Game 35. Rizzo’s blast keys Yanks 5-3 win which sees Judge’s first ejection.

Maybe it was the frustration of a slow start. Maybe it was the frustration of having more strikes called on him that aren’t strikes than any other player in baseball over the past several seasons. But Aaron Judge got ejected for the first time in his career today in the Yankees (22-13) 5-3 win over Detroit today.

Usually, the pitches Judge would disagree with would be the ones too low for his 6’7″ frame. The ones below Judge’s knees but knee high for someone else. In this case it was a pitch Judge thought was outside, but the home plate ump thought otherwise. But it brought the usually mild-mannered Judge his first career ejection.

The game didn’t start out well, as Clarke Schmidt gave up a HR on his third pitch. It was the second consecutive game in which Schmidt gave up a HR to the leadoff batter.

The Yanks came right back and tied the game up in the bottom of the first inning when with two out, Judge singled, went to second on an infield single by Alex Verdugo, and scored on a single by Giancarlo Stanton.

In the bottom of the third inning, Anthony Volpe led off with a walk, and Juan Soto singled Volpe to third. Judge doubled in Volpe, sending Soto to third and putting the Yanks up 2-1. Two outs later, with the runners not advancing on either out, Anthony Rizzo homered (6) to make the score 5-1, Yanks.

Schmidt gave up two runs in the top of the fourth that cut the Yanks’ lead to 5-3 but that was it for the scoring for the day. Judge’s ejection happened in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Before the game, the Yanks brought back Jon Berti from the IL and DFA’d Taylor Trammell.

Judge 2 hits, RBI. 1st career ejection.
Rizzo 2 hits, 3 RBI. 3-run HR (6).

Schmidt (W, 3-1) 5 IP, 3 R, 4 H, 0 W, 7 K. 2 HBP. Gave up 1 HR. 3.50
Ferguson (H, 6) 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 W, 1 K. 4.15
Weaver (H, 3) 2 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 4 K. 2.86
Holmes (S, 11) 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 W, 2 K. 0.00

Game 33. Gopher Balls, Silent offense doom Yanks.

Carlos Rodon gave up 3 homers, Gleyber Torres made another of his errors of nonchalance, and the Yankees’ offense was rendered silent by the Orioles again as they were beaten 7-2 by the Orioles Thursday afternoon to drop their record to 20-13. The Yanks only scored six runs in the four games against Baltimore, losing three of the four.

The Yanks got on the board first, when Anthony Volpe doubled leading off the top of the third and two outs later scored on a single by Anthony Rizzo, helped by an offline throw by the left fielder. (Volpe may have been thrown out at the plate with an on-target throw).

Rodon gave up a solo HR that tied the game in the bottom of the third, then gave up two solo HRs in the bottom of the fourth that put Baltimore up 3-1.

The game got away from the Yankees in the bottom of the fifth when the Orioles scored four runs. A double and single to start the inning made it 4-1. Then a ball hit to Anthony Volpe should have been at least a force out if not a DP. But Gleyber Torres barehanded the throw from Volpe instead of fielding it in his glove hand, and a following triple made it 6-1. A SF made it 7-1.

Torres finally hit his first HR of the season, in game #33, in the top of the sixth, to make it 7-2, but that was it for the scoring.

In a recent post of mine, just yesterday, I mentioned that the Yanks should look into trading Gleyber Torres now. Granted they probably would have to eat a lot of the $14MM salary that Gleyber makes this season. But my reasoning is based on several things. For one, his lack of production. In 33 games, .218-1-7. A replacement could, you would hope, do better. Too bad D.J. isn’t available. Hopefully soon. Maybe Jon Berti when he’s recovered (rehabbing now). My suggestion was to bring up Caleb Durbin from AAA. In the future, maybe Jorbit Vivas. Oswaldo Cabrera is needed at 3B because DJ isn’t available. But Gleyber is killing the Yanks right now. Especially since those numbers are being put up while batting 5, 6 or 7. And this defensive play is the fourth I can think of this year that is a mental mistake. Physical errors happen. Errors that are mental or of nonchalance should not happen, and we have seen that too many times over the years from Gleyber.

