About Last Night: Homers and More (NYY 15, Balt. 3)

by Clay Gregory

April 30, 2025

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About Last Night:

The Yankees defeated the Orioles 15-3.

Quick Stats:

• Carlos Rodon: 6IP, 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 Walks, 7 Strikeouts. (Win)

• Aaron Judge: 2-3 with one walk and hits his ninth home run of the season.

• Ben Rice: 3-5 with two home runs and 2 RBIs.

• Kyle Gibson(Balt): 3.2 IP, 11 Hits, 9 Runs, 2 Walks, 2 Strikeouts. (Loss)

• Yankees hit 6 Home Runs on the night.

• Ian Hamilton: 2.0 IP, 0 Runs, 3 Strikeouts in relief brings ERA to 1.93.

The Game Story:

The top of the first started with a bang as Trent Grisham, Aaron Judge, and Ben Rice homered back-to-back-to-back to have the Yanks go up 3-0 before Cody Bellinger connected on a homer later in the inning to made the score 4-0 Yanks. Anthony Volpe also ripped a line drive to left field that scored Oswald Peraza, and after the first, the Yanks led 5-0.

The top of the second started with Ben Rice hitting his second home run of the game to right field to make the score 6-0. In the third inning, there was no scoring, but Carlos Rodon pitched through three innings with no hits and no walks given up.

The top of the fourth had Paul Goldschmidt hitting an RBI single that scored Judge to make the score 7-0 Yanks. Oswald Peraza hit a line drive to center that brought two more runs across the board to make the score 9-0. The Orioles finally pulled starter Kyle Gibson, who was making his season debut, and left with the stat line of 3.2 innings pitched, 9 earned runs scored off of 11 hits, two walks, and two strikeouts, and a ballooned ERA of 22.09.

The top of the fifth saw Paul Goldschmidt hitting a line drive to left that scored Oswaldo Cabrera to make it 10-0 Yanks. Cody Bellinger followed that with a double to right field that scored Aaron Judge and Ben Rice, and the score was now 12-0 Yanks.

The bottom of the sixth saw Carlos Rodon's perfect game bid end with a walk to Baltimore’s Emmanuel Rivera. The no-hit bid ended right after Jorge Mateo hit a double off the right field wall, and the Orioles got on the board with an RBI groundout from Dylan Carlson to make the score 12-1, New York.

The top of the seventh saw the Yankees put another run on the board through an error by Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson, who botched the ball hit by Anthony Volpe, and the Yankees went up 13-1. Carlos Rodon went back out for the seventh but gave up a solo shot to Gunnar Henderson, making the score 13-2. Ian Hamilton came in relief and finished the inning without giving up any more runs.

In the top of the eighth, Pablo Reyes singled to right, brought Oswaldo Cabrera home, and upped the lead to 14-2 Yanks. Ian Hamilton pitched a scoreless bottom of the eighth to end his night at 2.0 innings pitched, no hits, and three strikeouts, bringing his ERA down to 1.93 for the season.

The top of the ninth saw Yankees catcher, Austin Wells, who was 0-5 at that point, get a hit in a big way with an opposite field home run that made the score 15-2 Yankees. Tyler Matzek came on in the bottom of the ninth and walked the first batter he faced in Heston Kjerstad, followed by a double off the bat of Jackson Holliday. Ryan Mountcastle hit a sac fly to center, making the score 15-3 Yankees. Matzek walked Ramon Laureano before getting Ramon Urias to fly out to left, resulting in a 15-3 Yankees win. Matzek's stat line finished at 1.0 Innings pitched, one hit, one run, two walks, and one strikeout.

Of Note:

Jazz Chisholm left the game with an injury. We will see how that plays out over the next few days.

Yankees Player of the Game:

Ben Rice, who was going 3-5 with two homers in back-to-back innings, stood out among the pure offensive showcase put on by the Yanks.

Better to Forget:

In a game like this, there are hardly any bad plays made, and the only one that comes to mind would be in the ninth when Center Fielder Trent Grisham threw the ball to third, trying to get the lead runner and allowing Jackson Holliday to get to second in a blowout game.

My Thoughts:

The Yankees lived up to their Bronx Bombers nickname as they flexed their offensive muscle from the get-go.

The fact that Carlos Rodon was perfect through five innings and continued to show that he seems to get better with each start is a good sign for the rotation.

Ian Hamilton stood out in what was essentially mop-up duty, but treated it like the game was scoreless and took care of business.

Austin Wells' home run in the ninth was a good feeling, as he was the only Yankee starter left without a hit. The fact that it was an opposite-field home run showed that he never stopped grinding and continued his plate approach after catching a fantastic game.

The Yankees set a record that for a storied franchise such as the Yankees is pretty impressive, as they have now hit the most home runs for April in franchise history, with 50 home runs for the month, and there is still one more game left to up that mark.

History was also made as the Yankees became the first team in MLB history to lead off two games with 3 Home Runs in the same season.

History was made, and an excellent night for the hitters and pitchers helped erase the feeling from Monday night’s loss.

Next Up:

The Yankees and Orioles finish their three-game set tonight at 6:35 p.m. with Carlos Carrasco taking the ball for the Yanks, facing off against the Orioles' Cade Povich.