Yankees Pitching Staff Stars In Win Over Pirates

About Spring Training: Yankees Pitching Staff Stars Again In Win Over Pirates

By Derek McAdam

February 24, 2026

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The New York Yankees defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates yesterday afternoon in Bradenton, Florida, by a score of 6-2. Ben Rice’s two hits and a solid performance from several Yankee pitchers gave New York their second win in Spring Training and improve to 2-2 overall. Here are a few key points from yesterday’s game and some early (way too early) reactions through the first few games. 

Beginning with yesterday’s win over the Pirates, Rice had a couple of fine at-bats yesterday, headlined by his two-run single in the second. Rice also worked a walk. For myself, Rice is one of those Yankees that I will be paying much more attention to this Spring Training. His defense is going to be the biggest question mark, specifically at first base, but with the Yankees bringing back Paul Goldschmidt, I think Rice can get some valuable lessons and make solid strides this season. 

Jasson Dominguez also had an RBI double in the same inning as Rice’s two-run single, but he struck out the remaining three at-bats he had. With the Yankees’ current outfield situation, I would not be surprised if Dominguez starts the season in Triple-A to work on his fielding, as well as getting right-handed at-bats in. Hopefully, the Yankees do not give up on him this season, unless it’s for a big haul. 

Spencer Jones also had three plate appearances and while he worked a walk and scored a run, still struck out twice, which is going to be a common theme for him. David Cone and the media definitely hyped up his home run from a few days ago, and I think this is going to be a frequent issue going forward. Until he can prove he can consistently hit Major League pitching, he is still just an overhyped Yankee prospect. 

I don’t like seeing the abundance of strikeouts in a couple of games for the Yankees, including 16 yesterday and 13 against the Orioles last Friday. However, the Yankees have been able to walk numerous times in each game, earning 11 walks in two games, nine in one, and just two in their first game of the season. 

One key aspect that has been pretty good so far in the first four games of Spring Training is the pitching staff. They’ve given up three runs or less in three of the four games and have gotten some good innings out of multiple pitchers. 

Yesterday, Ryan Yarbrough got the start and got himself into early trouble to start the game. He was able to only allow one run to cross the plate and struck out four over two innings while walking just one batter. Yarbrough is going to be an important piece to this Yankee pitching staff this season, as he will likely be one of the first pitchers to start the season in the rotation and then move to the bullpen once Carlos Rodon makes his return. 

Paul Blackburn also gave the Yankees a couple of scoreless innings and Ben Hess pitched three innings allowing just one run and striking out five. The Yankees’ bullpen is going to have a lot of question marks this year, especially with the non-tenders of Ian Hamilton, Mark Leiter Jr., and the loss of Luke Weaver and Devin Williams to the New York Mets in free agency. I think there may be a surprise name that makes the Major League roster because of their solid Spring Training performance. 

Will Warren looks as if he will make the start today against the Toronto Blue Jays. Similarly to Yarbrough, Warren is likely going to start the season in the rotation. But barring any injuries to other starters, he will likely shift to the bullpen, unless he makes an ultimate stride. While Warren definitely had some positive moments as a starter last season, I think he can be a solid bullpen piece. 

Through his first two games, it looks as if Aaron Judge is picking up right where he left off last season, with a couple of home runs, walks, and four RBIs in six plate appearances. If the Yankees are going to challenge for the AL East, they will need Judge to perform at yet another MVP-caliber level. 

Additional Thoughts

The latest reports have emerged that Jazz Chisholm Jr. is seeking at least an eight-year deal worth $35 million annually. I must say that this is a very steep price for Chisholm, who has shown power at Yankee Stadium, and is coming off a 30-30 season. He says he wants to aim for a 50-50 season, which would be great, but he is going to need to make tremendous strides to accomplish this. 

While Gerrit Cole’s return to the starting rotation is very much anticipated, I still do not see the Yankees making any deep playoff runs if they don’t improve offensively. They have the potential to score 20+ runs throughout the regular season, but the bats fall asleep against the better teams in the league. Maybe their surplus of starting pitchers can be used to trade for a bat at the deadline. 

The World Baseball Classic starts in less than two weeks, and I’m interested to see if any team can top the US. They have the best two MLB starting pitchers playing for them, and well as Judge, the reigning AL MVP. The Dominican Republic always puts together a very solid lineup, which has a fantastic starting lineup with none other than Austin Wells at catcher.