.00 ERA.
As much as we beg the Yankees to spend more money on their roster, Luke Weaver is the cheapest hero the team will ever find. The Yankees took a seemingly washed-up pitcher, paid him $2 million, turned him into a strike thrower, and developed a shut-down closer.
“The way things have gone this season, it’s not really a shock,” said Williams regarding his demotion. He is going to see more low-leverage bullpen situations as he rebuilds his confidence. “Being a closer is a position you have to earn, and you have to keep earning it. Lately, I haven’t been doing that.”
During the offseason, the Yankees traded Nestor Cortes and prospect Caleb Durbin to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Williams. Durbin is currently a consistent presence in Milwaukee’s starting lineup. I spoke to him one-on-one on Friday. You can listen to that interview here.
On Saturday, the Yankees’ game was cancelled due to rain, so they played a doubleheader against Toronto on Sunday. The Yankees swept the Blue Jays in the double-header, 11-2 in the first game and 5-1 in the second game, to win the series.
Max Fried got the start in the first game of the doubleheader. He made the right choice to pitch in the first game, for he allowed just one run across six innings to earn his fifth win of the season. The Yankees are now 6-0 when Fried toes the slab, and they are fortunate to have him as their ace, especially with Gerrit Cole out for the season.
“There are so many different ways he can beat you within a certain game,” said Aaron Boone about Max Fried. “So, depending on what he has that day, he can lean on a lot of different things.”
The Yankees are familiar with the work of Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman. They’ve seen him enough times, so they know how to beat him. In the third inning of yesterday’s first game, they scored six runs against Gausman, five of which came with two outs. First, Oswaldo Cabrera and Ben Rice walked before Aaron Judge singled to load the bases. Cody Bellinger then hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Cabrera, tying the game at 1-1. Paul Goldschmidt then walked to load the bases again, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe each moved the carousel with walks of their own.
With the bases loaded and two men out, Austin Wells cleared the bases with a double to center field, and the Yankees took a 6-1 lead. Not only did Blue Jays manager John Schneider relieve Gausman of his duties, but Gausman got himself ejected from the game. So yeah, the Yankees beat him.
Game 1 also saw a 2-for-3 performance from Anthony Volpe, including one walk, two RBI, and his fifth home run of the season. Austin Wells finished the day with two doubles, and Volpe, Oswaldo Cabrera, Paul Goldschmidt, and Cody Bellinger each doubled as well. Furthermore, Ben Rice made his first appearance behind the plate, catching Tyler Matzek, who made his Yankees debut.
In the second game, the Yankees beat Toronto 5-1, thanks to Clarke Schmidt’s excellent bounce-back start. Across five innings, he gave up just one run and one hit, striking out six batters while walking four. Trent Grisham led off the game with his seventh home run of the season, and Judge added a dinger in the sixth. Judge’s home run made up for his rained-out birthday on Saturday, although it wasn’t really raining.
The Yankees have struggled against Bassitt for many years, but not yesterday. The veteran righty surrendered four runs off six hits and two homers across 5.2 innings, resulting in his second loss of the season. The two home runs were the first he allowed this season.
Judge is now hitting .406 this season, and he is the first Yankee since Babe Ruth (1926) through his first 28 games to slug at least .400/.500/.700 with eight home runs (Katie Sharp).
To add to the dinger-filled Sunday, JC Escarra blasted his first Major League home run, a no-doubter that traveled 415 feet into the right field bleachers. “I didn’t feel the ball of the bat,” said Escarra. “It was the first MLB home run. I did it here at home at Yankee Stadium. […] It’s very special. This is my family’s team. It’s a dream come true. I’m doing everything as a Yankee. It can’t get better than this.”
Tonight, at 6:35 PM (5:35 PM CDT), the Yankees travel to Baltimore for the first game of a three-game set against the Orioles (YES, Gotham Sports). Last season, the Yankees and Orioles battled for first place in the American League East. This year, the Orioles hold a 10-17 record.
RHP Will Warren (1-0, 4.79 ERA) will start for the Yankees against Baltimore’s newest star pitcher, RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (2-1, 3.54 ERA). Both pitchers will be facing their opponents for the first time in their careers.
Here is tonight’s starting lineup for the New York Yankees:
CF Trent Grisham (L)
RF Aaron Judge (C) (R)
LF Cody Bellinger (L)
1B Paul Goldschmidt (R)
2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L)
SS Anthony Volpe (R)
C Austin Wells (L)
DH Jasson Domínguez (S)
3B Oswald Peraza (R)
P: RHP Will Warren (1-0, 4.79 ERA)
Schedule
6:35 PM (5:35 PM CDT): NYY at BAL; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: RHP Will Warren (1-0, 4.79 ERA)
That will conclude this report. Have a good night.
