Judge & the Bottom of Lineup FLOG the Pirates. NY 9 Pittsburgh 4

April 5, 2025 paperbacklou 2025 0

Aaron Judge and the bottom half of the Yankee lineup FLOGGED the Pirates on a cold, late afternoon into Friday evening in Pittsburgh, 9-4.

Judge hit a 2-run homer in the 7th — his 6th homer in 7 games — to cap off an afternoon where the Yankees worked the Pirate staff especially the bottom half of the lineup:

Max Fried got his first win as a Yankee, pitching 1-run ball into the 6th. The Yanks gave him 16 runs in his 1st start but he didn’t last the 5th and didn’t get the win. This time he pitched into the 6th and left with a 9-1 lead.

“It’s been incredible, especially early runs,” said Fried afterwards. “It takes a lot off me, where I know I can be a little bit more aggressive, and go after guys. At that point when they’re swinging the bat well, your job is to just try to get in the dugout as quick as possible. For me today I was working really well with Austin, just being able to figure out what I needed to do to get back to the guys who were able to hit.”

On his performance, Fried said “I felt like the fastball down and in was really good today, and when I’m throwing that fastball in, it just opens up everything else.”

NY improves to 5-2; Pittsburgh drops to 2-6.

1. “Sell the Team”

The game started at 4pm as it was the Pirates home opener. It was cold — in the 40s, with the threat of rain coming — that rain would start in the 9th inning.

Moreover the whole Pirate season is forecast to be cold and rainy as the Pirates have one of the lowest payrolls in baseball — currently 5th lowest at $86 Million — causing chants of “Sell the Team” to be heard as the game began. The Pirates owner is Bob Nutting, who became the majority owner in January 2007.

The Pirates are coming off consecutive 76-86 seasons, and before that seasons of 100 and 101 losses. Pirate fans feel ownership is wasting the prime of Paul Skenes, the Ace of Aces in baseball right now.

2. Deep Yankee Lineup “Works” Pitchers

The Yanks have a long, deep lineup this year — especially if Ben Rice takes a step up in his 2nd season, Austin Wells takes another step up in his 2nd season, Anthony Volpe takes another step up, Jasson Dominguez has a good rookie year, and Oswaldo Cabrera takes another step up in this his 4th year, when the game slows down for many hitters.

And that Yankee lineup worked Pirate starter Mitch Keller from the start.

Keller is a 29-year-old, 6’3 righthander who came up in the Pirate organization and is in his 7th season — having gone 13-9 4.21 and 11-12 4.25 the last 2 years.

Ben Rice — who has been “raking” — singled to lead off the game and Aaron Judge walked. Keller struck out Jazz Chisholm Jr and Paul Goldschmidt, and got Austin Wells to fly out — but was already at 23 pitches.

3. The Martian & Cabrera Get Yanks on Board

And that softened Keller up for the bottom half of the Yankee lineup, which pounced in the bottom of the 2nd. Trent Grisham worked a 1-out walk, Jasson Dominguez doubled, and Oswaldo Cabrera singled to center — both Grisham and Dominguez scoring — with centerfielder Oneil Cruz bobbling the ball on picking it up. Yankees 2 Pittsburgh 0 and the “Sell the Team” chants could be heard.

4. Volpe, Martian & Cabrera Generate More Runs

The bottom half of the lineup was at it again in the bottom of the 3rd — after Goldschmidt and Wells made out, Keller hit Volpe with a pitch, Trent Grisham reached on an infield single, and The Martian singled to left — Volpe scored and Grisham went to 3rd after leftfielder Alexander Canario booted the ball and the “Sell the Team” chants could be heard louder.

Oswaldo Cabrera then singled through the left side, scoring Grisham. Yankees 4 Pittsburgh 0.

In the top of the 4th, Paul Goldschmidt singled with 1 out, Keller hit Austin Wells with a pitch, and Anthony Volpe singled to center for a 5-1 game.

Trent Grisham worked a walk to load the bases and Keller was gone at 97 pitches.

Joey Wentz came in and hit Jasson Dominguez with a pitch, scoring a run to make it 6-1 NY. Wentz then walked Oswaldo Cabrera to force in another run.

NY 7 Pirates 1 and the “Sell the Team” chants were loud.

5. Fried Great

Meanwhile Max Fried, in his 2nd start as a Yankee, was cruising. It was cold out — which affects a pitcher’s grip of the ball — but his curveball had bite, and his four-seam fastball was crackling at 96 MPH. He also used an 86-MPH changeup, 94-MPH sinker, and 77-MPH sweeper to throw the Pirate hitters off balance.

Fried allowed consecutive singles to lead off the 2nd, but then got a comebacker groundout, and a groundout to 3rd that Oswaldo Cabrera made a terrific play on — gunning the runner out at 1st after holding the runner at 3rd.

Fried got a fly out to end the threat.

Fried allowed a solo homer to Brian Reynolds in the 3rd to make it a 4-1 game, but the Yanks quickly got him a 7-1 lead and he cruised from there.

Fried pitched a shutout 4th and 5th, and got the first 2 outs of the 6th before allowing an infield hit to McCutchen — when he was relieved for Fernando Cruz who ended the inning with a strikeout.

6. Judge HR Makes It 9-1 in 7th

Oswaldo Cabrera led off the 7th with a single, and a batter later Aaron Judge joined the offensive party with an opposite field bomb 403 feet to right center off former Yankee Tim Mayza, and it was a 9-1 game.

7. Cruz Allows 2-Run Bomb

Fernando Cruz — who looked so good the other day when he threw 3 shutout innings, and who got the last out of the 6th — got ripped in the 7th — leadoff double, 1-out single by Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and 3-run homer by 3rd baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes — the son of former Yankee 3rd baseman Charlie Hayes — to make it a 9-4 game.

8. Headrick & Devin Finish Up

6’6 lefty Brent Headrick relieved Cruz and struck out Bryan Reynolds, then got Oneil Cruz to groundout, ending the 7th — then pitched a shutout 8th.

The Yanks picked up the 27-year-old Headrick in February off waivers by Minnesota and he made the team in Spring training. Headrick came up thru the Twins organization, pitching the last 2 years at the MLB level.

Yankee Ace Reliever Devin Williams — who had been out on Paternity Leave — pitched the 9th to get work in, and threw a shutout inning for the old ballgame, as the rain began to fall.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401695012

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