About Last Night: NYY 4, TEX 2

By: Ethan Semendinger

April 28th, 2026

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The Yankees begin another series with an addition into the "Wins" column! It's a good time to be a Yankees fan!

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Quick Stats -

• Winning Pitcher: Max Fried (4-1, 2.09 ERA)

• Losing Pitcher: Jack Leiter (1-2, 5.17 ERA)

• Save: David Bednar (8)

• Home Runs (New York): Ben Rice (10), Aaron Judge (11), Jazz Chisholm (3),

• Home Runs (Texas): Joc Pederson (2)

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Story Of The Game - Two weeks ago when I wrote my first game summary of the year, the Yankees were coming off of a 5-game losing streak, and managed to eek out an 11-10 win over the Los Aneles Angels.

Since that night, the Yankees have gone 10-3, including an eight game winning streak that was snapped in a 7-4 loss on Sunday against the Houston Astros.

What's interesting is that this breaks a recent trend for the Aaron Boone-led Yankees teams. The Yankees have not really been a super strong starting team in the last 5 years, with the exception being 2022. Instead, the trend has been a team that has done well in April- playing at or above .500 baseball- that explodes in May, and then cools off in June. Take a look at the stats for yourself:

Year	April Record	May Record	June Record
2025	15-13 (.536 WP%)	17-9 (.654 WP%)	13-14 (.481 WP%)
2024	15-12 (.556 WP%)	21-7 (.750 WP%)	14-13 (.519 WP%)
2023	14-14 (.500 WP%)	19-10 (.655 WP%)	11-12 (.478 WP%)
2022	15-6 (.714 WP%)	19-9 (.679 WP%)	22-6 (.786 WP%)
2021	12-14 (.462 WP%)	17-11 (.607 WP%)	12-14 (.462 WP%)

Now again, the 2022 season is the exception to this rule, but the general trend is still there.

As a Yankees fan, knowing that May is just a few days away, this is incredibly exciting news! Though I understand that past performance is not indicative of future results- and that all models are wrong...though, some are useful- that means these Yankees are about to go on a tear.

Just, don't remind me when June is coming around the corner...that's when there become very few Midsummer Night's Dream(s).

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Thoughts From The Game - Hey, the Yankees are winning, and they are winning often, and that happened again last night. Like they say, All's Well that End's Well. Things are going incredibly well across the board, the hot hands have continued to mostly stay hot, and some slow starters are seeing things turn around. Around the team some nonsense exists, but that's what we'll get into this morning.

So, without further (much) ado (about nothing)...

Let's get into it:

The Good:

• Max Fried's WHIP increased in last night's game. Now, you may be asking me, "Ethan, how is that a good thing?". Well, Max Fried had a WHIP of 1.000 last night with his 6 innings pitched, 4 hits, and 2 walks allowed. The reason this is a good thing? His WHIP was previously at 0.774. That's an unheard of number for a starter, which means he's been extremely dominant this year. So, that is a good thing.

• With my second point, I'll be more straightforward, As You Like It. Ben Rice is legit. I've had my reservations on Ben Rice, and I am still hesitant to crown him as a star, but he is legit. His opposite field home run was spectacular. It is not something that an "okay" player can do, especially not for their 10th home run before the end of April. If Rice was a stock, I'd be kicking myself for not buying earlier, but still not going all-in just yet.

• Aaron Judge, who went Measure for Measure with Ben Rice with a back-to-back home run in the 3rd inning with a blast to right field of his own. Judge quickly went back ahead of Rice in the home run column (Judge up to 11, to Rice's 10), and he continues to show what a superstar is.

• Jazz Chisholm is starting to heat up, as he hit a 4th inning (solo) home run last night for his 3rd home run in the last week. Maybe Jazz's cold streak was just a Winter's Tale, and all he needed to heat up was a little bit of warmth. I've been hot and cold on Jazz over the years- especially this year- but I've also been saying he can turn it around. If his play matches the energy he can bring to a game, he's a fun guy to watch. (Alternatively, when it doesn't, it's not a pretty scene.)

• Oh, did I mention Aaron Judge also hit two doubles? That's 8 total bases on the night for the captain, which is 1 more base than Shakespeare wrote plays about English kings named "Henry"...Henry IV (Parts 1 & 2), Henry V, Henry IV (Parts 1, 2, & 3), and Henry VIII. (What did Henry VII not do to not earn a historical play?)

• Jasson Dominguez has been called back up to the MLB roster. We'll wait and see what he can do with this latest try-out. He was always going to return, much like Pericles (Prince of Tyre), the question was always when and not if.

• David Bednar closed out another game! It seems like he's found himself into a rhythm of allowing a runner on each time he pitches before he finds his grove. That needs to be tamed (like a shrew), but a save is a save, and a win is a win.

• On a personal note, I got to watch one of my former favorite Yankees play again last night. I STILL MISS YOU, KYLE HIGASHIOKA! Watching him against my new favorite Yankee in David Bednar was like watching Two Gentlemen of Verona.

The Bad:

• The bottom of the ninth was a Comedy of Errors, with Jazz Chisholm throwing away a ball to allow a Jake Burger single, a close call on a Joc Pederson infield ground-out, and a booted infield hit by Josh Smith. (How he only got charged with 1 error in that inning, I'm not quite sure.)

• I'm not getting to bed until after midnight again tonight, thanks to this being an 8:00 PM start...that makes it the Twelfth Night in a row for me making it past midnight.

• Camilo Doval allowed another run in his sole inning of work. He's a former closer who just cannot prove success in a non-closer role. He's like King Lear after abdicating his throne, where his whole world was thrown off-kilter, and he now has a 6.97 ERA! Ooof. (However, this does mean for David Bednar that there will be no Julius Caesar style overthrowing of his closer role.)

• What is up with Trent Grisham? If his sub-.700 OPS continues going into May, the Yankees have to start considering other lead-off options.

• Echo that sentiment with Austin Wells. Both players are hitting well below the Mendoza line after a month. Luckily, both are gifted defensively which helps keep them on the field everyday, but the lack of offense is concerning.

In Other News:

• King (David) John posted a very professional and genuine farewell address to the Yankees yesterday on Instagram. At his best, DJ LeMahieu was a superstar. At his worst, he was, well, let's not dwell on that now. I'll remember him fondly (I was a fan of his during his Rockies days), and I don't give him any grief for the Yankees mistake of signing him to a lengthy contract (that was destined to fail, even at the time). I was an early buyer on the LeMahieu market, and an early seller after 2020. So, I just like to say that I'm clearly a baseball genius and that every front office in baseball should be clamoring for my talents to bring to their organizations. (My minimum salary demands are $1,500,000, a Lamborghini, and a clause where I can keep my current day job and work in the front office as a side-hustle.)

• The injury bug is starting again: Giancarlo Stanton is going on the IL with a low-grade right calf strain.

• Carlos Rodon is not going to be rushed back from his rehab, so a 5th starter will need to be called up by next week (replacing Luis Gil, who was sent back down to Triple-A on Sunday night). Could the Yankees go with the big move and try out Elmer Rodriguez or Carlos Lagrange?

• Anthony Volpe's decision is being delayed for as long as his rehab stint will last. With Caballero playing well, this is not a surprise. This will be a storyline to follow for a long time.

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Next Up - The Yankees will continue their 3-game weekday series on the road against the Texas Rangers with a Tuesday night match-up headlined by expected pitchers Cam Schlittler (3-1, 1.77 ERA) and Jacob DeGrom (2-0, 2.13 ERA). The game will be broadcast on Amazon Prime and is set to begin at 8:05 PM (EDT).