Yankees Get 2024 Season Off to an Unbelievable Start

Truly unbelievable. I could end today’s newsletter right there because those two words summarily describe the beginning of this Yankees season, a four-game sweep of the arch-nemesis Astros, in Houston. I shared my skepticism about the Yankees during spring training, and if four games mean anything, I’ll be perfectly happy to eat a deep dish of crow. Now, it’s only four games, there’s still 158 to go, but that was about as enjoyable a series as any of us could have dreamed up. Let’s get to it.

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Sunday afternoon, the timing of the Easter dinner at my house couldn’t have been much worse. My wonderful wife, bless her heart, announced that it was time to start filling our plates right about when the newest Yankee, Jon Berti, made a run-saving diving play at third base to record the first out in the tense bottom of the ninth.

Um, honey, can we hold on for a few minutes? At this point, relatives less interested in what was unfolding on the television heeded her call, while yours truly, my father, father-in-law and brother-in-law collectively said, “Be there in a minute.”

So we watched as Clay Holmes, making us sweat like he almost always does, got Yordan Alvarez on a deep fly to center, and then got Kyle Tucker on a line drive to left where Alex Verdugo made a great sliding catch to prevent the tying run from scoring and securing a 4-3 victory and the four-game sweep.

Then we ate, happily.

“Anytime you can go on the road against a great opponent and pull off a four-game sweep … that’s a little extra sweet,’’ said Aaron Boone after the Yankees started 4-0 for the first time since 2003.

Wow, what a series for the Yankees. So much to get to in the regular season debut of Pinstripe People, but first, a few words about Oswaldo Cabrera who was a star all weekend.

On the worst of days, Cabrera can still usually be seen smiling about something. The kid’s most endearing quality isn’t so much that he can play adequate enough defense at seven different positions for the Yankees, it’s his infectious, happy attitude. And on a serious, business-like team like the Yankees, Cabrera brightening up the room is a needed intangible. He’s really a kid you want to root for.

The problem has been that Cabrera just hasn’t been able to hit in the major leagues, and all the smiling isn’t going to be enough to keep him with the Yankees. He has to hit.

The Yankees basically sent him that message last week when they hinted on the eve of Opening Day that Cabrera was not a player they fully trusted full time at third base while DJ LeMahieu convalesces, again. They made a trade for Berti, another versatile player with a better bat and far more big league experience.

“I told Jon this (Sunday), nobody wanted him here more than me,” Boone said. “I pushed everyone, ‘Hey, we need to go get him, I know what he’s going to be to this team in the long haul.’ I know that’s the case. He’s going to play a huge role for us this year.”

Well, it certainly appears that Cabrera took that to heart, and the trade for Berti seems to have lit a fire in his belly.

Cabrera started all four games - three at third base, the last at shortstop - and he along with the utterly brilliant Juan Soto were the catalysts all weekend during the stunning sweep. Cabrera went 7-for-16 including a double, two homers, six RBI and three runs scored.

As he said following the Yankees’ 7-1 win Friday night after he produced the first four-hit game of his career, “I’m so happy for it. We’ve been working during spring training on good at-bats, and I’ve felt good for a couple of games. It’s just two games; we’ve got too many games (coming up), so I’ve just got to keep working on that.”

Now it’s four games, and the only reason Berti was in the lineup Sunday was because shortstop Anthony Volpe is battling a stomach virus and couldn’t play, so Berti played third and Cabrera was at short.

Like Boone, I loved the Berti trade. Catcher Ben Rortvedt was not going to make the team and because he’s out of options and can’t be sent to the minors without being exposed to waivers, the Yankees were going to release him from the 40-man roster knowing they would not get him back so they could send him to Triple-A. He can’t hit for shit, but he’s a very good defender and some team would have claimed him to be their backup.

So Brian Cashman killed two birds with one simple stone of a transaction. He found a way to get something for Rortvedt, and the player he got seemed like an obvious plug-in for LeMahieu at third base. And hey, Berti was very good in his Yankee debut with the great play at third plus an RBI single.

I expect him to eventually work into the regular starting lineup, but right now it would be tough for Boone to sit down Cabrera after the way he played in Houston.

“He’s delivered in these first two games; he’s been right in the middle of everything,” Boone said after Cabrera’s four-hit game Friday. “It’s so good to see him swinging the bat like this and contributing offensively like this, because then he becomes so valuable. It’s great to see him reaping some benefits from a lot of the hard work he’s put in the last few weeks.”

