About Yesterday: Yankees Blinded By Rays 10-8

About Yesterday: The Yankees Were Blinded By The Rays 10-8 in Ten Innings.

By Tim Kabel

April 20, 2025

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Yesterday, in the top of the ninth inning, the Yankees tacked on two runs. These seemed to be insurance runs. Unfortunately, that insurance policy was cancelled. The Rays came back with four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning against Devin Williams and tied the score. They won the game in the tenth inning when Jonathan Aranda hit a two-run home run off Yoendrys Gomez, who had not pitched in eight days. Bank on Gomez not pitching for another eight days unless he is banished to Scranton. Meanwhile, the Rays were running around the bases against Williams like a bunch of kids on an Easter egg hunt. Unfortunately, Williams did not put up goose eggs but instead, wound up with egg on his face.

Quick Stats – 

·       This was the Yankees’ second extra inning game of 2025. They have lost both of them.

·       The Yankees’ five-game-winning streak was snapped.

·       The Yankees can still win the series against the Rays later today, with Max Fried on the mound. The Yankees will only come back to Tampa one more time this season, for a two-game series in August.

·       Carlos Carrasco’s ERA is now 6.53. Devon Williams’ ERA is even worse at 9.00. 

·       On April 19th, 1960, Roger Maris appeared in his first game as a Yankee, going 4-5 with two home runs, a double, and four RBI.

·       On April 19th, 2000, Clay Bellinger hit a tenth-inning home run to save a game after Mariano Rivera blew a save. His son did not follow in his footsteps when Devin Williams blew the game yesterday. I bet Clay mentions that at the next family gathering.

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The Big Story – 

The Yankees lost a tough game yesterday. It was clearly a game they should have won. The most important thing for a winning team to do is to wrap up the victories that they have in hand. But it doesn't happen all the time and no player or team is perfect. On this same date 25 years ago, Mariano Rivera, who is the only player ever elected unanimously to the Hall of Fame, blew a save. It happens. There will probably be a lot of people wringing their hands and declaring that Devin Williams is a bust. They will say that he should be replaced immediately with Luke Weaver. Remember, Luke Weaver was an afterthought at the beginning of last season. He did not become a closer until the end of the year. The Yankees and their fans need to keep things in perspective and stay the course with Devin Williams, at least for now. It is early. If they give in to panic and throw in the towel, that could truly come back to bite them.

Player of the Game – 

Aaron Judge had three more hits and three RBI. He is now batting.397 for the season with 7 home runs and 25 RBI in 21 games.

Notable Performances – 

Ian Hamilton, Mark Leiter, Jr., and Luke Weaver combined to throw four scoreless, hitless innings in relief.

Better To Forget-

Carlos Carrasco and Devin Williams were dreadful. Obviously, Williams is not going anywhere but Carrasco’s days may be numbered.

My Take – 

It is early. The Yankees have only played 21 games this season. At this point, Austin Wells is batting 190. Jazz Chisholm, Jr. is batting 165. Anthony Volpe is batting 197. Clay Bellinger is batting .175. Devon Williams’ ERA is 9.00. Those numbers are not pretty. I don't suspect that they will remain as horrible as they are now. It is way too early to panic or even worry about most of these players.

There are a lot of good signs with this team. They had won five games in a row and were on their way to the sixth win yesterday when things went haywire. That happens. They could quite easily begin another winning streak today. That's especially likely because Max Fried is pitching. 

The Yankees have many young players who seem as if they will be solid contributors. I believe that Ben Rice, Austin Wells, Anthony Volpe, Jasson Dominguez, Oswaldo Cabrera, and Will Warren have bright futures. Hopefully, they will fulfill those futures with the Yankees. I would much rather see those players and Jazz Chisholm, Jr., and Paul Goldschmidt on the field instead of Anthony Rizzo, Gleyber Torres, DJ LeMahieu, Alex Verdugo, and even Giancarlo Stanton. I know what Stanton did in the postseason but, who knows what he will be able to do now, and his regular seasons have been less than spectacular and extremely streaky.

I read an article yesterday stating that the Yankees will need to start making plans about how to find at bats for Ben Rice when Stanton returns in June. Similarly, I have heard the broadcasters discuss and read articles about DJ LeMahieu returning to play third base. I have even read articles and comments on articles which have stated that if DJ LeMahieu came back and played as the right-handed part of the platoon with Oswaldo Cabrera, that would not be the end of the world. However, does anyone really believe that's what Aaron Boone would do? How many times does Aaron Boone need to do the same thing before we recognize it as a pattern. 

Remember, there was supposed to be a competition in Spring Training between Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Perez, and DJ LeMahieu. That never materialized because LeMahieu couldn't even make it through one game, a game in which he wasn't even playing in the field. Oswaldo Cabrera won the competition and is doing a fine job. Yes, I know he made an error yesterday but that does happen. LeMahieu could not even participate in the competition in Spring Training. I could see if LeMahieu had been injured at a point when he was hitting .387 in Spring Training with two home runs. That didn't happen. He was 0-2 in one game. He should not be able to circumvent the entire competition process and ascend to the position of starting third baseman. He was awful last season and yet Boone continued to put his name on the lineup card as if he were punching a time clock in a factory. Those people who think that Aaron Boone would demonstrate restraint when it comes to playing DJ LeMahieu or Giancarlo Stanton for that matter, are sadly mistaken. That would be like putting a pile of chocolate bars down in front of Augustus Gloop and saying “you may have only one.” In that scenario, you would very likely lose a finger if not your whole hand.

The Yankees are starting to build something that could be very impressive with this team. The young players are still feeling their way and it is very early in the season. The Yankees and Aaron Boone need to stay the course and not drag old, washed-up players out of mothballs and insert them into the lineup on a daily basis.

Next Up

The Yankees will conclude the four-game series against the Rays today at 1:40 PM at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Ryan Pepiot, (1-2, 4-91 ERA) will pitch for Tampa Bay. The Yankees will send Max Fried, (3-0, 1.88 ERA) to the mound. Maybe Max can use the cone of silence on the Rays’ bats. 

Happy Easter!!