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NEW YORK – As Paul Goldschmidt put it, there was “not much action on the bases’’ by the Yankees on Tuesday, a night after scoring 11 runs.
As for the Angels?
Four batters into Ryan Weathers’ start, the Yankee lefty had already given up three consecutive homers – a barrage that stunned and agitated the just-arriving Yankee Stadium crowd.
This time, the Yankees’ lineup had no response as lefty Reid Detmers continued his dominance against them, pitching into the eighth inning of a 7-1 Angels win before 37,792 fans.
Weathers hadn’t yielded a homer over his first three starts (16 innings), but that changed quickly on a warm Tuesday night.
“Three guys put three good swings on pitches that weren’t where they were supposed to be,’’ said Weathers, who watched Mike Trout, Jo Adell and Jorge Soler connect – all on fastballs.
It began with a one-out, 2-and-1, 95-mph heater that Trout punished over the center field wall.
“Misfired down the middle to one of the greatest hitters to ever play this game,’’ said Weathers, who watched Adell rock the very next delivery 445 feet to left.
But there’s “something to learn from this going forward,’’ mainly how much better Weathers’ fastball played up in the zone.
He lasted five innings, yielded one more homer – to ex-Yankee Oswald Peraza – and finished with 10 strikeouts, one shy of his career best.
Not overpowering, Detmers used a mix of sinkers, sliders, curveballs, changeups and a sneaky fastball to limit the Yanks to just two hits through seven innings – with nine strikeouts and zero walks.
This, after the Yanks clubbed five homers – two each by Aaron Judge and Trent Grisham – in Monday night’s 11-10 win, when they knocked out lefty starter Yusei Kikuchi in the fourth.
As both a starter and a reliever, Detmers has had the Yanks’ number; he’s yielded just one run in six appearances (2 starts, 15.1 total innings).
“We’ve got to do a better job of creating some things. Credit to him too…he was coming after us,’’ said manager Aaron Boone. “We’ve got to get it going. We just didn’t mount enough.’’
Ben Rice arrived at Tuesday leading the majors in OPS (1.253) yet found himself on the bench against a lefty starter for the second straight night.
Boone said he originally planned to start the lefty-hitting Rice but preferred to “cherry pick’’ when to fire Rice in a big spot.
Instead, Goldschmidt (0-for-3) started a second straight game at first base, in the leadoff spot, following a 1-for-2 Monday night with a double and a walk.
By the time Boone sent up Rice on Tuesday, the Yanks were already down 7-0, with one-out and runners at the corners in the eighth inning.
Batting for Ryan McMahon (5-for-39 to start the season, zero extra-base hits), Rice’s sacrifice fly off righty reliever Cole Silseth drove in the Yanks’ only run.
Also available on the bench, lefty-hitting Jazz Chisholm Jr. – batting for Goldschmidt - struck out against Silseth to end the eighth.
Lefty-hitting Cody Bellinger, rested from the lineup for the first time this year, was also available but wasn’t used.
It's questionable strategy, taking early at-bats away from the team’s top April hitter – especially with how the lineup has underperformed on balance.
Boone’s pregame argument was that Rice wasn’t in the lineup during the Yanks’ previous two games against lefty starter, and still made an impact.
Last Friday, Rice pinch-hit a home run in his only at-bat, in a 5-3 loss at Tampa Bay.
On Tuesday, Rice entered in the fifth inning and contributed a walk and a single in three plate appearances during the Yanks’ 11-10 comeback win.
“I’ve been able to fire him at the most important part, and it might be early in the game,’’ said Boone, insisting too that Rice “is going to play against lefties.’’
Rice should eventually get a few starts behind the plate, but Boone isn’t comfortable yet with Rice catching five-plus innings.
They intend to build up Rice by catching simulated games (he caught Carlos Rodon’s latest), but the focus has mostly been on reps at first base, not his natural position.
Boone wants Goldschmidt’s presence against lefty starters; he was batting .331 with a .984 OPS in 157 at-bats vs. lefties since the start of 2025 entering Tuesday.
“Also early in the season, (I’m) trying to keep our bench in play,’’ said Boone, including Amed Rosario, who started at second base Tuesday and batted third.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Angels' Reid Detmers dominates, Aaron Boone's Ben Rice strategy: Yankees takeaways
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As for the Angels?