Another reason. Gleyber is a free agent after the season. The Yankees #1 priority is to sign Juan Soto, who is a free agent after the season. The money won’t be there for Gleyber. Whether he knows that and if it is affecting his play now, who knows. But see what you can get for him now (which may not be much since his current performance is making his stock drop significantly) instead of losing him for nothing later. Something is better than nothing. And that is another thing. Him being a free agent after the season. Is he pressing even more because he is seeing his stock dropping? Who knows. Anyway, for the Yankees to succeed, they can’t have Gleyber like this much longer. Either he improves or they cut the cord. And since they will be cutting the cord at the end of the season anyway, why not now or at the trade deadline? The only reason why not is the money that Hal would have to eat. But otherwise…

Trent Grisham was 0 for 3 with 3 strikeouts, and is now hitting .071. Hopefully Jasson “The Martian” Dominguez starts rehab soon and it goes well. If so, Dominguez could replace Grisham. Grisham plays great D, but the bat is lacking.

20-13 is good, but you are always looking to improve. We will see what happens in several weeks when Cole is back, Dominguez is hopefully ready, DJ is hopefully healthy, Berti could be a utility man off the bench. Kahnle could be coming out of the bullpen. If not Dominguez, maybe Oscar Gonzalez. Prepare for changes between now and the end of June.

Soto 2 hits.
Torres solo HR (1)

Rodon (L, 2-2) 4+ IP, 7 R, 6 ER, 0 W, 6 K, 2 HBP. Gave up 3 HR. 3.68
Marinaccio 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 1 HBP. 1.86
Tonkin 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 2 K. 3.95 (3 team ERA)

Before the game, Alex Verdugo back from paternity leave, Carlos Narvaez returned to AAA.

Game 30. Yanks shut out for fifth time this year. Lose 2-0 to Orioles.

After scoring 15 runs in back-to-back days against Milwaukee, new team, new day and different result. The Yankees (19-11) were shut out for the fifth time this season, losing 2-0 to Baltimore.

Clarke Schmidt was the hard luck losing pitcher. He pitched well but didn’t get the run support. He gave up a HR to the first batter, but that was it.

The Yanks outhit Baltimore 7 to 4, but couldn’t get the big hit, and the Orioles came up with a few big defensive plays and got a few breaks. On one play, with Giancarlo Stanton on first, Austin Wells hit a liner just over the glove of the second baseman. Stanton had to hold up, thinking that the liner might be caught. Instead of Wells getting a single, Stanton was forced at second, 9 to 6 (RF to SS). Go figure.

A couple other hard-hit balls found gloves. Just not the Yanks’ night.

In the bottom of the eighth, Clay Holmes was brought in to pitch with two on and two out. He got a ground ball, and the Yanks should have been out of the inning, but Anthony Volpe booted it for an error allowing an important insurance run to score, putting Baltimore up 2-0.

In the top of the ninth, Oswaldo Cabrera hit a ball that a couple of years ago would have been a game-tying HR. But the Orioles took out ten rows of seats, moved the LF wall back and created the Great Wall of Baltimore, and his drive was caught on the newly created warning track.

Before the game, Alex Verdugo was put on paternity leave and C Carlos Narvaez was brought up from Scranton. Aaron Judge got the start in LF, his first MLB start in left.

Torres 2 hits.

Schmidt (L, 2-1) 5 2/3 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 3 W, 5 K. 1 WP. Gave up 1 HR. 3.19
D. Santana 1 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 3.95
Ferguson 2/3 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 W, 0 K. 1 HBP. 4.50
Holmes 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 0.00

Game 20. Soto’s blast leads Yanks to 5-3 win.

Juan Soto’s 3-run HR capped a 5-run seventh inning and the Yanks (14-6) held on to defeat Tampa Bay 5-3 Friday night.

It was a scoreless duel through five innings, but Clarke Schmidt, who pitched great, has trouble that third time through the lineup, and he gave up a HR to the first batter in the top of the sixth and the Rays were up 1-0.

But a couple of Rays’ errors and the Soto blast in the seventh gave the Yanks their five runs. With one out, Alex Verdugo reached on an error, then Jose Trevino walked. Oswaldo Cabrera reached on an error on which Verdugo scored to tie the game and Trevino went to third. Anthony Volpe singled in Trevino to give the Yanks a 2-1 lead and send Cabrera to second. Soto followed with his fifth HR of the season to put the Yanks up 5-1.

They had to hold on, however. Ian Hamilton struggled through the eighth, giving up a pair of runs, and leaving runners on the corners. In the ninth, Clay Holmes put the first two batters on base before closing out the ballgame. Although Holmes has eight saves, he never makes it easy.

The Yanks won despite being out-hit, 14 to 5.

Soto 3-run HR (5)

Schmidt 5 1/3 IP, 1 R, 7 H, 0 W, 7 K. 1 HBP. Gave up 1 HR. 3.15
D. Santana (W, 1-0) 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 1 K. 3.00
Hamilton 1 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 1 W, 0 K. 3.55
Holmes (S, 8) 1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 0 K. 0.00

Before the game, Nick Burdi to the IL. Cody Morris brought up. Taylor Trammell added to the team, Kevin Smith DFA’d.

