Daily Report – 4/3/26
“There’s No Place Like Home”
From the gorgeous new Jumbotron sparkling in the afternoon sun to Cody Bellinger’s spectacular catch in left field, the Yankees’ home opener was everything their fans could have asked for. Against the Miami Marlins, the Bombers lit up the South Bronx with an 8-2 victory.
There are few days as sweet as the first day of the Yankees’ season, and for Yankees fans, the first trip to the Stadium is an opportunity to make memories and reunite with friends, and in some cases, family, whom you haven’t seen for months. For Yankees fans, today was an opportunity to reunite at the place we all call home.
Having been in the Emerald City all week, the Yankees were excited to click their heels together thrice and recite, “There’s no place like home.” The players recognized the extended family reunion around them, and they brought the biggest gift to the party: a win. One that featured an early Judgian Blast, another from Ben Rice, 11 earned walks, zero allowed, five stolen bases, and 3 1/3 scoreless bullpen innings.
Today was already a holiday, and the Yankees made it a celebration. Every player arrived at the office in a suit, which, according to Rice, was Aaron Judge’s idea.
“That's Cap again, setting the tone,” Rice said. “Sent us a text late last night, saying, ‘Hey! Suits tomorrow.’ So, everybody was fired up, and we were happy to continue that momentum on the field.”
After Olympic gold medalists Jack Hughes and Aerin Frankel threw out the first pitches, both teams were welcomed onto the field before fans unfurled a large American flag as the National Anthem played. Most years, this would have been the Yankees’ second on-field opening ceremony, but because the San Francisco Giants recognized Opening Day and Opening Night, it was their third.
In the first inning, Will Warren, who allowed a pair of runs off solo shots over 5 2/3 innings, gave up his first home run to Xavier Edwards. The dinger quieted a boisterous group of Bleacher Creatures as they delivered an energetic roll call. But the Bronx began to burn in the bottom of the first as Aaron Judge belted a center-cut slider to deep left field for a two-run blast. The round-tripper plated Trent Grisham, who led off the inning with his first of three walks.
One of my favorite in-game achievements for a team is when they can achieve more walks than strikeouts. The Yankees drew four balls in 11 at-bats and three strikes in 10. The only Yankee who didn’t get on base was Giancarlo Stanton, who entered with a team-high .500 batting average.
Meanwhile, New York’s pitchers didn’t yield a single base on balls. It was a testament to their focus at home, and it added to the success the entire pitching staff has had this season. The rotation entered the game with a 0.53 ERA, the lowest through any team’s first six games in MLB history.
“I was feeding off the fans and the energy in the stadium,” Warren said. “You know, it’s something for me that’s really cool in my second year. Any time we get a win is awesome, and to do it in front of our fans here for the first game was really cool.”
Warren made it clear that he wasn’t going to let two solo home runs kill his spirits. He was strong on the mound, and as he battles Luis Gil and, tentatively, Carlos Rodón and Gerrit Cole for a chance to stay in the rotation long-term, he needs to deliver every time he takes the mound.
“I thought [Warren was] really good,” said manager Aaron Boone. “Swing and miss again with the heater. I mean, that thing’s playing. I thought he did a good job with his four-seam and sinker. They got a couple good ones, obviously, with the two solo shots, but for the most part, I thought he was in command. I thought he settled into a really nice rhythm there.
“He was, I think, having fun very much in the moment and was calm and under control. I think the experience he’s gained over the last couple of years has served him well to know how to navigate these spots where, you know, you have a tendency to be a little charged up.”
Perhaps the competition among starting pitchers is fueling the product they have executed on the bump. The rotation’s success should not be taken for granted; the Yankees’ hurlers have gotten off to a historic start.
“We’re just finding ways to win, and I think that’s what’s really special about our club,” Warren said.
With a two-run lead in the bottom of the second inning, Jazz Chisholm Jr. walked before stealing his third and fourth bases of the season. José Caballero followed with a walk and grabbed a bag for himself. Of the first six batters the Yankees sent to the plate, four walked and one – Judge – got hit by a pitch. With it, Judge collected his third RBI, moving the carousel for the second time in the frame to extend his team’s lead to 4-1.
