About Last Night: The Yankees Fell to the Blue Jays 4-2

About Last Night: The Yankees Fell to the Blue Jays 4-2

By Tim Kabel

April 26, 2025

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Coming out of Spring Training, who would have ever thought that Carlos Carrasco would out-pitch Devin Williams in a game. Well, it happened. Last night, Carrasco pitched five innings of scoreless, three hit baseballs. Devin Williams didn't get anybody out and gave up three runs, losing the game. Carrasco’s nickname is Cookie, but it wasn't Cookie who crumbled last night, it was Williams. 

As everyone knows, I am not an Aaron Boone apologist. I am not an Aaron Boone fan. I do not think Aaron Boone is a good manager. However, bringing Devin Williams in to pitch the ninth inning last night was the right move. He is the closer, or at least he was, last night. Williams was asked to do his job and he couldn't do it. At some point, he is going to have to figure this out, whatever his role will be in the future, or the Yankees are going to be in big trouble.

Quick Stats – 

·       Aaron Judge’s batting average dropped to .408. I'm sure someone, somewhere is worrying.

·       The Blue Jays’ five-game-losing streak was snapped.

·       The Yankees were 1-9 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11 runners.

·       Alejandro Kirk threw Cody Bellinger and Jazz Chisolm, Jr. out on attempted steals back-to-back. Chisolm was attempting to steal on a 3-0 pitch to Anthony Volpe. I really don't have a problem with that because Bellinger and Chisholm are both established base stealers. The Yankees have speed this year and they should not be afraid to use it.

·       Devin Williams failed to retire a batter in the ninth inning. He has an 11.25 ERA in ten appearances as a Yankee.

·       Opposing hitters are batting .273, (6-22) against Williams’ vaunted changeup this season.  He only allowed 6 hits off that pitch all last season. Perhaps it’s time to change up the changeup.

·       On April 25th, 1999, the Yankees unveiled a monument to Joe DiMaggio.  He is the most recent player to have a monument dedicated to him.

The Big Story:

The big story last night was Devin Williams blowing the game. There is no way around that. It's the second time in a week that it happened. He coughed up a 4-run lead last Saturday and in his next appearance, last night, he couldn't get anybody out, blew the save, and lost the game. Williams is considered to be one of the best closers in Baseball. It is early but as Yogi Berra once said, “It gets late early out there”. Something is going to have to change. Either Williams is going to have to figure things out in a hurry or someone else, most likely Luke Weaver, is going to have to close games. That might not be a permanent situation but I'm sure it is being considered.

However, Devin Williams’ dreadful performance was not the only reason the Yankees lost. They did not have clutch, or timely hitting, if you will. They stranded eleven runners last night. If a few of those had scored, they might have been able to withstand Williams’ collapse. No one is going to hit every game and it would be very hard to criticize Paul Goldschmidt for going hitless. As far as Trent Grisham goes, he has been incredibly hot this season and the poor man probably hasn't had any sleep in three days since he is now on diaper duty. Congratulations to him by the way. The point is that a team can win a game with shaky pitching by the bullpen or a lack of timely hitting. It is hard to win games with both.

Player of the Game – 

Carlos Carrasco had another solid outing. Whenever it looks as if he should be written off, he has a solid outing. He is certainly not consistent, but he does have flashes of being a solid starting pitcher.

Notable Performances – 

Austin Wells had two hits and drove in what was the go ahead run at the time, in the 8th inning with a sacrifice fly.

Oswaldo Cabrera also had two hits and drove in a run. He had a hit from both sides of the plate last night.

Better To Forget-

Devin Williams was Dev-out Williams last night.

My Take – 

It is still only April. It is very early in the season. However, a loss is a loss. A blown save is a blown save. Devin Williams has not looked comfortable, confident, or good as a Yankee. That is a problem. Can Williams right the ship? Absolutely. Not only can he but he most likely will. However, he needs to do it fairly soon. Even if he is not the nominal closer, if he remains ineffective, he can still cost the team games.

As noted above, it is very early in the season but, teams make the playoffs based on their total number of wins in a season. Wins in September do not count any more than wins in April. The key to success obviously, is accumulating as many wins as possible. Just as you cannot afford to have ineffective starting pitchers, you cannot afford to have ineffective relief pitchers, particularly high leverage relief pitchers.

I do not know if it's too early to remove Devin Williams from the closer’s role, at least temporarily. However, I don't think he should wait a week to get back on the mound. The Yankees should put him in the game, as soon as possible, regardless of whether it is a save situation. They should put him in in a situation that would have a greater possibility of success for him to build his confidence. He is a human being. Some of the greatest people in history, and not just sports’ history, have had moments of doubt. Why should Devin Williams be any different?

It is possible that Devin Williams straightens himself out very soon and by the middle of the season is once again a dominant closer. The Yankees have to walk a fine line between giving him opportunities and losing games. One or two losses in April or early May could mean the difference between winning the division and being a wild card team. While it is a long season, all games are important. To paraphrase George Orwell, all games are equal but some games, including the ones you blow, are more equal than others.

Next Up:

The Yankees will play the second game of the three-game series against the Blue Jays today at 1:05 PM at Yankee Stadium. Kevin Gausman, (2-2, 3.16 ERA) will pitch for Toronto. The Yankees will send Max Fried, (4-0, 1.42 ERA) to the mound. I’m sure Mr. Fried will give his Max-imum effort.