The Yankees were handled by Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates, 9-1, in a split-squad game Tuesday afternoon in Bradenton, Fla.
Here are the takeaways…
– The Yanks batters who made the trip didn’t enjoy seeing Skenes staring back at them from the hill as the Pittsburgh starter allowed just four hits (three singles) and two walks (plus a hit batter) with five strikeouts over four innings of one-run baseball. The right-hander wasn’t wasting much time working on his off-speed pitches (throwing 36 fastballs and 17 sinkers out of 74 pitches) and it was coming in with some giddy-up — the fastball averaged 98.2 mph and sinker 93.2 mph.
Trent Grisham did take last year’s NL Rookie of the Year deep, smacking a drive 356 feet to right (107.5 mph off the bat). It would have been a homer in 11 of 30 big league parks, including in The Bronx. The reserve outfielder looking to bounce back from a rough first year in New York (.675 OPS in 209 plate appearances) went 1-for-3 with two strikeouts.
– Anthony Volpe, off to a slow start this spring with a .600 OPS, struck out and walked in two chances against Skenes. He finished the day 0-for-3 only because he was robbed of extra bases in the seventh when Konnor Griffin (the 9th overall pick in 2024) covered a ton of ground to make a diving catch on a ball hit to the left-center gap.
– Spencer Jones, one of the Yanks’ top prospects, got to face off against Skenes and worked a walk to start the third inning. The big left-hander got a chance with two on and one out in the fourth against the starter but went down foul tipping a 99.3 mph fastball into the glove. He finished the day 0-for-2. After the game, the Yankees announced the prospect was being sent to minor league camp.
– Ben Rice‘s struggles in spring continued. Batting leadoff, he went hitless in four at-bats with a pair of strikeouts (both swinging) before taking a walk in the ninth. The first baseman is now slashing .148/.233/.259.
– Jazz Chisholm Jr. struck out in two trips against the Buccos starter. He finished the afternoon 0-for-4 with three strikeouts — swinging on a 99 mph fastball, looking at a 97 mph fastball, and swinging on a 96 mph sinker.
– Catcher J.C. Escarra was one of four Yankees to get a hit off of Skenes, cracking a 101.3 mph single in the second. He went 1-for-3 with a walk and played first base late in the game with Rice getting time behind the plate.
– Pablo Reyes singled and struck out against Skenes, going 1-for-2 with a walk while playing third base.
– Everson Pereira finished 1-for-2 with a hit by pitch and a two-out single in the eighth. The club announced after the game he would be optioned to Triple-A.
– Minor leaguer Cam Schlittler, who spent the majority of last season at High-A Hudson Valley, got the start for New York. The righty allowed six runs on seven hits and two walks with two strikeouts. Things were quiet until the third, which started with a homer, ground out, double, walk, and then Oneil Cruz hitting a laser homer (114.9 mph, 385 feet) for a three-run shot.
He got three batters in the fourth, getting one out and leaving with two on for minor leaguer Sean Boyle, who allowed back-to-back doubles to score three runs before another double after a hit by pitch made it 9-1.
Michael Arias, acquired from the Cubs at the start of spring, allowed a sharply hit single, but the sinker baller got two strikeouts and a ground out in a scoreless seventh. Leonardo Pestana added a strikeout in a 1-2-3 eighth.
What’s next
The Yankees are off on Wednesday and will visit the Detroit Tigers in Lakeland, Fla. on Thursday at 1:05 p.m.
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