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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The first home run launched a bat flip so high it might’ve brought rain had Tropicana Field not been built with a dome.
The second home run was punctuated with a javelin-like Take That toss towards the dugout, because that’s exactly how Jose Caballero was feeling Monday about his former teammates.
Caballero generated all the power the Yankees needed for a critical 5-1 win over the Rays, but the real story went beyond the pair of HRs in the box score.
The shortstop was running hot with the very quality the Bombers have been missing lately. It’s the confidence that teammates love – and opponents hate.
“Jose thinks he’s the best player on the field every night,” said manager Aaron Boone, who was smiling but not kidding. “That’s powerful in a game of failure. You’ve got to have that, and he does.”
Unlike Aaron Judge, the stoic captain, Caballero is all about self-expression. The bat flips get a 10 for style points. So does the bow and arrow simulation as he rounds third base after a home run.
And once he crosses home plate, Caballero’s high-fives and helmet slaps with teammates are so theatrical and drawn out, “the next at-bat is already one or two pitches in,” said Ben Rice.
Caballero can back up the antics. Without his athleticism at shortstop and surprising power, he’d be just a showman, the kind that managers distrust. He now has a career-high 10 home runs.
Caballero understood the Yankees needed to make a strong opening statement against the Rays. This four-game series is a litmus test between the East’s two dominant teams.
But the Rays and Yankees have been moving in opposite directions. Tampa Bay’s recent 9-2 hot streak propelled them into first place just as the Bombers were in the middle of a 1-9 collapse.
Caballero wasn’t alone in delivering. Cam Schlittler eased the organization’s anxiety too. He held the Rays to one run over eight innings, including eight strikeouts.
Like Caballero, the 25-year-old right-hander, who leads the American League with a 2.01 ERA, knew what was at stake against the Rays.
Schlittler also had a score to settle with the social media army that was critical of him after he allowed the Tigers six earned runs in four innings, including four home runs, in his last start.
It was the worst performance of Schlittler’s career – and to many, a red flag.
“They want to say there’s (expletive) regression because I have one bad outing,” he said. “It was personal to go out there and have a dominant start and put this team in the right position.”
Schlittler is headed to the All-Star Game and could possibly be the American League’s starting pitcher. He carries himself like a veteran – as serious as he is talented.
But Caballero’s the one who oozes charisma. His timing and sense of drama are unmatched among the Yankees, saving his best game of the year for the Trop. Caballero played for the Rays for a year and a half in 2024 and 2025.
He knows the franchise, is still friends with some of the players – and wants nothing more than to show Tampa Bay what they’re missing.
Caballero was the one who broke up Rays starter Griffin Jax’s budding no-hitter with a three-run HR in the fifth. He went deep again in the eighth inning, just for good measure.
“It’s always special to play here, to play my old teammates,” Caballero said after the game. “It’s always special to play here with the fans. I know a couple of them, and the environment, I’m used to it. I like it here. It always gets me going, for sure.”
That can-do attitude temporarily masked the power outage that’s plagued the Yankees for weeks. They struck out 17 times on Monday and continued a streak of 18 straight games scoring five runs or less. It’s the longest such slump in the majors this year.
The culprits can be found up and down the lineup. Paul Goldschmidt is 0-for-25. Cody Bellinger is 4-for-48 and recently saw his OPS fall below .800 for the first time this season. Before hitting a solo home run in the ninth inning, Rice was 6-for-51.
Caballero can’t save the Yankees by himself. Perhaps his breakout performance will have a trickle-down effect on his teammates. But they’ll need better defense and, as Judge said last week, better focus in the second half of the season.
Boone conceded before the game how the Yankees need to “sharpen” their preparation for a big series such as this one.
“We have to play a better brand of baseball than we have in the last 10 days,” the manager said.
If Caballero was the catalyst on Monday night, does that mean he’ll be rewarded with another start on Tuesday and beyond? Don’t hold your breath waiting for the answer. Boone is loath to make blanket commitments, even in this case when the numbers are in Caballero’s favor.
MORE BY BOB KLAPISCH
The Yankees are in need of a savior. Is this star the answer? | Klapisch Jul. 3, 2026, 7:06 a.m.
Yankees lineup cries for help: Where are you, Aaron Judge? | KlapischJul. 1, 2026, 10:25 a.m.
The Bombers, after all, are 32-18 when Caballero is their starting shortstop this season. They’re 16-20 when Anthony Volpe gets the nod.
Even though their batting averages are relatively similar – Caballero is hitting .249 to Volpe’s .241 – only Caballero manages to wake the Yankees up the minute he steps on the field.
Teammates call it energy or presence. Opponents call it arrogance. Take one guess who they’re talking about.
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