MLB.com | Sarah Langs: While it was overshadowed by Mike Trout’s homer spree, Judge and Stanton both homered in Thursday’s 11-4 loss against the Angels, marking the 61st time that they homered in the same game as teammates. With that, they are now tied for sixth place on the all-time list, sharing a spot with the Braves’ Joneses (Andruw and Chipper) and Harmon Killebrew and Bob Allison for the Twins and Senators. Depending on how well Judge and Stanton time their homers, they have a good shot at moving
into fifth place by the end of this year, surpassing the Cubs duo of Billy Williams and Ron Santo (64 games). Unsurprisingly, the names get even more impressive at the top of the list; the all-time leading duo is Henry Aaron and Eddie Mathews of the Braves with 76, followed by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig with 75. Let’s see how high our beefy boys can rise through the ranks.
SNY | Phillip Martinez: Ryan McMahon’s struggles have been no secret, as the third baseman entered play yesterday hitting .119/.260/.119 with a 25 wRC+ and zero extra-base hits. Manager Aaron Boone elected to sit McMahon in favor of Amed Rosario for Friday night’s series opener against the Royals, even though there was a righty on the mound and McMahon’s a lefty. Boone told reporters that McMahon’s working on some batting tweaks behind the scenes and since they are likely facing four lefties during this series and the next one, there’s a good chance that McMahon might stay out of the lineup for a little bit. Now, this was all said before his surprising game-winning homer on Friday night—one that he said was preceded by “about a hundred” extra swings once he knew he wasn’t starting—after entering as a defensive replacement. But it’s still likely safe to say that Rosario will get a modest chunk of starts.
New York Daily News | Gary Phillips: Last year, NJ.com reported on the near-nonstop noise at Yankee Stadium, which has frustrated fans but is apparenty in accordance with the Yankees and their players’ wishes. Phillips provided a follow-up on that piece, and the Yankees themselves remain insistent that they like it, desiring a Madison Square Garden NBA-esque feel. The Yankees apparently don’t hear it as loudly down on the field; it all seems like it could be resolved at some point with some repositioning of the many speakers in the stadium. In the meantime, folks of all ages let Phillips know of their irritation — even the younger fans who this is ostensibly directed toward. There is a fine line between an authentically loud stadium full of fan noise and an artificially loud stadium full of sound bites.
MLB.com | Max Ralph: As with Gerrit Cole, Anthony Volpe has also recently started his rehab assignment in Double-A Somerset, and Thursday marked an important step for him as he picked up his first hit of the year. All in all, he was 1-for-3 with a groundout and a strikeout at the plate, and in the field, he handled his only chance cleanly—a pop fly to short—before being substituted in the sixth. According to Brian Cashman, the plan is to have Volpe amass 55 or so plate appearances in the minors before he rejoins the big league squad. Volpe played with a partially torn labrum for most of 2025, which was the likely culprit of a down year on both sides of the ball. We know he can pick it when healthy. Can he hit? The jury’s still out on that one.
The Athletic | Brendan Kuty ($): Speaking of possible reinforcements for the left side of the infield, George Lombard Jr. is having quite the start to his 2026 campaign. In 11 games so far with Double-A Somerset, he’s slashing .400/.471/.667 with two homers and six doubles. His glove was never the issue—Double-A manager James Cooper saw him as a major league-caliber defender already last year—so it’s more than encouraging that the bat has looked this good, even though (again) it’s only 11 games. Interestingly, Lombard Jr. has made three starts at third base so far, despite being primarily deployed as a shortstop over his minor league career. With McMahon struggling—Friday night notwithstanding—could the Yankees be eyeing an aggressive call-up for Lombard Jr. in the coming months? I think that would be pretty unlikely, but if he continues to torch minor-league pitching like he has, all bets are off.
