No Rain on the Parade: Rangers 3, Yankees 0

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.