Finishing Strong: NY 5. Seattle 3

About Yesterday Afternoon: Finishing Strong. NY 5. Seattle 3.

By Tim Kabel

April 2, 2026

***

The Yankees ended the first road trip of the season by winning both series and five of the six games. They made things a little interesting at the end of the game by allowing Seattle to get back into the contest. However, a slightly shaky bullpen could not diminish Cam Schlittler's continued dominance.

Schlittler was limited to a maximum of 80 pitches since he started Spring Training with some soreness and was slightly behind the other pitchers. That was the only thing in his way yesterday. He pitched 6.1 innings, allowing two hits and walking none. He had 7 strikeouts and threw 79 pitches.

Fernando Cruz finished the 7th inning, facing 2 batters. He struck out 1 and threw a total of 12 pitches. He did not come out for the 8th inning.  

Camilo Doval did pitch the 8th inning. After inducing a ground out, Doval allowed a single, a stolen base, another single and then struck out Leo Rivas. He then walked Brendan Donovan, loading the bases. David Bednar came in and gave up a single to Cal Raleigh, which scored two runs. Bednar then finished the game for his third save but it certainly wasn't a clean one.

Paul Goldschmidt started and played first, allowing Ben Rice to be the DH as Giancarlo Stanton had the day off. Both Goldschmidt and Rice hit home runs. Goldschmidt’s was a three-run shot. Rice and Goldschmidt accounted for all five RBI.

Although the end of the game did get a little too exciting, the Yankees took two of three from Seattle and return home for Opening Day on Friday at Yankee Stadium in fine fettle.

There were some areas of concern. Trent Grisham was 0-3 and his only offensive contribution was a walk. He had four hits and two RBI on the road trip and is batting .200 with no home runs. Ryan McMahon did not start the game but came in as a defensive replacement for Amed Rosario. McMahon went 0-1 and is batting .067 for the season. His on base percentage is .176. McMahon has 1 hit in 15 at bats. Rosario also only has one hit, but he's only been up six times. I'm certainly not going to list Aaron Judge among the areas of concern. We all know he will be fine.

Surprisingly, Aaron Boone’s usage of the bullpen is also a puzzlement. How unexpected. Fernando Cruz, as noted above, pitched 2/3 of an inning to close out the 7th. He threw 12 pitches. He has pitched in three games this season. He pitched 2/3 of an inning in each of them. I'm not sure why he is not allowed to pitch more than exactly 2/3 of an inning. He could have come out in the eighth inning. Conversely, this was Camilo Doval's 4th outing in six games. In the 8th inning, the Yankees were winning 4-0. In theory, Doval, who was a closer last year and has looked very good this year could have been allowed to get the last out of the 8th inning. Maybe he would have, maybe he wouldn't. We will never know. Instead, David Bednar was brought in to get 4 outs. Bednar faced 7 batters and threw 40 pitches. It seems a bit early in the season for that. 

Bednar is strong and a tough competitor, but Boone’s usage of the bullpen does seem to be problematic. In the six games the Yankees have played, Jake Bird has appeared in 3 games, Brent Headrick has appeared in 4, Tim Hill has appeared in 3, Camilo Doval has appeared in 4. Fernando Cruz and David Bednar have each appeared in 3. Paul Blackburn has been in one game. Ryan Yarbrough and Cade Winquest have not appeared in a game at all. I understand the Yankees are reluctant to use Cade Winquest but if that's the case, why is he here? What is the point of having a pitcher you're afraid to use? Boone’s failure to use Ryan Yarbrough is mystifying. He has not appeared on the mound for the Yankees since March 21 in Spring Training against Detroit. I have not heard anything about an injury. He is not on the IL. He is an effective Major League pitcher. He is on the roster. Unlike Winquest, the Yankees do not seem to be terrified to allow Yarbrough to pitch. Yet, he hasn't. Boone came up with an elaborate explanation as to why he used all his right-handed hitters in the second game of the season because he didn't want them to sit on the bench and not be used before the home opener. Why doesn't that apply to Yarbrough and Winquest. Again, if the Yankees are not going to use Winquest, give him back to the Cardinals and bring up someone from the minor leagues whom they will use. At this point, it is highly likely that both Winquest and Yarbrough will be ineffective when they are finally used because they are out of sync and haven't pitched in so long.

I know it's very early in the season. I know the Yankees won five of the six games on the first road trip. I know it was the West Coast and it's marvelous to have such a successful road trip so early. I know people are going to accuse me of pearl clutching. However, it is something to keep in mind and to watch. The way Boone uses or misuses his bullpen at this point of the season may not have any negative results. However, it could lead to negative results and yet another Boone-Swoon down the road.

A Few Tidbits:

·       Cam Schlittler retired the last 16 batters he faced. 

·       Ben Rice is off to a torrid start. He is batting .412..

·       Schlittler has pitched 11 2/3 scoreless innings to start the season while striking out 15 batters and walking none. Neither Schlittler nor Max Fried has given up a run this season.

The Yankees are off to a strong start and won their first two series of the season. They will play their home opener on Friday at 1:35 at Yankee Stadium against the Marlins. Will Warren will face Eury Perez.