Minors. Big night for Pereira.

AAA: SWB (12-5) won 8-4 over Lehigh Valley.

CF Everson Pereira 3 hits, 4 RBI. 2 HR (3-run and solo HR) (6) #6 prospect.
2B Josh VanMeter 2 RBI.

Will Warren (W, 2-0) 6 IP, 0 R 2 H, 1 W, 7 K. 5.28 #8 prospect.
Josh Maciejewski 1/3 IP, 4 R, 4 H, 1 W, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR. 7.20
Anthony Misiewicz (H, 3) 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 1.17
Clayton Andrews 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 11.57

AA: Somerset (5-7) won 5-3.

1B Ben Rice. 2 hits, RBI. Solo HR (3). #13 prospect.
C J.C. Escarra 2 hits, 2 RBI. Solo HR (1).

Bailey Dees (W, 1-1) 6 IP, 3 R, 6 H, 0 W, 9 K. Gave up 1 HR. 7.90
Ryan Anderson (H, 1) 2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 2 K. 7.71
Jack Neely (S, 2) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 1 K. 0.00 #26 prospect.

High A: Hudson Valley (8-3) won 8-7.

RF/LF Garrett Martin 2 hits, 4 RBI.
3B Kiko Romero 2-run HR (1)

Brian Hendry 4 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 3 W, 3 K. 0.00
Yorlin Calderon 2 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 W, 4 K. 1 HBP. 3.38
Joel Valdez (W, 1-0) (BS, 1) 3 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 1 W, 4 K. 3.24

Low A: Tampa (4-8) won 9-5.

SS George Lombard Jr. 2 for 2, 4 walks. #7 prospect.
3B Enmanuel Tejeda 2 RBI
LF Coby Morales 2 hits, 3 RBI
CF Tayler Aguilar 2 hits, RBI

Cade Smith 3 2/3 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 2 W, 5 K 1 WP 2.89 #25 prospect
Aaron Nixon 1 2/3 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 H, 2 W, 3 K. 1 Balk. 1 HBP 3.52
Yoljeldriz Diaz (W, 1-0) 1 1/3 IP, 1 R, 0 H, 3 W, 3 K. 6.75
Osiel Rodriguez (S, 1) 2 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 3 W, 1 K. 1 WP 2.45

The Yankees claimed Taylor Trammell off of waivers from the Dodgers and DFA’d Kevin Smith. Trammell, a lefty hitting OF, is 26, and has played for the Mariners (2021-2023) and Dodgers (2024). In 121 MLB games, he has 15 HR and 39 RBI, but only a .165 batting average. It’s surprising, because Smith was their only backup infielder, and Berti is on the IL. I don’t know what a corresponding move is. Caleb Durbin played for SWB tonight, and he has been doing well, hitting over .300 with 10 SB. Durbin, a righty bat, is 5’6″, 24, and can play 2B, SS and 3B, and I wonder if he could be a corresponding move.

The Martian ahead of schedule. When he’s ready, how do the Yanks make room for him?

I have read that the “Martian”, Jasson Dominguez, is way ahead of schedule in his rehab from his surgery, and that he might start full recovery, (games?) as soon as two weeks from now, which would be the end of April. Could he be ready to join the Yanks, and I won’t get too optimistic here and say mid-May, but lets’ go with…. June 1?

If so, how do the Yankees make room for him? Now we know what Aaron Boone would say. “Let’s cross that bridge when we get to it.” And he’s right. Nothing ever goes perfectly. You’ll always have someone on the IL and lots of times you don’t have to make a decision, that decision will be made FOR you. In a perfect world, without Dominguez, the Yankees’ 13 position players on the team would be:

Wells, Trevino
Rizzo, LeMahieu (can spell Rizzo at 1B, play 3b, spell Torres at 2B)
Torres
Volpe,
Cabrera (can play anywhere except C)
Berti (2B, SS, 3B)
Soto, Verdugo, Grisham, Judge
Stanton (won’t play OF much)

There is your 13. So, when Dominguez is ready, who goes? Obviously not an infielder. Not a catcher. The Yankees will have one very interesting decision if everybody is healthy, and no one is on the IL. How do you make room for the Martian?

Game 15. Yanks complete DH sweep with 8-2 win behind callup Poteet, HR by Soto.

Prior to Game 2 of today’s doubleheader, the Yankees made the following roster moves:

• Reinstated RHP McKinley Moore from the 15-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

• Outrighted LHP Clayton Andrews off the Major League roster and onto the roster of Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

• Placed INF Jon Berti on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to 4/11) with a left groin strain.

