About Last Night: Yankees 5, Athletics 3

By Derek McAdam

April 8, 2026

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The New York Yankees defeated the Athletics by a score of 5-3, led by Amed Rosario’s two-home run game, including a go-ahead three-run shot in the bottom of the 8th. Here’s a quick recap of last night’s game.

Quick Stats:

W: Fernando Cruz (1-0)

S: David Bednar (5)             

L: Mark Leiter Jr. (0-1)

HRs: Rosario (1,2)

The Big Story: The Yankees came into their fourth series of the season with a perfect 3-0 record on the season, and were looking to get off to winning start in this series. Cam Schlittler held opponents to zero runs in his first two starts on the year, and sought to keep the streak alive in his first start at Yankee Stadium this season. Meanwhile, Aaron Civale came into last night’s game with a career ERA north of 8 at Yankee Stadium, and surely wanted to turn the tide against the Yankees.

The Yankees got on the board first in the bottom of the 2nd, when Rosario hit a solo home run into the left field seats to give the Yankees a quick 1-0 lead. Although Civale is a right-handed pitcher and Rosario typically plays against left-handed pitchers, Aaron Boone inserted him into the lineup with Ryan McMahon struggling at the plate.

In the 3rd, Schlittler found himself in the first tough spot of the season. After giving up singles to Max Muncy and Jeff McNeil, Nick Kurtz hit a two-run double into the right-centerfield gap to give the Athletics a 2-1 lead, the first two runs that Schlittler has allowed all season. Tyler Soderstrom then hit an RBI double down the right field line to score Kurtz and add to the Athletics’ new 3-1 lead.

Schlittler had a couple of solid innings in the 4th and 5th innings. However, the Yankees were not able to get him any additional run support, although they had an opportunity in the bottom of the 5th.

Jose Caballero, another Yankee who has struggled at the plate so far this season, hit a leadoff double to lead off the inning. Trent Grisham popped up right behind second base to keep Caballero at second. While Aaron Judge walked, Cody Bellinger and Ben Rice were unable to get any runs across the plate, allowing Civale to be in line for the win.

In the 7th, the Yankees got off to another quick start when Austin Wells, yet another Yankee struggling at the plate, smoked a leadoff double into the right-centerfield gap. But Caballero grounded out to third, keeping Wells at second, and Grisham grounded out to advance Wells to third. Judge then grounded out to end the inning, wasting yet another leadoff double.

In the 8th, against former Yankee Leiter, Bellinger led off the inning with a single. Rice then followed with a bloop single into right field, setting up Giancarlo Stanton with runners at the corners and no outs. Stanton then hit a knuckle past Jacob Wilson to score Bellinger and make it 3-2 Athletics, still with no outs. After Jazz Chisholm Jr. flied out, Rosario then hit a towering three-run home run down the left field line to give the Yankees a 5-3 lead.

Bednar then came in to retire the Athletics’ in order, securing his fifth save of the season and the Yankees’ eighth win, improving to 8-2 on the young season.

Player of the Game: No doubt this honor goes to Rosario, who had his third multi-home run game of his career. And while Rosario hits much better against lefties, he seemed to give Boone some thought as to including him against righties going forward.

Notable Performances: The Yankee bullpen did a great job in providing four innings of scoreless relief. Overall, the Yankees’ bottom of the order performed well last night after being ranked last in all of MLB through the first couple of weeks in batting average.

Better to Forget: For the Athletics, it is most certainly Leiter. After having his ups-and-downs with the Yankees, this was not a great return for him to the Bronx, although it was definitely welcomed from Yankee fans.

For the Yankees, Grisham continues to struggle offensively. Sure, he worked some walks against the Marlins, but he has yet to have that “big hit” for the Yankees.

My Take: Besides the 8th inning, this was a game that was relatively boring and uneventful to watch. It seemed that the Yankees were going to be shut down by Civale after YES Network’s Michael Kay and Joe Girardi mentioned that he struggles against the Yankees, naturally jinxing the team. And Civale definitely had one of his better starts against the Yankees.

And on the other side, Schlittler had that one off inning in the 3rd, but overall did not pitch a bad game on a cold night in the Bronx. He didn’t let the bad inning get to him and at least got the Yankees five innings of work. But the bullpen, consisting of Jake Bird, Brent Headrick, Cruz and Bednar were able to combine for four shutout innings, only allowing one hit and walking four batters in the meantime.

One aspect that I do not think will be a popular take is the interesting tactic from Boone to start Rosario at third base. I understand that McMahon has been awful at the plate, but I do not recall Rosario playing in many instances last season with the Yankees when there was a right-handed pitcher on the mound. And especially since the Yankees are about to face several left-handed starters over the next week, I would have assumed Rosario would be playing in those games.

But Boone deserves some credit for putting Rosario in last night. It was one of those moves that I raised an eyebrow about, but it worked out great in the end. Rosario is not known for his power, but both of his home runs last night had plenty of distance and was more reliant on if they would stay fair. Luckily for the Yankees, they both did and were the major reason for the Yankees’ victory.

Girardi said it best about Rosario last night. While he noted that he was not trying to insult Rosario, he called him a great “cheerleader” for the Yankees. And Girardi is absolutely correct. Rosario knows he is not an everyday player with the Yankees, but he is always the first player out of the dugout when a home run is hit and constantly has a smile on his face. There is no doubt that the Yankees love his attitude. But when Cruz was the first player out of the dugout when Rosario hit his home run in the 8th, I could not be any happier for Rosario. He had to have appreciated seeing another teammate be as enthusiastic as him.

The Yankees will be facing another former teammate this evening as they will go for the series victory. They have emphasized how important each and every game is throughout the season, and so far, it seems as if the players have taken that to heart. That mentality will come in handy once they go into a slump or two later on in the season. Keep it up Yankees!

What’s Next?: These two teams will be back at it tonight, as the Yankees will try and take their fourth consecutive series victory to begin the season. Luis Severino will be getting the start for the Athletics and Will Warren will start for the Yankees. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. EST from Yankee Stadium.