Daily Report – 4/17/26
Yankees
The music at Yankee Stadium must not have been loud enough to motivate the team’s bullpen yesterday. Once again, the bullpen relievers couldn’t get the outs they needed to give their offense a chance at a comeback.
In 2024, the Yankees started playing music and sound effects between pitches. Last season, they raised the volume of the speakers around the Stadium, but after frustrated fans filed grievances, the volume was turned down. However, this season, not only has the volume been raised, but there are even more sound effects between pitches.
For example, the two-strike, two-out foghorns are fun — sometimes — but Yankees pitchers rarely seem to throw a third strike or get the last out on the first pitch after they sound.
Here were the pitch results yesterday with two strikes and two outs:
2nd inning: Ball (3-2 count)
3rd inning: Groundout
6th inning: Two-run single; Swinging strike
7th inning: Walk —> Stolen base
8th inning: Hit by pitch —> Grand slam
9th inning: Single
The latest fiasco in Yankee Land involves the music that plays in the ballpark, and what Aaron Judge said about it. “I’ve been asking for [more music] since the day I got here,” Judge told the Daily News. “I go to other stadiums, and they do a better job of getting the crowd into it, pumping up their players. Players ask for music, and they play the music. There were quite a few years they just didn’t do that here.
“We’ve got a job to do, and if there’s any little thing we can do to help motivate our guys in this room, or just create a better atmosphere, it’s all about putting pressure on the other team.”
The concerning aspect of Judge’s comments, beyond his failure to prioritize the fans’ displeasure, is the motivation he cited. His teammates should always be motivated to take the field. They play for the New York Yankees, and many of them earn hundreds of millions of dollars living out their dream.
Now, this subject matter has been exaggerated. I’m sure music isn’t a factor in player and team performance on the field. After all, Judge ultimately acknowledged his fanbase’s struggles.
“I’ve asked for new speakers, to put the speakers in a different spot, to change the speakers, do something,” he said. “And they just continue to turn it up on the fans. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t like it, too. But as players, we’re all sitting here and still can’t hear the music.”
38,424 fans packed Yankee Stadium for yesterday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels, which the Yankees lost 11-4. That means roughly 76,848 eardrums filled the venue. The Yankees managed to walk it off against Jordan Romano the night before, just like they did on Monday, with José Caballero delivering the game-winning two-run double.
But yesterday was different. The Angels struck back with three home runs, including a 446-foot bomb by Mike Trout that struck the seldom-reached leftmost side of the left-field bleachers. It was Trout’s fifth home run of the series, making him the first player to ever hit that many home runs in a series at Yankee Stadium.
Judge tried to respond, and he too put on a show, but his four home runs weren’t enough to catch Trout, who made history in the Bronx. Trout has spent much of the last few seasons battling injuries, but for now, he’s healthy, which is great for him, the Angels, and the rest of baseball.
“Cool showing from him and Judgie all series,” said Giancarlo Stanton, who went yard for the Yankees in the third inning. “Obviously, you don’t want that against us, but you’ve got to acknowledge the greatness.”
Throughout the series, Anaheim capitalized on every mistake the Yankees made, including the up-and-in fastball Oswald Peraza drove over the left-field wall in the first inning yesterday, putting Anaheim ahead 2-0.
“Story of the series, we just didn’t keep the ball in the ballpark,” manager Aaron Boone remarked. “That’s something we’ve done really well up until this series. They just kept coming at us.”
The Yankees’ pitching entered this series with one of the league’s best ERAs. Now, their 3.68 ERA ranks ninth in MLB, and their 4.13 bullpen ERA ranks 17th. Yesterday, the Yankees’ bullpen — Fernando Cruz, Angel Chivilli, and Ryan Yarbrough — allowed six runs off six hits, including two homers.
In the bottom of the opening inning, Judge responded to Peraza’s blast, sending a solo shot to left-center field for his eighth round-tripper of the season, and the 89th first-inning blast of his career. The Yankees were within one, and they took the lead two innings later, when Stanton smashed a center-cut sinker off the restaurant window above Monument Park.
