About Last Night: NYY 11, LAA 10

By: Ethan Semendinger

April 14th, 2026

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A barn-burner in the Bronx as the Yankees escape with a win in a game they kept trying to give away.

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Quick Stats -

• Winning Pitcher: Paul Blackburn (1-1, 1.80 ERA)

• Losing Pitcher: Jordan Romano (0-1. 5.40 ERA)

• Save: N/A

• Home Runs (Los Angeles): Mike Trout [x2) (#3, 4)

• Home Runs (New York): Aaron Judge [x2] (#5, 6), Trent Grisham [x2] (#1, 2), Jose Caballero (#1)

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Story Of The Game - There is something to be said about the New York Yankees teams of nearly the last decade and how when those teams tend to swoon, they do so while looking like some of the most inept baseball rosters constructed. It also needs to be said that, when these teams are on fire, they look completely unstoppable. The problem is that the middle ground of being a solid, above-average, destined to win 90-ish games team tends to exist in such small bursts that Yankees fans become polarized to the extremes. The Yankees teams of the Aaron Boone era are either the best team in baseball or the worst team in baseball.

After starting off the 2026 season on a hot spell to shut down the naysayers as the team went 8-2 in their first 10 games. It was at this point that Spring had started to be sprung in New York (and Northern New Jersey), and everything was great in the world.

Then, the opposite trend continued. The Yankees proceeded to drop their 5 next games in a row to teams that are not expected to be great in the Oakland/Sacramento/Las Vegas Athletics (2 losses) and the Tampa Bay/former-GMS Field Rays (3 games).

Last night was the time to right the ship while being back at home.

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Thoughts From The Game - Well, on one hand, the Yankees righted the ship. Instead of losing, they decided to win! What is crazy is that each of the last 6 Yankees losses have come by just one run each time. Last night, the Yankees decided to buck that trend and win by just one run themselves.

Let's get into it:

The Good:

• The reason that the Yankees have kept losing isn't entirely because offense hasn't been active. They scored 11 runs in 3 games against the Tampa Bay Rays. The problem is that they gave up 15 runs in those games. Why is this good? It's simple really: the Yankees offense continued hitting and scoring runs last night. It's hard to argue against 10 runs, 14 hits, and an additional 7 walks.

• Aaron Judge hit two home runs. There have been many seasons where Aaron Judge has not come out of the gates doing what we expect, and he was trending back in that direction. However, a two home run showing last night helped boost his OPS back to .883 (which would still be a career LOW!).

• Trent Grisham hit two home runs. He was homerless heading into the game yesterday after putting up a 34 home run campaign in 2025, and many fans were being proven right when they were calling out the qualifying offer he received (and took). The pinch-hit home run and 9th inning home run were monumental.

• Jose Caballero went 2-5 with a home run and huge 9th inning double. And, he was lights out on the basepath in the 9th inning, stealing 3rd base to put himself in a position to snag a free run (the winning, walk-off run) off a wild pitch!

• Giancarlo Stanton went 2-4 with a walk. Big G is hitting .315 in the early going of 2026!

• Amed Rosario went 1-2 to keep his over .300 average going.

• Ben Rice went 1-2 with a walk as he continues to be the leader of the Yankees offense (so far) in 2026.

• The pitching only gets one player shout-out tonight: Paul Blackburn, who pitched a perfect 9th inning.

The Bad:

• Last night was April 13th and going into the game, the following Yankees were homer-less: Jazz Chisholm Jr., Jose Caballero, Ryan McMahon, Trent Grisham, J.C. Escarra, and Randal Grichuk. That was six batters.

• Tonight is April 14th. That list is still 4 batters deep, including everyday players like Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Ryan McMahon. That's not good enough.

• Speaking of Jazz Chisholm, it really shows the seriousness of this team with the fact that he wasn't benched after his blunders so far in 2026. I've been a huge supporter of his since the Yankees traded for him, but his performance to begin a walk-year has me wanting to help him pack his bags and tie his shoes for free agency so far. Prove my doubts wrong, Jazz!

• One home run is also not good enough through 16 games. Every player on the Yankees should be ahead of a 10 home run pace for the 2026 season. I'm looking at you: Austin Wells, Cody Bellinger, Giancarlo Stanton, and Paul Goldschmidt.

• Also, anybody hitting under .200 should be ashamed of themselves. That list includes: Jazz Chisholm, Jose Caballero, Trent Grisham, Austin Wells, Ryan McMahon, J.C. Escarra, and Randal Grichuk...with the former two still remaining hitless.

• The Yankees- even though they escaped with a win- did not ever put the game away, and instead the pitching just continued to allow the Angels to match the Yankees when they scored, or take the lead late.

• Will Warren had a rough outing. Throwing 89 pitches to get through just 3.2 innings while allowing 4 runs (all unearned, but still) on 3 hits and a walk (and error) is just rough. No better word for it, and his performance put the Yankees in a tough spot with the bullpen.

• Jake Bird has yet to prove to me he is a good pitcher, and he now rocks a 7.71 ERA in 2026 after allowing 3 runs off 4 hits and a walk in his lone inning of work.

• Second that notion for Camilo Doval, who allowed 2 runs off 2 hits and a walk in his 1.1 innings of work. I can at least see Doval's potential, but he is also sporting a 7.36 ERA so that potential isn't bringing the right results.

YANKEES WIN 11-10.

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Next Up - The Yankees will continue their 4-game weekday series at home against the Los Angeles Angels with a Tuesday night match-up headlined by expected pitchers Ryan Weathers (0-1, 2.81 ERA) and Reid Detmers (0-1, 4.60 ERA). The game will be broadcast on the YES Network at is set to begin at 7:05 PM (EDT).