Daily Report – 4/22/26
Yankees
Before I recap yesterday’s victory in Boston, I want to acknowledge some Yankees news that made headlines this morning. According to Brendan Kuty of The Athletic, a group of Yankees players pitched an alternate road jersey to the front office. The jersey would likely be navy and feature the words “New York” in their traditional road font and size.
Many fans have criticized this idea, calling it the end of a franchise-long tradition that doesn’t deserve to be desecrated, at least not until the Yankees win another championship.
I disagree.
I believe the current Yankees era is different than the past. That doesn’t mean the pinstripes don’t have value, and it doesn’t reduce the reverence of the Yankee name. These Yankees players get to grow beards. These Yankees players get to wear custom belts and colorful cleats. These changes to tradition do not — I repeat, do not — negatively impact the quality of the product on the field.
The Yankees haven’t won a World Series since 2009. They are on the verge of setting a new franchise record for the most seasons without winning a championship. If anything, that should prompt the front office to make changes to the decrepit book of traditions.
Last night in Boston, the Yankees made a statement against their longtime rivals, shutting out the Red Sox 4-0. This Red Sox team is in the middle of a long rebuild. Despite reaching the postseason last year, they have reverted to a squad with the fewest home runs and the fifth-fewest runs scored in the league this season.
This putrid Boston offense couldn’t make a dent against Luis Gil last night, who tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings, but with little command. He struggled to locate all four of his pitches, and his velocity was down on each, especially his slider, which dropped 3.6 mph. He only generated misses on four of his 29 swinging strikes, which he attributed to the cold temperatures in Boston — it was 47 degrees at first pitch.
“It was a cold night, for sure,” Gil said through interpreter Marlon Abreu. “The good thing is, I felt really, really good tonight.”
That’s odd, because the Red Sox made contact with seven of Gil’s pitches at 98 mph or higher. The right-hander averaged 93.6 mph on his fastball. For comparison, when Gil won the Rookie of the Year Award in 2024, his heater averaged 96.6 mph. Perhaps he should credit the defense around him yesterday, because if he had put up those numbers on a warmer night, he would not have shut out his opponent.
“My focus is to execute pitches, get strikes out there, and let [the team] figure it out,” Gil said through Abreu.
Gil got the most support from the lone Yankees hitter who didn’t take the field. After two days of rest, Giancarlo Stanton drove in three of his team’s four runs. He homered in the second inning, doubled in the sixth, and nearly secured another extra-base hit in the eighth before Ceddanne Rafaela stopped him at the wall.
In 40 career games at Fenway Park, Stanton has hit to a .316 average with eight home runs. That eighth dinger was a solo blast that soared over the Green Monster yesterday. It exited Stanton’s bat at a 41-degree angle, the second-highest launch angle on any home run in the Majors this season. The ball soared so high that it was impossible to spot on the YES Network telecast.
“It might’ve just landed,” Stanton joked after the game. “We’ll see if we can go find it.”
The home run, Stanton’s fifth of the season, put the Yankees ahead 1-0. Stanton had been hitless in his previous 17 at-bats, so all he needed was an extended period of rest to return to his best form. Despite how far his home run traveled, he was proudest of his two-run double in the sixth inning, which extended the Yankees’ lead to 3-0.
“I think [the extra rest day] was probably beneficial, especially because he’d played five in a row there with some day games after night games,” said manager Aaron Boone. “I think there’s probably something to that, where he benefits from that [extra day]. We’ll continue to be mindful of that and pick our spots when it’s smart.”
The good news is that the Yankees have bench options they can use if Stanton needs an extra day. Ben Rice entered yesterday’s game with the best OPS in baseball. He then went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, but Randal Grichuk, who began the game 2-for-20 at the plate, backed him up with two hits, including an eighth-inning RBI double that put the game away for New York.
Grichuk hasn’t endured an easy start to his Yankees tenure. As a right-handed outfielder, Boone likes to platoon him with Trent Grisham when a lefty is on the mound, and he has continued to do so despite a lack of early results. However, Grichuk is 2-for-4 since growing a goatee; he needs to keep it.
“I definitely get excited when I see lefties,” Grichuk said.
In his rehab game yesterday, Anthony Volpe went 2-for-4 with a home run. If Volpe returned today, the Yankees would probably single out Grichuk. Like Gil, who is fighting to stay in a rotation that will soon feature Gerrit Cole and, even sooner, Carlos Rodón, Grichuk is trying to defend his roster spot. He will be tested again tonight against the lefty Ranger Suarez.
Tonight, at 6:45 PM (5:45 PM CDT), the Yankees will send LHP Max Fried (2-1, 2.97 ERA) to the mound against LHP Ranger Suarez (1-1, 3.22 ERA) (Prime Video).
Here is tonight’s starting lineup for the New York Yankees, which surprisingly won’t feature Ben Rice (team second-best 1.167 OPS against lefties):
1B Paul Goldschmidt (R)
RF Aaron Judge (C) (R)
CF Cody Bellinger (L)
DH Giancarlo Stanton (R)
3B Amed Rosario (R)
LF Randal Grichuk (R)
2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L)
SS José Caballero (R)
C Austin Wells (L)
SP: LHP Max Fried (2-1, 2.97 ERA)
Yankees Transactions – 4/22:
NYY placed LHP Ryan Weathers on the paternity list
NYY recalled RHP Jake Bird from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
Schedule
6:45 PM (5:45 PM CDT): NYY at BOS; Prime Video; SP: LHP Max Fried (2-1, 2.97 ERA) vs. LHP Ranger Suarez (1-1, 3.22 ERA).
Cover Image Courtesy: New York Yankees
