No Rain on the Parade: Rangers 3, Yankees 0
- Tim Kabel
- Apr 30
- 4 min read
About Yesterday Afternoon: No Rain on the Parade. Rangers 3 -Yankees 0
By Tim Kabel
April 30, 2026
***
The Yankees will finish the month of April with a record of 20-11. They are the only American League team to have twenty wins so far. They are in first place in the American League East. They finished this tough, 9-game road trip with a record of 7-2.
Old friend Nathan Eovaldi bounced back from a tough outing against the Athletics in which he gave up four home runs. He pitched seven 7 innings against the Yankees and allowed only four hits and no runs.
Elmer Rodriguez, who apparently prefers to be called Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, did not cruise through his Major League debut. Rodriguez lasted into the fifth inning. He allowed two earned runs on four hits and four walks and struck out three. Elmer was not spectacular, but he certainly did not come unglued. He should certainly stick in the rotation at least until Carlos Rodon returns. Elmer showed potential and promise and most likely was suffering from jitters during his Major League debut. It is clear why the Yankees think so highly of him.
As usual, the Yankees offense struggled against Eovaldi. The Yankees managed only five hits all game. Ben Rice had three of them and is now batting .327 for the season. The other two hits came from Cody Bellinger and Jose Caballero, who is batting.267. The only hit Jazz Chisholm had was when he smashed his helmet against the dugout bench after flying out in the ninth inning.
Jasson Dominguez was hit on the left elbow by pitch one of Eovaldi’s pitches in the fourth inning. He initially stayed in the game but was replaced by Max Schuemann in the bottom of the fourth inning. X-rays were conducted but were inconclusive. Dominguez will reportedly undergo more testing tomorrow which is an off-day for the Yankees. During postgame interviews, he did not seem overly concerned and expressed a strong desire to return to the lineup as quickly as possible. Who could blame him?
Prior to the game, the Yankees DFA ‘d Randal Grichuk to make room for Elmer Rodriguez. That was a somewhat surprising move. I think it was absolutely the correct move but the fact that the Yankees did it was surprising. It seems to indicate that unless Dominguez needs to miss significant time due to the elbow injury, he will get significant playing time, at least until Giancarlo Stanton returns. Although Grichuk had a couple of hits recently, he never really caught fire.
The Yankees had a great first month of the season. Well, it was actually longer than a month because the season started in March. However, there are some concerns as the team enters the month of May. Jazz Chisholm, Jr., who predicted that he would have a 50/50 season, is batting .202 with 3 home runs and 9 stolen bases. He also has 10 RBI. He seems very confident that he will improve now that the warm weather is here. However, he is off to a slow start. Trent Grisham is batting .151. He seems more like the pre-2025 version of Trent Grisham than last year's model. Although Ryan McMahon has shown signs of life lately, he is still batting .167 with 2 home runs and 7 RBI. The bullpen has been somewhat shaky, particularly Camilo Doval, Jake Bird, and to an extent, David Bednar.
It seems that Anthony Volpe is poised to rejoin the Yankees this weekend against the Orioles. However, Aaron Boone has become somewhat less enthusiastic about the topic. Because Jose Caballero is playing so well, it would not seem practical or fair to turn the starting job over to Volpe simply because he thinks he's ready. I don't understand why Volpe can't play some more games on his minor league rehab.
However, there is another option here. What if when Volpe returns, instead of putting Caballero on the bench, he plays third base and pushes Ryan McMahon to the bench. It's something to think about at least. Also of note, the Yankees just promoted George Lombard, Jr. to Scranton. I'm not suggesting that he will be brought up to the Major Leagues anytime soon. He probably won't be. However, he is just one step away. We all know that if Volpe does take over as the starting shortstop this weekend and struggles, there will be a great outcry for him to be replaced. The obvious choice would be Caballero, but if Lombard gets off to a fast start in Pennsylvania, the fans and media will be clamoring for him to come up. At the very least, it will make Boone even more uncomfortable than he usually is.
It is hard to quibble with the success that the Yankees had through March and April. However, here are areas of concerns which if they do not improve, could become major issues as we head into May.
A Few Tidbits:
· The Yankees were shut out for the second time this season.
· The Yankees have won 10 of their last 12 games.
· The Toronto Blue Jays got off to a terrible start. However, they have now won their last three series and are 7-3 in their last 10 games.
· Gerrit Cole pitched in his third rehab outing yesterday for the Somerset Patriots. He allowed 3 runs and 3 hits over 5 2/3 innings, striking out 3 and walking 0. 45 of his 60 pitches were strikes.
· Spencer Jones is batting.242 in Scranton. However, he has 7 home runs and 30 RBI. He also has 5 stolen bases.
The Yankees hope to start a new winning streak tomorrow when they face the Orioles at 7:05 PM at Yankee Stadium. Will Warren, (3-0, 2.59 ERA) will face Trevor Rogers, (2-3, 2.59 ERA). Let's hope that Mr. Rogers has trouble when he is out of his neighborhood.
The Yankee offense is a certain cure for any pitcher’s woes.
20-11 after the first full month of season is very good. Its even more impressive when you consider the 3 or so dead weight positions in the line up. This roster is fluid, and will look different as the next 30-45 games are played out. So far, so good. As I have said all winter, the middle infield needs work, and the bull pen is not close to being what it will become. Boone has done a very nice job staying out of the way of his starters, and letting them pitch deep, as he should. 20-11. I'll take that to start any season!
"Elmer was not spectacular, but he certainly did not come unglued. He should certainly stick in the rotation at least until Carlos Rodon returns."
So you're saying, "Don't have a cow, man?"
Rice in the AL: 4th in BA, 3rd in OBA, 2nd in SLG, 2nd in OPS. I think we may have to transfer the subject of the "MVP" chant.
Even with oh-fer yesterday, Jazz is still .940 OPS for the past week. He's also been hitting into hard luck all season with a .286 BABIP. I predict continued better things for him.
The Orioles are playing a DH today, and Mr. Rogers went on the IL yestrday backed up to April 26, but still not pitching in this 4-game series.
As certain beat writers have written, Jazz had hit 7 HRs and was hitting .181 through April last year, then went on the IL on or about May 2 last year and spent the next month there and still finished 30/30. But with that being said.....
With Anthony Volpe on his way back (I have my own issues of when he started his rehab), that does free Jose Caballero to play other positions, and be an in-game change, even if he starts at SS that day. Trent Grisham is the one wh…
It is hard to quibble with the success that the Yankees had through March and April.
but the degree of difficulty is not utterly daunting.
the club has a satisfactory W-L record, but far from a perfect one.
clearly, this a team on pace to lose nearly 60 games this season.
they might lose even more unless they reinforce the pitching staff
and they need some more production from the hitters.
the offense averages a paltry 5 runs per...... and often scores fewer than 5 during the course of a game.
there ARE areas of concern.
and we would be foolish to dismiss them
just because he glass is more than half full.