Daily Report – 4/21/26
Yankees
The Yankees got by with a little help from their friends this weekend, sweeping the Kansas City Royals out of Yankee Stadium. For the first time since their 8-2 start, the Yankees were in complete control of every game they played, and they sailed past Kansas City.
The three-game series culminated with a two-hour, 45-minute rain delay on Sunday that only gave the scorching Yankees’ bats more time to ripen. After blasting four home runs on Saturday, including three in the third inning alone, the Bombers bashed another trio of long balls in a 7-0 victory.
Aaron Judge got things started early for the Yankees, blasting his 90th-career first-inning home run, a two-run shot to plate Ben Rice, whom Aaron Boone placed in the leadoff spot against a lefty. In the second inning, Rice added a homer of his own, his fourth in as many consecutive days.
“It’s just quality at-bat after at-bat,” Judge said. “It doesn’t matter who’s on the mound or what the situation is when he’s going up there. It’s been impressive to see him just take his walks when he can, come up with the big hit when we need it, and keep passing the baton.”
Rice recorded one of the highest hard-hit rates in the Majors last season, so his consistency this season is not surprising. However, as a left-handed hitter, nobody expected him to be so dominant against left-handed pitching. The Yankees re-signed Paul Goldschmidt as their primary first baseman against southpaws, but with a 1.332 OPS against lefties and his 1.255 OPS against righties, Rice has become the better option.
Rice has only taken 17 at-bats against southpaws this season, but three of his eight home runs have come against them. Overall, Rice leads the American League in OPS (1.276) and slugging percentage (.800), ranks second in batting average (.338), and is tied for third in home runs (8).
“It’ll definitely be some headaches for some opposing pitching staffs because of what [Rice has] done this year and will continue to do,” Judge said. “He’s at the top of the league right now.”
Judge’s first-inning home run on Sunday accounted for just two of the three runs the Yankees scored that inning. Including Rice, four Yankees walked in the first inning, and three of them loaded the bases for Austin Wells, who lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, putting the Yankees ahead 3-0. They totaled 10 walks in the game, including eight against the left-handed starter Cole Ragans.
As fun as it was to watch the Yankees score seven runs, the zero on the other side was more impressive. Coming off a five-inning start in which he allowed four home runs, including back-to-back-to-back first-inning blasts, there was plenty of concern surrounding Ryan Weathers. But on Sunday, with a little help from the weather, he got extra time to prepare, and it showed as he recorded eight strikeouts over 7 1/3 innings.
Weathers was not the only Yankees pitcher to excel this weekend. On Saturday, Will Warren struck out a career-high-tying 11 batters over seven two-run innings, helping the Yankees secure a 13-4 win. The Yankees’ rotation could look very different in a couple of months when Carlos Rodón and Gerrit Cole return, so younger pitchers like Warren could get singled out. But Warren is making a case not to be left behind.
In his second MLB season, the 26-year-old right-hander ranks among the league leaders in strikeouts looking. On Saturday, he earned five punch-outs with his five-pitch arsenal, flashing a four-seam fastball, sweeper, sinker, changeup, and curveball. The Yankees’ offense complemented his strong performance with four home runs.
Coming off a Friday night in which Ryan McMahon heroically McHomered in the eighth inning to put the Yankees back in front, backup third baseman Amed Rosario belted his team’s first round-tripper on Saturday, driving a center-cut fastball over the left-field fence. Two batters later, Cody Bellinger blasted one to the second deck in right field, his first of two that afternoon, and Rice backed him up with another.
The Yankees look to carry this weekend’s success into Boston tonight for the first of three games against the Red Sox (6:45 PM, 5:45 PM CDT – YES, TBS, Gotham Sports, HBO Max). The series is part of a nine-game road trip, which the Yankees will finish in Houston and Arlington.
Tonight, RHP Luis Gil (0-1, 7.00 ERA) will look to improve after two poor starts as he squares off against the lefty Connelly Early (1-0, 2.29 ERA), who pitched for the Red Sox in the deciding American League Wild Card game last October.
This week, the Bombers have the opportunity to kick the Red Sox while they’re down. Boston salvaged their game against Detroit yesterday, even though their starter, Sonny Gray, left early with an injury. The Red Sox (9-13) sit in last place in the AL East division while the Yankees (13-9) are in first place.
Here is tonight’s starting lineup for the New York Yankees:
3B Amed Rosario (R)
RF Aaron Judge (C) (R)
1B Ben Rice (L)
DH Giancarlo Stanton (R)
CF Cody Bellinger (L)
LF Randal Grichuk (R)
2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L)
SS José Caballero (R)
C Austin Wells (L)
SP: RHP Luis Gil (0-1, 7.00 ERA)
After getting swept by Tampa Bay two weekends ago, the Yankees are still searching for their first divisional win. They can either set the tone early against Boston or help them turn their season around. Red Sox fans aren’t thrilled with the Yankees after last year’s postseason battle, which featured a historic 12-strikeout start by Cam Schlittler in the deciding game. The 25-year-old Massachusetts native and his family have received death threats from Boston fans.
So, if “The Rivalry” isn’t enough to motivate the Yankees tonight, then they can at least resort to defending their outstanding rookie hurler. Whatever it takes, the Yankees must capitalize on this opportunity to beat a reeling Red Sox team. The Red Sox are the Yankees’ rivals. They will be pesky as they tend to be. How will the Yankees respond?
Schedule
6:45 PM (5:45 PM CDT): NYY at BOS; YES, TBS, Gotham Sports, HBO Max; SP: RHP Luis Gil (0-1, 7.00 ERA) vs. LHP Connelly Early (1-0, 2.29 ERA)
Cover Image Courtesy: New York Yankees
