About Yesterday: The Yankees Rolled Over the Reds 7-1

About Yesterday: The Yankees Rolled Over the Reds 7-1

By Tim Kabel

June 26, 2025

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The Yankees salvaged the final game against the Reds and avoided being swept. Had that happened, some of us older fans would have had flashbacks to 1976.

When the Yankees are firing on all cylinders, this is the type of game they can produce. Unfortunately, that has not been happening a lot recently. For example, it only occurred once in the three-game series against the Reds, a beatable team. However, maybe this will be the game that sets the Yankees off on a long winning streak. I would cross my fingers but that makes typing difficult.

Quick Stats – 

·       Max Fried became the 1st 10-game winner in the Major Leagues this season.

·       Four of Jazz Chisolm, Jr.’s seventeen home runs have come since he returned from the IL on June3.

·       Max Fried became the third Yankees’ pitcher since 1962 to be the first pitcher in the Major Leagues to reach double digit victories, joining CC Sabathia in 2011 and Tommy John in 1979. I'm shocked that Ron Guidry didn't do it in 1978.

·       The Yankees improved their hitting with runners in scoring position last night. They were 4-22 but, in the series, they were a total of 5-43.

·       Max Fried is 8-1 with a 0.93 ERA in 10 starts after a Yankees’ loss this season.

·       Aaron Judge drove home DJ LeMahieu with a double in the sixth inning. It was the first time since June 10th that he drove in someone other than himself.

·       On June 25, 1943, in a game against the Red Sox, the Yankees batted out of order twice, which ultimately altered the outcome of the game. I guess we can't blame Aaron Boone for that one.

The Big Story – 

The Yankees played a great game last night. They had contributions from just about everyone. Only Anthony Volpe and Ben Rice did not have hits, but Volpe drove in a run and Rice scored a run. Trent Grisham had four hits for the third time in his career and his first time as a Yankee. Jasson Dominguez had the first four-hit game of his Major League career. He had two singles, two doubles, two runs scored, and two stolen bases. He has raised his batting average for the season to .253.

One of the most encouraging parts about the game Dominguez had last night was that he had two hits from both sides of the plate. His right-handed hitting is improving. He also made a defensive play that was lauded by Dave Sims, Suzyn Waldman, and Trent Grisham.  Dominguez seems to be coming into his own, but it is hard for him to do so when he is pulled out of the lineup just when he seems to be hitting his stride. If Dominguez were afforded the same treatment as Anthony Volpe when he was a rookie, it would be interesting to see what he could do. As it is, he is having an impressive year.

Players of the Game – 

Trent Grisham and Jasson Dominguez had tremendous nights. the one area in which Dominguez did better than Grisham was base stealing. Dominguez stole two bases and now has 12 for the season. He has only been thrown out once and that was on that awful blunder he made that resulted in him getting caught off the base against the Red Sox.

Notable Performance – 

Max Fried showed why he is the ace of this team and their stopper. He put an end to the losing streak.

Better To Forget-

Anthony Volpe had another hitless night, and his batting average has fallen from .249 on June 14th to .230 on June 25th.

My Take – 

Last night, the Yankees were tougher on the Reds than Joseph McCarthy. Unfortunately, it was only one game in a three-game series. The Yankees lost the other two games. That's the thing about the Boone-Swoons, it's tough to predict what will happen next.

The Yankees had a great game last night. But it was just one game. Will it start a winning streak or just be one win in a long stretch of mediocre games? 

One of the hallmarks of these annual losing streaks or Boone-Swoons is that when the Yankees are in these stretches, they have a hard time stringing together wins or even well-played games. One great game can be followed by a pair of clunkers.

If the Yankees are going to break out of the Boone-Swoon and hold off the Rays in their efforts to take over first place in the American League East, they need to win consistently. That is hard to do when the manager doesn't have an inkling about how to make it happen. 

I read an article yesterday about the Tampa Bay Rays, crediting Kevin Cash with the Rays’ recent hot play, and the fact that they are only one game out of first place in the American League East. I guarantee you will never read an article like that about Aaron Boone. Therein lies the problem and the reason why the Yankees have not won a World Series and most likely will not win a World Series with Aaron Boone as the manager.

Next Up-

After a much-needed day off today, the Yankees will open a three-game series against the A’s Friday night at 7:05 PM at Yankee Stadium. Mitch Spence, (2-2, 3.84 ERA) will pitch for Oakland. The Yankees will send Clarke Schmidt, (4-3, 2.84 ERA) to the mound.