Daily Report – 6/22/26
Yankees
In consecutive losses to the Cincinnati Reds this weekend, the holes in the Yankees’ injury-plagued roster finally revealed themselves. The Yankees went a combined 0-for-22 in their two losses, part of an 0-for-24 stretch since Friday, with runners in scoring position. Overall, the Yankees finished their three-game series with two hits in 32 at-bats with runners in scoring position.
After Cam Schlittler lit up the Bronx on Friday night with a career-high 13 strikeouts, Will Warren turned the momentum over on Saturday. The right-hander, who has been remarkably reliable in his second full Big League season, watched six runs cross home plate. The Yankees eventually lost 10-2, but only two of Warren’s runs were earned.
Which is where the issues begin. The momentum declared itself completely in Cincinnati’s favor in the fifth inning when a missed catch error by Ben Rice and a double-play ball turned too slowly by Jazz Chisholm Jr. put a runner at first base with one out. Subsequently, JJ Bleday doubled, and Sal Stewart notched a sacrifice fly.
Two batters later, the big blow arrived. Warren left a sinker high and down the middle to Spencer Steer, who crushed over the left-center field wall for a three-run home run. Yesterday, Elmer Rodríguez did the same thing, except he offered a center-cut four-seam fastball to Tyler Stephenson before he sent it flying for three.
In baseball, a starting pitcher’s performance is the first indicator of a team’s momentum on any given game day. For the Yankees, without Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, or Trent Grisham in their lineup, and with Max Fried missing from their rotation, each starting pitcher’s margin for error is razor-thin.
The Yankees had no excuse for their abysmal metrics at the plate this weekend, especially because they posted double-digit runs in consecutive games against the first-place White Sox last week. Still, their starting pitching didn’t do them any favors. Nor did their baserunning.
The Yankees stole six bases off Stephenson yesterday, who has witnessed the most robberies in the National League this season. But at a critical moment in the second inning, which he led off with a single, José Caballero got caught stealing second base. And in the third inning, which he started with a walk, Anthony Volpe got picked off at first base.
Volpe was frustrated with the pickoff, arguing that the first baseman was blocking his path back to the bag. “I just had nowhere to go,” Volpe claimed. “In Spring Training, for me as a shortstop receiving throws, we’re trying to be spot-on with that rule. That’s not coming from us; that’s coming from the league. They tell us that’s a rule.”
Nevertheless, the pickoff proved egregious because Ben Rice’s subsequent home run could have been a two-run shot instead of a solo blast. It was an impressive dinger because against Chase Burns and his 2.00 ERA, Rice climbed high above the strike zone to crush a 98-mph fastball 375 feet to right field.
Rice’s home run was the Yankees’ lone mark on the scoreboard, and it was the only form of run support for Rodríguez in his fourth Big League start. Due to 16 days without a day off, the Yankees called up Rodríguez and pushed everybody else back a day, including Gerrit Cole, who was supposed to start yesterday.
Rodríguez, whom the Yankees have praised for his command, only pitched four innings, and he surrendered three runs on four hits. The blow came off Stephenson’s bat in the fourth inning, a three-run blast to left-center field. Before recalling Rodríguez, the Yankees optioned Jake Bird to Triple-A. They have now sent Rodríguez back down, but they have yet to decide which pitcher they will call up.
“Overall, I threw one pitch to where it wasn’t supposed to go, and they made the damage there,” Rodríguez said. “I feel like I’m attacking more guys, being better in the zone, and using my pitches better. I feel like the more [starts I get], the better.”
Paul Goldschmidt’s cool-off didn’t help the Yankees in this series, either. The 38-year-old first baseman is 9-for-29 (.310) in his last seven games and 19-for-60 (.317) with five home runs in his last 15. He also owns a team-best .359 batting average with runners in scoring position this season, plus a .386 average and a 1.219 OPS against lefties.
But on Saturday, with two outs and the bases loaded in the fifth inning, Goldschmidt struck out looking at the seventh pitch he saw. Then, with a chance to avenge himself yesterday, pinch-hitting for Austin Wells with two outs and runners at the corners, he flied out on the first pitch he saw, which came from a left-handed pitcher.
“I’ll take the opportunities,” said manager Aaron Boone. “We’ll cash in. Even these last two days, where they’ve held us down, I feel like we’ve had good at-bats and given ourselves opportunities. We just haven’t had that hit.”
Tonight, at 6:10 PM, the Yankees will aim to bounce back as they visit the reeling 33-44 Detroit Tigers in the first of seven road games (YES, Gotham Sports). The Yankees will face the Tigers again in the Bronx next week, but for now, RHP Gerrit Cole (2-1, 2.57 ERA) will start against LHP Framber Valdez (3-5, 4.09 ERA).
Schedule
6:10 PM: NYY at DET; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: RHP Gerrit Cole (2-1, 2.57 ERA) vs. LHP Framber Valdez (3-5, 4.09 ERA)
