The Yankees are turning to a bullpen game in Sunday night’s second matchup with the Dodgers, with veteran left-hander Ryan Yarbrough set to open the 7:20 p.m. nightcap at Yankee Stadium.
Right-hander Will Klein will get the ball first for Los Angeles, and the Yankees have designated right-hander Elmer Rodriguez as their “27th player'' for the second game. He is expected to be part of Aaron Boone’s pitching relay as New York tries to keep the Dodgers from completing a doubleheader sweep.
After the Dodgers’ 8-2 win in the opener, the Yankees made a roster move before the nightcap, optioning reliever Jake Bird to Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and recalling right-hander Kervin Castro.
Bird was hit hard in the first game, throwing 34 pitches over one-third of an inning and being charged with five runs. Camilo Doval also had a heavy workload, needing 31 pitches to cover 1.2 innings.
Even with those innings already logged, the Yankees still have some key relief arms available. Brent Headrick, Fernando Cruz and closer David Bednar were not used in the afternoon game, and all three are available for the second contest, along with Paul Blackburn.
New York’s lineup for the nightcap is set with Trent Grisham leading off in center field, followed by Ben Rice at DH and Paul Goldschmidt at first base. Cody Bellinger is in left, Jasson Dominguez in right, Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second, Anthony Volpe at short, Austin Wells behind the plate and Jose Caballero at third.
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Yankees Suddenly Face Three Roster Calls They Cant Put Off
The Yankees left their split doubleheader against the Dodgers with the same uneasy feeling they brought in, because the roster questions around them are getting harder to ignore. Even after taking the nightcap, the bigger picture still points toward a club trying to stabilize itself while weighing whether some of its current pieces fit the way the front office hoped when the season began.
One of those calls is in the bullpen, where Camilo Doval has slid so far down the hierarchy that a move may be coming sooner rather than later, especially with his options situation adding pressure. The position-player side has its own debate, too, with Jasson Domnguez and Jazz Chisholm Jr. both at the center of suggested adjustments as the Yankees look for a cleaner mix and a little more certainty in the lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Just Pushed The Yankees Toward A Brutal Trade Deadline Choice
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The rotation picture is part of what makes the decision so tricky. With several starters on the way back from the injured list, the Yankees could soon find themselves with more arms than spots, creating a path to deal from a position of depth while trying to cover the holes left by the lineup's injuries. The challenge is finding the right balance between preserving what the Yankees already have and making enough of a splash to keep pace in a crowded race. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Just Ran Into A Bigger Problem Than One Bad Series
The Yankees split with the Dodgers did more than expose a rough offensive weekend. It reinforced how much the lineup still leans on Aaron Judge, and how thin the margin gets when he is not there to carry the middle of the order. New York managed only five runs across the series, and manager Aaron Boone said the club needs more consistent offense, a reminder that one hot stretch from the bats can hide a lot of underlying issues.
Cody Bellinger is one of the players expected to help steady things, but there is also a broader roster conversation hanging over the club as the trade deadline approaches. If the Yankees are going to keep pace, Brian Cashman may need to look beyond internal fixes and consider upgrades at catcher, along with other moves that could reshape the infield mix. The series in Los Angeles did not just cost them a chance at a cleaner result, it sharpened the question of whether this roster has enough reliable offense as currently built. [Read more 🡒]