Spring training is all about watching talent you can dream on—even with the fever-pitched debates around the futures of Jasson Domínguez and Spencer Jones in Yankee circles, it’s always a treat when either of them connect. Today, both of them homered early in the Yankees’ 4-2 Grapefruit League victory over the Phillies in Clearwater. J.C. Escarra and Max Schuemann collected RBIs in a go-ahead fifth inning rally, and the Bombers saw good performances on the mound from Luis Gil and Paul Blackburn.
The Martian struck first, and he didn’t just homer—he went yard from the right side of the plate against lefty Tanner Banks. Any sign Domínguez can give the Yankees that he won’t be a total liability against left-handed pitching is welcome. Now, Banks’ offering was a very hittable 91-mph fastball with two strikes, but a homer is a homer and it’s not as though mistake offerings vanish during the regular season.
Right-hander Jonathan Bowlan pitched the second inning for the Phillies, but he too fell victim to a powerful Baby Bomber. Spencer Jones waited back on a 2-0 slider and sent it hurtling to the fans sitting on the berm in left center field. The 415-foot opposite field blast was just the latest display from Jones, who now has four home runs this spring—and they’ve all gone more than 400 feet.
Jones was officially optioned to Triple-A yesterday due to the Yankees’ crowded outfield depth chart, but darn if he won’t continue to put on a show while he can this spring.
The Phillies responded against Gil in the bottom of the second on an RBI single from Bryan De Le Cruz, then J.T. Realmuto tied the score in the third on his first spring homer. Still, it was good to see Gil attacking the strike zone. He responded to the run in the second by getting ahead of René Pinto 0-2 and inducing an inning-ending double play. Then after the homer in the third he racked up back-to-back strikeouts of Alec Bohm and Adolis García to retire the side. Gil picked up one last out in the fourth before departing with 62 pitches thrown.
Tim Hill completed the fourth inning without incident, then Brent Headrick took the ball for the fifth. The lefty got the first two outs before running into trouble, with a pair of singles giving Garcia an opportunity to give Philadelphia their first lead. With two strikes, García hammered a ball on a line up the middle, but second baseman Max Schuemann was played perfectly to snag it and preserve the 2-2 tie.
The top of the Yankee lineup got to work the following half-inning against former Yankee Lou Trivino. Ben Rice worked a leadoff walk, reached second on a wild pitch, then took third on an opposite-field single by Domínguez. Jasson stole second with one out, taking away the double play chance, and a sharp grounder to second by J.C. Escarra scored Rice to give the Bombers the lead back. Schuemann followed with a double in the right-center gap to plate Domínguez and make it 4-2. That was Schuemann’s first RBI of the spring, but he’s now hitting .400 in camp—continuing his push to make the roster as infield depth.
Paul Blackburn took over for Headrick and wound up finishing out the remainder of the game on the mound with minimal drama. Over four scoreless innings, he collected a quartet of K’s, pitching around a pair of baserunners in the ninth. The Phillies worked a bevy of long at-bats in the ninth and brought the tying run to bat while down to their final out, but Blackburn never lost command. He now has a 1.46 ERA in the spring; his track record as a starting pitcher could make him a useful swingman for the Yankees as they wait for Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón’s returns.
Another Wednesday evening game at Steinbrenner Field awaits tomorrow, and Cam Schlittler will make the start in the full pinstripes against the Toronto Blue Jays. Lefty Eric Lauer will be his opponent. YES Network will have the broadcast, with first pitch expected at 6:35pm ET. And if you just can’t wait until tomorrow for more Yankees action, Aaron Judge and company will be back in action for Team USA tonight in the World Baseball Classic as they try to sweep their pool against Italy at 9pm ET on FS1.