• Signed INF Kevin Smith (#74) to a Major League contract and selected him to the active roster.

• Designated LHP Josh Maciejewski for assignment.

• Recalled RHP Ron Marinaccio (#97) from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

• Appointed RHP Cody Poteet (#72) as their “27th Man.”

The Yankees completed a sweep of the doubleheader, defeating Cleveland, 8-2. Poteet pitched six great innings for the win, and Juan Soto hit a 3-run HR.

The Yanks scored two in the top of the first. Anthony Volpe and Soto both walked and then the Yanks caught a break. Aaron Judge hit what appeared to be a GIDP. But an error made everyone safe and the bases were loaded with no one out. Anthony Rizzo singled for one run and Giancarlo Stanton walked to force in another. 2-0 Yanks.

They broke it open in the top of the fourth. Gleyber Torres led off the inning with a walk, and Alex Verdugo followed with a walk. Two outs later, Volpe singled in a run to make it 3-0, then Soto followed with a 3-run HR (3) and the Yanks were up 6-0.

The Yanks poured on two more runs in the top of the fifth. With one out, Torres singled and Verdugo walked. Oswaldo Cabrera doubled in a run, and Austin Wells hit a SF to make it 8-0.

Ex-Yankee Estevan Florial homered off of Poteet in the bottom of the fifth, and Ron Marinaccio gave up a HR in the bottom of the ninth but that was it as the Yanks won 8-2 to raise their record to 12-3.

Volpe 2 hits, RBI.
Soto 3 RBI. 3-run HR (3).
Rizzo 2 hits, RBI.

Poteet (W,1-0) 6 IP, 1 R, 6 H, 0 W, 4 K. Gave up 1 HR 1.50
D. Santana 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 W, 1 K. 4.26
Marinaccio 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 W, 1 K. Gave up 1 HR. 9.00

Game 11. Nestor Nasty as Yanks shutout Marlins, 7-0. Volpe, Soto HR.

Nestor Cortes had a couple of shaky outings his first two outings of the season, but not tonight. His first two outings were marred by rough first innings, in which he was touched for three runs each time. Not tonight. Tonight, he was Nasty Nestor, pitching eight shutout innings as the Yankees (9-2) shutout the Marlins, 7-0.

Good to see length from a starter.

The Yanks got all the runs they needed in a six-run fourth inning, highlighted by two three-run homers. Giancarlo Stanton led off the inning with a single, and Anthony Rizzo got a Baltimore chop single over the first baseman’s head that moved Stanton to third. Anthony Volpe followed with a three-run HR (2) to put the Yanks up 3-0. Alex Verdugo followed with a double. Jose Trevino walked, then Jon Berti laid down a sac bunt to move the runners over. After a flyout by Gleyber Torres that wasn’t deep enough to score Verdugo, Juan Soto got his second HR of the season, and first Yankee Stadium home run as a Yankee, to make the score 6-0.

In the bottom of the fifth, Stanton doubled, and two outs later, scored on a single by Verdugo for the final run of the game. 7-0, Yankees.

Soto 2 hits, 3 RBI. 3-run HR (2). First Stadium HR as a NYY.
Stanton 2 hits.
Volpe 3 RBI. 3-run HR (2).
Verdugo 3 for 3, RBI.

Cortes (W, 1-1) 8 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 W, 6 K. 3.50
Josh Maciejewski 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 W, 0 K. 0.00 MLB DEBUT.

Maciejewski was brought up, Jake Cousins sent down to SWB. Clayton Andrews was DFA’d.

Game 8. Yanks shut out in home opener, lose to Toronto 3-0.

Marcus Stroman was great, but the Yankees’ bullpen faltered, and the bats didn’t do anything as the Yankees (6-2) were shut out for the second time this season. They lost their home opener, 3-0, to Toronto on Friday.

Both Yankees’ losses this season have been by shutout. Three of their six victories have been by one run.

Stroman pitched six shutout innings but left after throwing 98 pitches. Caleb Ferguson relieved him and gave up a HR to the first batter he faced, PH Ernie Clement.

It stayed 1-0 until the top of the ninth. Meanwhile, I wondered why, in the bottom of the seventh, with two out and a man on first, manager Aaron Boone didn’t PH red-hot Oswaldo Cabrera for Jon Berti, or in the bottom of the eighth, PH Austin Wells for Jose Trevino. Down 1-0, I would think Oswaldo or Wells would have a better shot of possibly tying the game up with a HR than Berti or Trevino.

