The Yankees continued Grapefruit League play as they beat the Detroit Tigers, 8-6, on Thursday afternoon.
Here are the takeaways…
– Max Fried fared pretty well making his second start of the spring. Former Yankee Gleyber Torres struck for a solo homer in the bottom of the first, but that was the only serious damage against him in four innings of work. The southpaw allowed just that one hit and struck out four batters while throwing 57 pitches (35 strikes).
Fried now has a 4.26 ERA this spring. His addition on a historic eight-year deal this offseason became even more important to the Yankees this week with Gerrit Cole set to undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the entire 2025 season.
The Yanks will need Fried to stay healthy and pitch like the ace he was during his eight years with the Braves.
– Jasson Dominguez has been having a bit of a rough time both at the plate and in the field thus far this spring, but he put together a strong showing in this one. The youngster finished 1-for-3 with a walk and his second home run to get the Yanks on the board against Jackson Jobe in the fourth.
– Paul Goldschmidt's showing he may have something left in that veteran bat of his. He followed up Dominguez's blast with a solo shot of his own, and then drove in two more runs an inning later with a double down the left field line. The 37-year-old now has four extra base-hits over his last three spring games.
– Austin Wells continues to be a catalyst out of the leadoff spot — reaching base two more times with a walk and a hit and scoring two runs. The young backstop is now hitting an impressive .360 with a 1.167 OPS through 25 spring at-bats.
– Right-hander Fernando Cruz, who was acquired this offseason from the Reds, continued his rough start to the spring. He allowed back-to-back doubles to Colt Keith and Javier Baez leading off the bottom of the fifth to bring his ERA to 10.13 — but he did recover nicely, striking out the next three batters.
– Tim Hill also struggled for the first time this spring. The southpaw had put together four scoreless appearances coming into the day, but he allowed two runs on three hits in his lone inning of work.
Upcoming schedule
Allan Winans takes the mound as the Yanks continue their spring slate against the Phillies on Friday at 6:35 p.m.