Four batters into Ryan Weathers’ start, the Yankee lefty had already given up three consecutive homers – a barrage that stunned and agitated the just-arriving Yankee Stadium crowd.
This time, the Yankees’ lineup had no response as lefty Reid Detmers continued his dominance against them, pitching into the eighth inning of a 7-1 Angels win before 37,792 fans.
Ryan Weathers ambushed early
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Weathers hadn’t yielded a homer over his first three starts (16 innings), but that changed quickly on a warm Tuesday night.
“Three guys put three good swings on pitches that weren’t where they were supposed to be,’’ said Weathers, who watched Mike Trout, Jo Adell and Jorge Soler connect – all on fastballs.
It began with a one-out, 2-and-1, 95-mph heater that Trout punished over the center field wall.
“Misfired down the middle to one of the greatest hitters to ever play this game,’’ said Weathers, who watched Adell rock the very next delivery 445 feet to left.
But there’s “something to learn from this going forward,’’ mainly how much better Weathers’ fastball played up in the zone.
He lasted five innings, yielded one more homer – to ex-Yankee Oswald Peraza – and finished with 10 strikeouts, one shy of his career best.
Reid Detmers dominates Yanks
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Not overpowering, Detmers used a mix of sinkers, sliders, curveballs, changeups and a sneaky fastball to limit the Yanks to just two hits through seven innings – with nine strikeouts and zero walks.
This, after the Yanks clubbed five homers – two each by Aaron Judge and Trent Grisham – in Monday night’s 11-10 win, when they knocked out lefty starter Yusei Kikuchi in the fourth.
As both a starter and a reliever, Detmers has had the Yanks’ number; he’s yielded just one run in six appearances (2 starts, 15.1 total innings).
“We’ve got to do a better job of creating some things. Credit to him too…he was coming after us,’’ said manager Aaron Boone. “We’ve got to get it going. We just didn’t mount enough.’’
Ben Rice off the bench?
Ben Rice arrived at Tuesday leading the majors in OPS (1.253) yet found himself on the bench against a lefty starter for the second straight night.
Boone said he originally planned to start the lefty-hitting Rice but preferred to “cherry pick’’ when to fire Rice in a big spot.
Instead, Goldschmidt (0-for-3) started a second straight game at first base, in the leadoff spot, following a 1-for-2 Monday night with a double and a walk.
By the time Boone sent up Rice on Tuesday, the Yanks were already down 7-0, with one-out and runners at the corners in the eighth inning.
Batting for Ryan McMahon (5-for-39 to start the season, zero extra-base hits), Rice’s sacrifice fly off righty reliever Cole Silseth drove in the Yanks’ only run.
Also available on the bench, lefty-hitting Jazz Chisholm Jr. – batting for Goldschmidt - struck out against Silseth to end the eighth.
Lefty-hitting Cody Bellinger, rested from the lineup for the first time this year, was also available but wasn’t used.
Aaron Boone on his Ben Rice decision
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It's questionable strategy, taking early at-bats away from the team’s top April hitter – especially with how the lineup has underperformed on balance.
Boone’s pregame argument was that Rice wasn’t in the lineup during the Yanks’ previous two games against lefty starter, and still made an impact.
Last Friday, Rice pinch-hit a home run in his only at-bat, in a 5-3 loss at Tampa Bay.
On Tuesday, Rice entered in the fifth inning and contributed a walk and a single in three plate appearances during the Yanks’ 11-10 comeback win.
“I’ve been able to fire him at the most important part, and it might be early in the game,’’ said Boone, insisting too that Rice “is going to play against lefties.’’
Rice should eventually get a few starts behind the plate, but Boone isn’t comfortable yet with Rice catching five-plus innings.
They intend to build up Rice by catching simulated games (he caught Carlos Rodon’s latest), but the focus has mostly been on reps at first base, not his natural position.
Boone wants Goldschmidt’s presence against lefty starters; he was batting .331 with a .984 OPS in 157 at-bats vs. lefties since the start of 2025 entering Tuesday.
“Also early in the season, (I’m) trying to keep our bench in play,’’ said Boone, including Amed Rosario, who started at second base Tuesday and batted third.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Angels' Reid Detmers dominates, Aaron Boone's Ben Rice strategy: Yankees takeaways
Continue reading...
