The Yankees opened their series against the Royals with a convincing 4–1 win at home, improving to 2–2 on their current six-game homestand. In a game where every run came via the solo home run, the Yankees leaned on both the long ball and strong pitching to notch their 12th game this season scoring four or more runs.
Pitching: Carrasco and the Pen Lock it Down
Carlos Carrasco earned his second win of the year with a solid five-inning performance. The veteran righty allowed just one run—a solo homer to 2024 AL MVP runner-up Bobby Witt Jr. in the second inning—and settled in from there. He finished his outing with four strikeouts and just two walks over 5.0 innings.
The Yankees’ bullpen was stellar once again, combining for 4.0 scoreless innings and extending their current streak to 11.1 IP without allowing an earned run (since 4/12). Fernando Cruz stood out in particular, delivering 1.1 perfect innings of relief while striking out 3 of the 4 batters he faced. Cruz has now held opponents scoreless in six of his seven outings this season and boasts a 16.43 K/9 (14 strikeouts in 7.2 innings).
3 Ks for Fernando 🤢#RepBX pic.twitter.com/YBcse4vhsQ
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 15, 2025
Overall, Yankees pitchers allowed just one run on the night—a season low.
Hitters: Solo Shots Provide All the Thunder
Jazz Chisholm Jr. tied the game in the fourth with his sixth home run of the year, launching a solo shot for the second straight game. His six home runs ties the league’s most home runs with seven other Major League players including teammate Aaron Judge. It marked the 11th time in his career he’s homered in back-to-back games, and the second time already this season.
Jazz ties it up 👏 pic.twitter.com/svrpFtWbf4
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 15, 2025
The Yankees exploded in the fifth with three more solo blasts. Trent Grisham and Ben Rice went back-to-back to give New York a 3–1 lead—Grisham’s fourth and Rice’s fifth of the season—followed by Austin Wells’ third homer of the year to cap the scoring.
Homer Happy. #RepBX pic.twitter.com/o6u8TIf8rb
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 15, 2025
Ben Rice continued his hot stretch, reaching base twice and showcasing his power again. Eight of his 15 hits this season have gone for extra bases, and he now has three home runs over his last five games. Rice is slashing .300/.417/.680 on the year and is riding a career-best 10-game on-base streak. As the Yankees’ leadoff hitter, he’s batting .308/.471/.769 in seven games.
Austin Wells has quietly reached base in 11 of 14 games this season, and his fifth-inning homer was his third of the year.
Other Offensive Highlights
- The Yankees’ 32 home runs are their most through the first 16 games of a season in franchise history.
- Their 99 total runs are their most through 16 games since 2007 (102).
- They’ve scored at least 4 runs in 12 of 16 games this year, going 9–3 in those contests.
Individual Standouts:
- Aaron Judge has reached base in 15 of 16 games, including a current 12-game on-base streak. He’s slashing .367/.479/.733 with 6 HR and 20 RBI. At home, he’s hitting a blistering .417/.523/.944.
- Paul Goldschmidt has reached base in 12 of 16 games and is slashing .367/.409/.500 overall. Over his last 10 games, he’s hitting .425 with seven multi-on-base performances.
Series Domination
Including the postseason, the Yankees have now won 20 of their last 26 games vs. the Royals since August 2021. They’re 28–9 against Kansas City dating back to April 2019.
Injury Updates
- Clarke Schmidt is set to rejoin the Yankees rotation, and will get the start on Wednesday for Game 3 against the Royals, following two sharp rehab starts with the Somerset Patriots, per Bryan Hoch.
- The Yankees’ hope is that Luis Gil will begin his throwing program Wednesday or Thursday, per Gary Phillips.
- Giancarlo Stanton is with the team in New York and continues to hit off the high-velocity Trajekt machine, per Bryan Hoch.
- DJ LeMahieu will head to Tampa for a few days of live BP. If that goes well, he will start a rehab assignment thereafter, per Meredith Marakovits.
- Jonathan Loaisiga tossed a bullpen last week with Double-A Somerset. Loaisiga’s return date of late May/early June return to MLB is realistic, per Bryan Hoch.
