About Last Night: Yankees 4, Tigers 3

About Last Night: Yankees 4, Tigers 3

By Derek McAdam

June 24, 2026

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The New York Yankees defeated the Detroit Tigers by a score of 4-3 last night, improving to 47-31 on the season. Here’s a quick recap of last night’s game.

Quick Stats:

W: Carlos Rodon (4-2): 5.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

S: David Bednar (15): 1.1 IP

L: Casey Mize (2-5): 5.2 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K

HRs: NYY: Jazz Chisholm Jr. (12)

The Big Story:

The Yankees came into last night’s game seeking to tie the series and force a rubber game this evening. And it was slated to be a good pitching matchup between Mize and Rodon, so runs were going to be a bit challenging to come by.

It was also the day after Chisholm was sighted eating a Blow Pop on the field, which drew criticism from Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone and many around the baseball community. In my lifetime, it is definitely one of the more interesting controversies that has come about.

In the 1st, Jasson Dominguez hit a double after Ben Rice led off the game with a strikeout. Dominguez attempted to steal third, but the throw went off him and into foul ground, which would have given him plenty of time to score. However, he seemed a bit dazed from the impact, and did not react in time to score. Paul Goldschmidt flew out to right, but not enough to score Dominguez while Chisholm then grounded out to end the inning.

In the bottom of the 3rd, with runners on the corners and one out, Zach McKinstry scored on a wild pitch from Rodon that gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Not long afterwards, Dillon Dingler hit an RBI single to score Ben Malgeri, who just recorded his first MLB hit, and give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.

But in the following inning, Jose Caballero grounded into a fielder’s choice to score Chisholm and cut the Tigers’ lead to 2-1.

The Yankees were able to break through in the 6th when Chisholm hit a two-run home run to give the Yankees their first lead of the night at 3-2. After Jose Caballero reached on a single, Austin Wells hit an RBI double down the left field line to score Caballero from first and give the Yankees a 4-2 lead.

And right after taking the lead, the Tigers were able to cut their deficit quickly in the bottom of the inning, when Matt Vierling hit an RBI double to score Dingler, who led off the inning with a double of his own. Fernando Cruz then came on in relief with one out and was able to get out of the inning with the Yankees still maintaining a lead.

Brent Headrick came on to pitch the 7th and also recorded two outs in the 8th before Bednar came on to record a four-out save to give the Yankees a victory, setting up a rubber match for tonight.

Player of the Game:

After the negative headlines Monday night into yesterday, Chisholm was in need of a big game to turn the negatives into some positives. And he did just that with his big two-run home run in the 6th.

Notable Performances:

For the Tigers, Dingler and Malgeri each had multi-hit games, while Mize really did not pitch that bad of a game either. And for the Yankees, Anthony Volpe had another multi-hit night, and the bullpen did a phenomenal job of holding the Yankee lead.

Better to Forget:

Rice was the only Yankee starter that did not reach base, going 0-for-5 at the plate after an 0-for-4 game on Monday.

My Take:

From the 1st inning, it seemed as if this was going to be yet another Yankee loss because they were making bizarre errors. Dominguez definitely seemed to be a bit rattled after he was hit with the ball, but it definitely was a missed opportunity for the Yankees to get on the board early. And one thing they have struggled with lately, even in last night’s victory, was hitting with runners in scoring position.

And while there is still plenty of time for the Yankees to go into a “June swoon,” there have been some glaring indications that it might yet happen: First, and foremost, the defense has been dreadful recently. Simple groundballs have been misplayed, outfielders are missing throws to the cutoff men and the route-running from a couple of the outfielders have been terrible.

But the offense has not been much better. And it isn’t to say that the Yankees have not had opportunities. They ran all over the Reds this past weekend, but could not put the ball in play when it mattered most and stranded so many in scoring position. They had several opportunities in the first game of this series against the Tigers, but failed time and time again to get another run or two in.

Every team is going to go through at least one offensive slump in a season, and more than likely will go through several. And I definitely feel as if the Yankees are still in a slight slump right now despite the win last night. But that is where the pitching staff has come into play numerous times this season.

Rodon definitely didn’t have his greatest outing last night, but he stayed away from the long ball and was able to give the Yankees 16 outs. But the bullpen shined in this game. Cruz and Headrick seem to be the best pieces in the bullpen right now, and Bednar has really found his groove lately as the closer. While the Yankees can absolutely use more pieces in the bullpen, performances such as last night’s are reasons why I am optimistic about the future.

Once Max Fried comes back, someone will likely shift to the bullpen, and Clarke Schmidt is due to return soon. Plus, the Yankees have a couple of pitchers in Triple-A that could very likely come up later on in the season in a bullpen role, particularly Carlos Lagrange and even Elmer Rodriguez. Do the Yankees potentially go for a reunion with someone such as Luke Weaver? As the Trade Deadline inches closer and closer, those questions will soon be more transparent.

But for now, the Yankees are in a position to go for the series win before they head to Boston for a four-game series with the Red Sox. I will gladly take the win to snap the three-game losing streak. But they certainly will not have an easy task on their hands in the final game of this series. It’s going to be a fun matchup tonight, so tune in if you can!

What’s Next?

The Yankees will be back in action tonight and will go for the series victory in the rubber game. Ryan Weathers is slated to start for the Yankees, while Tarik Skubal is set to start for the Tigers. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. from Comerica Park and will be broadcast on Amazon Prime Video.