There’s No Place Like Home: NY 8, Miami 2

About Yesterday Afternoon: There’s No Place Like Home. NY 8-Miami 2

By Tim Kabel

April 4, 2026

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The Yankees opened Yankee Stadium for the season in style yesterday, beating up on the Marlins 8-2. The Yankees and Will Warren fell behind the Marlins 1-0 in the first inning when Xavier Edwards hit a home run. Aaron Judge then hit a go ahead two-run homer in the bottom of the first and the Yankees never looked back.

Will Warren was solid but not spectacular, pitching 5 2/3 innings, allowing four hits, including two solo home runs. If it weren't for the excellence demonstrated by Max Fried and Cam Schlittler, Warren's start to the 2026 season would look more impressive. So far, Warren is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA. 

Aaron Judge had two hits, including his third home run of the season, and three RBI. Ben Rice continued his scorching start to the season. He had two hits, including his second home run of the year and drove in three runs. He is batting .409 so far.

Tim Hill, Jake Bird, Brent Headrick, and Ryan Yarbrough combined for 3.1 innings of hitless relief. Apparently, Yarbrough escaped from the witness protection program before the game, as he had not pitched since late March in Spring Training. Cade Winquest remains among the missing and quite likely will not pitch at all before being returned to the Cardinals when Luis Gil is activated. It seems like a waste of a roster space, but the Yankees probably don't want to use up an option on a pitcher who would be sent back to the minors when Gil is activated. So far, the strategy has not worked against them. If they reach a situation where they need to use all their pitchers, it might be a different story when Winquest is exposed. Not using Winquest is one thing; Yarbrough on the other hand, was an extremely effective pitcher for the Yankees last year and in spring training and the WBC. The fact that he was not used at all was a bit baffling. I expect him to play a fairly important role for the team this year.

The Yankees are on a roll once again and this is their second 6-1 start in three seasons. Ideally, the Yankees will rack up as many wins as possible early in the season to provide insurance for the inevitable Boone-Swoon that we all know is coming. It was a dominant game in a very positive way to reopen Yankee Stadium after a long, cold winter and a 2025 season that ended in disappointment.

A Few Tidbits:

·       Three of Aaron Judge’s five hits this season have been home runs.

·       The Marlins entered the game at 5-1, matching the franchise-best start. They had spent six days in first place in the NL East which is double its total from 2021-2025 combined.

·       Marlins’ pitchers walked eleven batters yesterday, which was their most since April of 2023. They had walked just nine in the team’s first six games.

·       Jazz Chisholm, Jr., and Jose Caballero each had two stolen bases and Aaron Judge had one. Marlins’ catcher Liam Hicks has allowed 60 steals in 66 attempts since reaching the Major Leagues last year. Whatever he is doing to throw out runners, he should stop. Mickey Rivers could steal a base off him even though he is 77 years old.

·      Cody Bellinger made an amazing circus catch in the ninth inning.

·      The bottom third of the Yankees lineup was hitless. When you add in Trent Grisham at the top of the lineup, they were 0-9.

·      Those tweaks that the Yankees made to Ryan McMahon’s batting stance really seemed to have paid off. He is batting .059 so far.

·      Grisham who was brought back on a one-year $22 million contract by the Yankees, continued to use the walk as his most effective offensive tool. He walked three times but is only batting .182 for the season with 0 home runs and 2 RBI. By the way, Jasson Dominguez is batting .400 in Scranton with 2 home runs, 4 RBI, and 2 stolen bases.

The Yankees hope to continue their winning ways tonight when they face the Marlins at 7:05 PM in a rare Saturday night home game. Ryan Weathers will face Max Meyer. Let's hope Ryan weathers the storm and Meyer throws a lemon.