“We got the running game going a little bit, but it was our patience today that, you know, really served us well, and I think it allowed us to ultimately break through there in the end,” Boone said. “Sometimes you're gonna have good opportunities to run. Other days, other series, you’re not necessarily. So, you know, we got some of the right guys on, and we were able to get it going today.”
Miami halved the deficit in the fifth inning with a home run from Owen Caissiee. In the sixth inning, Warren left two runners on for Tim Hill, who finished the job with two pitches.
After the Yankees sent starter Eury Pérez packing after four innings, they pressured Miami’s bullpen. In the sixth frame, they used more small-ball tactics as Austin Wells walked and Caballero reached on a throwing error before robbing Yankee Stadium of a base for the second time. After Judge walked to load the bases, Wells crossed home plate on a wild pitch.
In the seventh inning, Ben Rice, following three strikeouts, fouled a high fastball to deep right field, nearly clearing the pole. The very next pitch he saw was identical, but slightly lower — low enough for him to hammer it deep. It was a gritty at-bat, and it encapsulated the kind of hitter Rice has been since the season started: a consistent threat, or a “savage,” in the batter’s box.
“Benny Rice, he’s a beast,” Warren said. “Not many guys hit a foul homer and come right back with a real homer. […] I don’t want to pitch to him, so I’m sure the league doesn’t want to pitch to him, either. I would not have thrown him [another] fastball, but I am glad they did.”
Rice’s 111-mph bomb extended the Yankees’ lead to 6-2, and New York added on in the eighth. With one out, Grisham worked his third walk, but he got tagged out at third base as he tried to get his money’s worth on Judge’s single. Grisham initially beat out the throw, but as he crashed into Leo Jiménez, his foot came off the bag, and the third baseman applied the tag.
Frustrated, Judge stole second base, and Bellinger walked before Rice nearly left the yard again. He sent a pitch seven feet further than the one he hit over the right-field fence, but it didn’t have enough lift to dodge the top of the wall. Rice’s double plated Judge and Bellinger, who ran from first to home, putting the Yankees ahead by six runs.
“I could think of plenty of games in my career where I started off poorly and ended on a strong note,” Rice said. “So, just knowing that even when I’m 0-for-3 with three punch outs, that there’s always a chance for me to do something dangerous.”
In the ninth inning, Ryan Yarbrough made his first appearance of the season, and Edwards, the first batter he faced, sent a fly ball to deep left field. As he tried to catch the ball, Bellinger misread his route, and as he leapt to grab it, it skipped off the heel of his glove. He had to reverse his angle to scoop it before it hit the warning track. The physics behind the play appeared inexplicable.
“Yeah, I just got lucky,” said Bellinger, who was shocked he was able to catch that baseball. “I definitely got lucky. Threw my glove out there.”
Judge joked that Bellinger should have made that play easily. “I genuinely should have caught it the first time,” Bellinger commented. “I felt like I had a good beat on it the whole way. I don’t know, I think I caught it off my wrist. I don’t really know exactly what happened there. I’m just glad I came down with it at the end.”
After Bellinger’s crazy catch, Yarbrough hit Agustín Ramírez, who advanced to second base on defensive indifference. But Yarbrough picked him off before Liam Hicks skied a fastball to Bellinger, who ended the game with a normal catch.
Schedule
Tonight 4/3:
7:30 PM (6:30 PM CDT): NYK vs. CHI; MSG, Gotham Sports
Saturday 4/4:
12:30 PM (11:30 AM CDT): ABC Hockey Saturday – NYR vs. DET; ABC, ESPN+
6:00 PM (5:00 PM CDT): NCAA March Madness Final Four, First Semifinal – No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 2 UConn
7:05 PM (6:05 PM CDT): NYY vs. MIA; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: LHP Ryan Weathers (0-0, 2.08 ERA) vs. RHP Max Meyer (0-0, 5.40 ERA)
8:30 PM (7:30 PM CDT): NCAA March Madness Final Four, Second Semifinal – No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 1 Arizona
Sunday 4/5:
1:35 PM (12:35 PM CDT): NYY vs. MIA; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: LHP Max Fried (2-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Chris Paddack (0-1, 18.00 ERA)
7:00 PM (6:00 PM CDT): NYR vs. WSH; MSG, Gotham Sports
Cover Image Courtesy: New York Yankees
