Daily Report – 6/25/26
Yankees
Paul Goldschmidt hasn’t just found the Fountain of Youth. He must be bathing in it. Otherwise, how could he be batting .297 with a .923 OPS at age 38? And how else could he have hit two home runs off the two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner?
Last night in Detroit, the Yankees stole the rubber game 4-2 from the Tigers. They became the first team since 2021 to hit three homers off Tarik Skubal, handing him his third home loss since 2024. Goldschmidt, the veteran first baseman, is a likely Hall of Fame candidate, and he showed Skubal exactly why.
Goldschmidt’s stats against left-handed pitching have been his calling card throughout his career, especially during his time in pinstripes. This season, he owns a .408 batting average and a 1.305 OPS in 76 at-bats against lefties. In his career against Skubal, he is 7-for-13 with four home runs, tied for the most homers by any player against Skubal in their career.
When asked how he cracked the Skubal code, Goldschmidt replied, “I have no idea. Obviously, he’s one of the best pitchers in the game, and facing him is a tough challenge. There’s not really a recipe to try to beat him. He’s got four really good pitches and competes as well as anyone.”
Goldschmidt wasn’t the only Yankee to take Skubal deep yesterday. With two outs and a baserunner in the sixth inning, Jasson Domínguez, who had struck out twice, grinded through a nine-pitch at-bat before slashing a center-cut changeup over the left-field fence. Of his 19 career home runs, this was just his second against a left-handed pitcher.
“He got dominated the first two [at-bats], and even two strikes in the next at-bat,” Boone said of Domínguez. “He just keeps competing, and as that at-bat unfolded, you saw him get on time a little bit. You saw him spoil a couple of pitches, you saw him take a couple of really good pitches, and then it looked like he got the hanging changeup and didn’t miss it.”
Throughout his young career, Domínguez, a switch-hitter, has been criticized for his struggles batting right-handed. Last season, he hit .204 against lefties and .274 versus righties. This year, his .167 average off lefties isn’t much better, but even though he hits .321 against righties, he has tallied more extra-base hits when batting right-handed.
In addition to his offensive issues, Domínguez didn’t show much promise as an outfielder last season. He frequently stumbled while running down balls and tracking them in the air. In yesterday’s fourth inning, he bobbled a ball in right field, helping Detroit tie the score.
But then, while fielding a sacrifice fly, Domínguez hurled a beautiful throw straight to third base. The runner would have gotten tagged out if the ball hadn’t hit him while running. The play fueled Domínguez’s confidence, which helped him cash in at the plate two innings later.
“Skubal is one of the best,” Domínguez claimed. “He’s definitely a tough matchup, but I was just trying to take a good at-bat, trying to fight him, trying to battle. That was all that was in my mind.”
Max Schuemann also took advantage of a couple of second chances in the outfield. Kevin McGonigle started the fifth inning with a 411-foot fly ball to deep center field. The baseball, which would have likely left Yankee Stadium, slid in and out of Schuemann’s glove, allowing McGonigle to reach second base. But Schuemann, undeterred, dove to make the second out and slid for the third.
“I maybe could’ve had a better first step [on McGonigle’s double], and I was upset with myself that I didn’t come up with it,” Schuemann reflected. “Then, I was telling myself to be more aggressive, going to my right and left, just because this field plays so big. But I got a pretty good first step on both of those catches and felt pretty solid.”
Schuemann’s determination helped Ryan Weathers win the battle against Skubal. While Skubal struck out nine batters with five different pitches and generated 21 whiffs in six innings, he permitted four runs, while Weathers leaked two. The Yankees’ lefty allowed more hits than Skubal, but he consistently bore down while the Yankees homered thrice off the other southpaw.
“They had some hard contact against [Weathers],” Boone said. “They had good at-bats against him, but he kept making pitches. The couple of times where I thought he lost the zone a bit, he reeled it back in and was able to limit them from building that big inning.”
Entering this game, there was a storyline brewing about the Yankees’ interest in Skubal if he were to become available at the trade deadline. Skubal experienced some lower-body discomfort early in yesterday’s game, which likely damaged his command. But with 21 swings and misses, his stuff was as good as ever.
So was Fernando Cruz’s glistening arsenal, which helped him strike out four of the five batters he faced in the seventh and eighth innings. Cruz has stranded 28 inherited baserunners this season, the most in the Majors. With a 2.08 ERA and a 30.2% strikeout rate in 34 2/3 innings, he is the league’s best firefighter.
Behind Cruz, David Bednar secured his 16th save of the season, tied for third in the American League.
At 48-31, the Yankees sit three games ahead of Tampa Bay for first place, and they are tied for the third-best record in all of baseball.
Tonight, at 7:10 PM, the Yankees will begin a four-game series in Boston against the reeling fifth-place Red Sox (YES, Gotham Sports). Boston’s plane from Colorado allegedly arrived late overnight, and with RHP Cam Schlittler (8-3, 1.71 ERA) on the mound tonight, the Yankees should have the advantage.
LHP Connelly Early (6-5, 3.64 ERA) will start for the Red Sox, the same matchup as the third game of last year’s Wild Card series.
Schedule
7:10 PM: NYY at BOS; YES, Gotham Sports; SP: RHP Cam Schlittler (8-3, 1.71 ERA) vs. LHP Connelly Early (6-5, 3.64 ERA)
Cover Image Courtesy: New York Yankees