Max Fried, the Yankees’ starter, couldn’t hold the lead forever. Anaheim responded in the sixth inning, as Peraza tied the score with a double, ending Fried’s afternoon. Cruz replaced him, and after giving up a high-bouncing single to Vaughn Grissom, he walked Travis d’Arnaud to load the bases for Josh Lowe.
Lowe worked a long at-bat, which included five straight split-finger fastballs. He got lucky on the ninth pitch when his bat broke, allowing the baseball to bloop into shallow center field for a two-run hit.
“Obviously, we haven’t been playing to our standards,” said Fried, who gave up five runs over 5 1/3, but Cruz inherited two of his baserunners. “But we know the kind of club we are, especially the way we started [the season]. That standard that we had, we’re going to get back to it.”
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Ben Rice hit his fifth home run of the season, bringing the Yankees within two, but in the seventh inning, Trout crushed his fifth long ball of the series. Reliever Angel Chivilli, who got called up the day before, offered Trout a 99-mph heater, and then three straight changeups, including two in the same spot as the pitch he sent soaring.
Trout had demolished several low fastballs already in this series. It didn’t make sense for Chivilli to throw anything to him down the middle of the plate, whether up or down, fast or breaking.
In the eighth inning, Jo Adell hit a grand slam off Ryan Yarbrough. The home run, which traveled the opposite way, put Anaheim ahead 11-4. Like Chivilli, Yarbrough threw his second pitch exactly where he placed his first, making it easy for Adell to predict. The Angels never looked back, and the Yankees mustered just one baserunner across the next two innings.
In positive news for the Yankees’ pitching staff, Gerrit Cole will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Somerset tonight. He is slated to throw 40 pitches for the Patriots, and shortstop Anthony Volpe will join him.
Tonight, at 7:05 PM (6:05 PM CDT), the Yankees will begin the three-game series against the Kansas City Royals (YES, Gotham Sports). RHP Cam Schlittler (2-1, 2.49 ERA) will take the mound against the scorching righty Michael Wacha (2-0, 0.43 ERA).
Here is tonight’s starting lineup for the New York Yankees:
CF Trent Grisham (L)
RF Aaron Judge (C) (R)
LF Cody Bellinger (L)
DH Giancarlo Stanton (R)
1B Ben Rice (L)
3B Amed Rosario (R)
2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L)
SS José Caballero (R)
C Austin Wells (L)
SP: RHP Cam Schlittler (2-1, 2.49 ERA)
Tomorrow, at 1:35 PM (12:35 PM CDT), it will be RHP Will Warren (1-0, 2.45 ERA) against the lefty Noah Cameron (1-0, 3.94 ERA) (YES, Gotham Sports).
Then, on Sunday, at 1:35 PM (12:35 PM CDT), LHP Ryan Weathers (0-2, 4.29 ERA) will mind the rubber against fellow southpaw Cole Ragans (0-3, 3.78 ERA) (YES, Gotham Sports).
Schedule
Tonight 4/16:
7:05 PM (6:05 PM CDT): NYY vs. KC; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: RHP Cam Schlittler (2-1, 2.49 ERA) vs. RHP Michael Wacha (2-0, 0.43 ERA)
Saturday 4/17:
1:35 PM (12:35 PM CDT): NYY vs. KC; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: RHP Will Warren (1-0, 2.45 ERA) vs. LHP Noah Cameron (1-0, 3.94 ERA)
6:00 PM (5:00 PM CDT): 2026 NBA Playoffs Round 1, Game 1 – New York Knicks (3) vs. Atlanta Hawks (6); Prime Video
5:00 PM (4:00 PM CDT): Knicks Playoff Pre-Game; MSG, Gotham Sports
Sunday 4/18:
1:35 PM (12:35 PM CDT): NYY vs. KC; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: LHP Ryan Weathers (0-2, 4.29 ERA) vs. LHP Cole Ragans (0-3, 3.78 ERA)
