Yanks Top Guardians 5-1

By Tim Kabel

April 24, 2025

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Yesterday, the Yankees salvaged the final game of the three-game series against the Guardians in Cleveland. Carlos Rodon had his second consecutive strong outing and retired 16 of the last 18 batters he faced. The Yankees have not hit their stride as a team just yet but, they are still in first place. Considering that a few of the regulars are drastically underperforming, that is impressive. Ideally, when everyone in the lineup is hitting their stride, the team should go on a nice run. For now, they are more than holding their own.

Quick Stats – 

·       Aaron Judge raised his batting average to .415, which leads the Major Leagues.

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

·       Aaron Judge’s first inning triple was just the 6th of his career, and only his second since 2019. That seems surprising at first but when you consider most of the balls he hits go over the fence, it makes sense. It would have been a home run in every park except Cleveland and Arizona. Aaron Judges triples are like my good ideas. We have one or two of them every five years or so.

·       Carlos Rodon allowed just four hits and struck out five straight at one point. 

·       The Yankees have not been swept in a series of at least three games in Cleveland since 1970.

·       Yesterday, in Charlotte, Alan Winans struck out 10 of the first 11 batters he faced in the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders’ victory. That hasn’t been done in over sixty years. Carlos Correa should be looking over his shoulder. 

·       On April 23rd, 2000, Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada became the first Yankees’ teammates to hit home runs from both sides of the plate in the same game.

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The Big Story – 

The Yankees won yesterday but they squandered multiple scoring opportunities. They stranded 13 runners and struck out 14 times. Anthony Volpe led the way in that department, going 0-5 and striking out four times. He is now batting .198 for the season. Only Volpe and Oswaldo Cabrera were hitless yesterday.

However, for the season, Cody Bellinger is batting 177, Jazz Chisholm, Jr. is batting .165, and Austin Wells, who did drive in a run with a double, is batting 181. Clearly, there is room for improvement. Volpe is proving to be an extremely streaky hitter, I'm not sure if he gets homer happy after he hits a few, but it is time for him to become a more consistent hitter. The other struggling batters do not seem to be as streaky as Volpe. At least Chisholm is hitting for a great deal of power right now. I wouldn't say that I'm worried about any of them, but I am concerned about Volpe because this inconsistency and propensity to over-swing is a pattern with him. Hopefully, as the weather warms up, so will the bats of the struggling hitters in the Yankees’ lineup.

Player of the Game – 

Carlos Rodon had a masterful performance yesterday, evening his record for the season at 3-3. Bit by bit, the Yankees’ starting rotation is beginning to look better. Not perfect, but better.

Notable Performances – 

Paul Goldschmidt had three hits, including two doubles. Aaron Judge had two hits, including the triple. And Jasson Dominguez had two hits, including a double. He also stole a base.

Better To Forget-

Anthony Volpe’s bat was torpedoed yesterday, as he went 0-5 with 4 strikeouts.

My Take – 

I have always enjoyed Easter, not just for the religious significance of the holiday or the fact that it is a family gathering, but because it is a harbinger of Spring. Easter and Opening Day signal that the baseball season and warm weather are about to get underway. This Easter, there was a great deal of conversation about that mythical, magical figure. It is suggested that he will bring joy to millions. I'm not talking about the Easter Bunny. I'm talking about DJ LeMahieu (and also Giancarlo Stanton). There have been a lot of articles written and comments made during broadcasts and on the radio stations about how both DJ LeMahieu and Giancarlo Stanton will soon be ready to join the Yankees’ lineup.

Aaron Boone becomes positively giddy when discussing these two. He is like a grade school child looking out the window to see if the Easter Bunny left a basket on his lawn. I know what Stanton has done in his career in the postseason and I particularly know what he did last year. He was amazing. However, last year in the regular season, he appeared in 114 games. He batted .233 with 27 home runs and 72 RBI. His primary replacement this year, Ben Rice, is batting .288 with six home runs and eleven RBI in 21 games. 

Remember, Stanton has tennis elbow in both elbows and a chronic leg problem. It is unclear what if anything, he has left. It takes him forever to get his swing and timing down. In addition, when he eventually does arrive, he will be at risk of reinjuring himself almost daily. I'm not saying that the Yankees should not bring him back, but they certainly shouldn't put all their eggs, Easter or otherwise, in one basket. If Ben Rice is continuing to hit well, especially in the leadoff position, he should not be relegated to the bench because Stanton has returned. First, Stanton needs to exhaust the maximum allotment of minor league rehab games available to him.  

Let's say that in the best-case scenario, Stanton is able to begin a minor league rehab assignment in the beginning of June. In theory, he would complete that by the end of June. If at that point, Ben Rice has 22 home runs and 40 RBI and his batting over .280, would it make any sense to bench him on the hope that Stanton would do better? The answer is no because Rice is young and has a future. Stanton's future is in the past. Now, if Rice is stuck on nine home runs and is hitting .213 with 21 RBI, that would be a different story.

All the people who are talking or writing about D J LeMahieu in reverential tones need to check their facts. Last season, LeMahieu hit .204 with two home runs and 26 RBI. He was only able to play 67 games. He was on the verge of being released until Aaron Judge and some other veterans begged for mercy on his behalf. 

I have heard Suzyn Waldman, and others refer to LeMahieu as a “two-time batting champion.” That is true, he was. However, he won those batting titles in 2016 with Colorado and in 2020 with the Yankees in a season that was shortened due to COVID. Recognizing LeMahieu as a two-time batting champion is the same thing as when the Yankees recognize military veterans every home game in the 7th inning. These men and women should be celebrated for what they did. However, when they show the veteran of the day on the screen in center field, we all know that 90-year-old man is not storming any beaches anytime soon. DJ LeMahieu is not winning any more batting championships. I know Suzyn Waldman likes to say, “two-time batting champions don't grow on trees, you know.” No, they don't. Old time batting champions sit under the tree munching on a cookie and drinking a glass of lemonade. 

I am not saying that Oswaldo Cabrera is a future Hall of Famer, or a future batting champion. He is neither of those things. However I think at this point in their respective careers, he has the potential to put up better numbers and play more consistently than DJ LeMahieu.

The Yankees. need to look at these situations in a realistic manner. DJ LeMahieu and Giancarlo Stanton might have something left but, we see what Ben Rice, and to a lesser degree, Oswaldo Cabrera are doing in the present. Why would we jettison that for “what might be” based on the past?

Next Up

Ater a day off today, the Yankees will begin a three-game series against the Blue Jays tomorrow at 7:05 PM at Yankee Stadium. Jose Berrios, (1-12, 5.02 ERA) will pitch for Toronto. The Yankees will send Carlos Carrasco, (2-1, 6.53 ERA) to the mound. Maybe it will rain.