About Yesterday: Yankees 10, Pirates 4

On this day in 1973, Ron Blomberg took his place in the Yankee lineup, batting sixth and playing....Designated Hitter. For the first time in history, the DH was part of a Major League Baseball regular season lineup. https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS197304060.shtml Love it or hate it, the DH was a big deal, and is one of the most significant rule changes in the history of the sport. When I was growing up in the 1980s, the "DH or no DH" debate raged. I come down on the "no DH" side. I loved watched pitchers who could handle the bat.

Big things had been expected of Bloomberg, a first-round draft pick in 1967. He was dogged by injuries throughout his career, but he could hit - .293/.360/.473, 140 OPS+ - when in the lineup. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/blombro01.shtml https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/ron-blomberg/ Quick Stats: The Yankees are 6-2, good for first place in the American League East. They lead all of Major League Baseball with 25 home runs, and a team OPS of 1.012. So far in 2025, they are averaging nine runs scored per game. Trent Grisham is batting .471 with 1.059 slugging percentage in 20 plate appearances. Mark Leiter Jr. was the winner, and is 1-1 on the season. The boxscore is here. Big Story: The Yanks jumped out to an early lead in the second inning when Austin Wells singled in Jazz Chisholm, who had stolen second after being hit by a pitch. They added another on Trent Grisham's solo home run in the third. Starter Marcus Stroman cruised through three scoreless innings, but lost his touch in the fourth, walking three and yielding two doubles and the Bucs were up 4-2. But have no fear, Grisham smacked another home run, a three-run shot, in the fifth to take back the lead. The Yanks weren't done that inning though as they later loaded the bases on a walk, single and hit by pitch. Anthony Volpe's double cleared the bases and the frame ended with the Yanks up 8-4.

Aaron Boone turned the game over the the bullpen, and Tim Hill, Mark Leiter, Fernando Cruz, and Ryan Yarbrough allowed one hit over the last five innings. The Yanks added on a couple more insurance runs at the end, and walked away with the victory. Yankees win, 10-4. Player of the Game: Grisham. He has gotten his opportunity due in large to Cody Bellinger's stiff back. If I were writing the lineup tomorrow, I'd give Bellinger another day to rest and stick with the hot hand in center field. Notable Performances: Paul Goldschmidt had three hits an a walk batting first in the order, and is hitting .400 from that spot in the early going. To think folks thought the Yanks didn't have a leadoff hitter....Cruz, Yarbrough, and Leiter all have been roughed up recently, and all tossed hitless outings yesterday....Oswald Peraza had two hits and scored two runs. In Hartford, Clarke Schmidt made his first rehab start for the AA Somerset Patriots, looking sharp over 52 pitches. Per Boone, the plan is for Schmidt to throw another rehab outing, then join the Yankees in mid-April. Better to Forget: Stroman reminded us of the Yankee starting pitching weakness, and how it's almost certain that an upgrade to the rotation will be required at some point this season. We'll worry about that another day though. They Said It: "It's been fun to see how everyone has chipped into this" - Aaron Boone on the performance of the Yankee offense. My Take: As the Yanks have been banging the ball out of the park a lot to start the season, there's a temptation to think that this is a trend, and it's probably happening all around MLB. Except it isn't. Scoring per game and home run frequency is about the same as last year. The Yanks are just pounding the ball a lot better than the other teams. What a fun start to the season. Anthony Volpe's .303/.361/.758 start is so encouraging. Here's hoping he's turning a corner and adding productive offense to his stellar defensive game. Friday night I was at a local Barnes and Noble bookstore, and came upon the book The Yankee Way: The Untold Inside Story of the Brian Cashman Era by Andy Martino. It looks like it's pretty good, and I'm excited about reading it. For those who listen to podcasts, I want to share a favorite of mine - "Is This a Great Game or What?" by analyst/author Tim Kurkjian and his son Jeff. https://greatgameorwhat.com/ This isn't a podcast where you'll get a lot of hard core stats and analytics, but plenty of great baseball content including some great baseball trivia, history, and interesting interviews. The father and son dynamic has baseball written all over it. Lots of fun. New episodes are dropped Tuesdays and Fridays. Try it and get hooked like I am! Next Up: Sweep? Rookie Will Warren (0-0, 3.60) takes the mound against lefty Andrew Heaney (0-0, 1.80). Gametime at 1:35 pm.