The game got away from the Yanks in the top of the ninth when Nick Burdi relieved Dennis Santana with one out and runners on first and second. Burdi threw three wild pitches around a couple of walks, allowing two runs to score.

The Yanks didn’t go down easily. With two out, both Anthony’s Rizzo and Volpe singled, and Alex Verdugo just got under one, flying out to right to end the game.

Volpe 2 hits.

Stroman 6 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 W, 6 K. 0.00
Ferguson (L, 0-1) 2/3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 0 W, 0 K. Gave up 1 HR. 2.45
D. Santana 1 2/3 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 1 W, 1 K. 10.80
Burdi 2/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 W, 1 K. 3 WP. 0.00

Before the game, Santana was brought up when Jonathan Loaisiga was placed on the 60-day IL.

Rougned Odor was signed to a minor league deal by the Yanks. He has a July 1 opt out.

Historical Note: This marked the first time the Yankees were shut out in their home opener since 1967. That 1967 game is notable. The Yankees lost that game 3-0. Whitey Ford, who would retire just five weeks later, was the losing pitcher, giving up a solo HR to Reggie Smith in the first and a 2-run HR to Joe Foy in the eighth. But the story here was Boston lefty starter Billy Rohr, who was making his MLB debut. Rohr was one strike away from pitching a no-hitter in his very first MLB game when Elston Howard blooped a soft single into right field for the only Yankees’ hit of the game. Mickey Mantle didn’t start, but pinch-hit in the eighth, and flied to right. The first out of that ninth inning was a fabulous over the shoulder diving catch in “death valley” made by Carl Yastrzemski off the bat of Tommy Tresh.

Game 6. Yanks shutout, lose 7-0.

You can’t win them all. In baseball, I want 3 out of 5. After all, in a 162-game season, 3 out of 5 means you wind up 97-65, which is pretty damn good and most of the time, would have you winning your division.

For the second straight time, Nestor Cortes gave up three runs in the first inning, then settled in. This time, his teammates could not come back, as the Yankees (5-1) only managed three hits against Arizona while losing 7-0.

Double, single for a run, flyout. SB. Single to put runners on the corners. Single to make it 2-0 and put runners on first and second. Another single to make it 3-0 and put runners on the corners. Five of the first six batters against Nestor got hits. A DP ended the inning.

To Nestor’s credit, he settled in and gave the Yankees a chance to get back in the game, but I haven’t liked the way Nestor has pitched in spring training or the way he has pitched in the first two outings he has had so far this season. Both outings giving up three in the first and putting the Yankees behind early. When Gerrit Cole comes back, someone will need to be dropped from the rotation. If Nestor continues to pitch like this, it could be him. If Nestor straightens himself out, which I hope he does, then Luis Gil could go into the role I’d like him to go into, which would be that role Michael King had. That two-inning reliever (think 1996 Mariano Rivera before Mo became a closer). Gil has some gas. But right now, I’m kind of shaky on Nestor. While things could change by the time Cole comes back, as of now, I’d drop Cortes.

In the bottom of the seventh, Victor Gonzalez, who relieved Cortes, gave up an infield single to Ketel Marte, who advanced all the way to third on a two-base throwing error by Oswaldo Cabrera. Gonzalez then gave up a walk. Newly acquired Jake Cousins relieved Gonzalez and got a pop up but then gave up a three-run homer to Christian Walker to make the score 6-0. The way the Yanks were hitting (and the Diamondbacks’ starter was their ace, Zac Gallen), that cinched the game for Arizona.

Arizona scored another run off of Cousins in the bottom of the eighth with the help of two wild pitches from Cousins.

The Yanks only managed three hits in the game. Outside of Juan Soto’s .417 and his 1 HR, the other main guns so far are:

Torres .174, no HR; Judge .125, no HR; Rizzo .182, no HR; Stanton, .150, 1 HR; Verdugo .143, no HR.

The only guys hitting so far are Soto, Volpe and Cabrera. We need the other guys to get going.

Cortes (L, 0-1) 5+ IP, 3 R, 8 H, 2 W, 2 K. 6.30
V. Gonzalez 1 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 1 W, 1 K. 7.71
Cousins 2 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 W, 4 K. 2 WP. Gave up 1 HR. 4.50

Earlier in the day, Nick Ramirez was traded to the Dodgers for cash.

Also, the Yankees signed Phil Bickford to a minor league deal, and he will go to SWB. Bickford has pitched for the Brewers (2020-2021), Dodgers (2021-2023) and Mets. He has a career record of 11-8, 4.43 in 179 mlb games. RHP, 28.