Here’s Aaron Boone Sunday afternoon:

Here are my observations on the four games against the Astros.

March 28: Yankees 5, Astros 4

➤ Man, could this game have started any worse for the Yankees? The first four innings looked like a horrible trip back in time to 2023 when the Yankees just flat out stunk. Nestor Cortes was getting tattooed for four runs on four hits and two walks, while the offense put traffic on the bases against Framber Valdez only to have three innings end on ground ball double plays, two with the bases loaded. This is what I tweeted in that moment:

➤ Well, my attitude sure changed after that. Cortes really turned things around after he gave up a long home run to the Astros No. 9 hitter Jake Meyers leading off the second. From that point, he retired 12 of the last 13 batters he faced to get through the fifth inning which was really important because it saved the bullpen, and it kept the Yankees in the game until they stopped hitting into double plays.

➤ Down 4-0, I wasn’t thinking the day was going to end well, but to their credit, the Yankees got off the deck and wound up winning a thriller which started a trend for the weekend. During a three-run fifth, Jose Trevino walked, Cabrera singled, Gleyber Torres walked, and that set the stage for Soto’s first Yankee hit, an RBI single to right. That also started a trend with Soto just murdering the Astros in every game as he batted .529 in the series. After Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton both looked horrible in striking out, Anthony Rizzo got hit by a pitch to force home a run, and Volpe drew a walk off Seth Martinez after he replaced Valdez to cut the deficit to 4-3.

➤ Then in the sixth, a shocking moment. If you had Cabrera hitting the first Yankees homer of the season, congrats to you. He put a charge into one to right field to tie the game. And then the winning run came in the seventh against former Astros closer Ryan Pressly. Judge doubled, Rizzo singled, Volpe drew his third walk of the day, and Verdugo’s first Yankee RBI on a sacrifice fly delivered the winning run.

➤ Jonathan Loaisiga had an adventurous two innings as he allowed two singles in each of the sixth and seventh innings, but he got out of both jams to preserve the lead; Ian Hamilton got a double play grounder in the eighth; and then Holmes gave us all agita in the ninth. I’ll be honest, the moment he gave up a leadoff single to Mauricio Dubon, with Jose Altuve, Jordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman coming up, I was fully prepared for at minimum a tie game, probably a loss. But Soto bailed him out by gunning down Dubon at the plate for the second out, and then Bregman bounced to Torres to end it. Hell of a win.

➤ I’m going to try something new for the highlights this year. When you click the image below, you will open a new tab in your browser. At the top, click on the speaker icon to turn on the volume. Then just tap the arrow on the right to move to the next highlight. To return to reading, just go back to your original browser tab. On your phone or tablet, tap the image and you will get a new screen. Same deal, click the speaker for sound, then tap the right side of your screen to advance to the next highlight. When you’re done, at the top left of the screen you will be able to click back to your email client to continue reading.

March 29: Yankees 7, Astros 1

➤ It is truly baffling to me how the Yankees are so completely helpless against Astros righty Cristian Javier. He pitched six scoreless innings Friday allowing just four hits and a walk throwing his usual array of garbage and a fastball that barely touches 93. His career ERA against the Yankees is now 1.99 and his WHIP is 0.790. That doesn’t even count his start in Game 3 of the 2022 ALCS when he got the win by throwing 5.1 scoreless innings allowing one hit. The moment he came out leading 1-0, the Yankees had a chance against the weakened Astros bullpen and they immediately pounced.

➤ Volpe got the seventh started with a great eight-pitch walk, once again showing the improvement in his approach. He fell behind 1-2, fouled off a couple pitchers from Tay Scott, then laid off a couple to earn his base. Then Austin Wells walked, and that brought up Cabrera and he poked an opposite-field single to left to score Volpe with the tying run. Torres got hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Soto worked a walk for the go-ahead run before Judge killed the inning by swinging at the first pitch and grounding into a double play.

➤ The Yankees then pulled away in the eighth with a lot of help from the Astros. Rizzo singled, Stanton whiffed, Verdugo walked, and then Volpe hit a slow grounder to short which should have been an easy force at second. Instead, Jeremy Pena flipped the ball into short right field and Rizzo scored. With men on first and third, Wells dropped down a surprise bunt and pitcher Parker Mushinski threw it into right field allowing Verdugo to score. And Cabrera capped the four-run outburst with a single up the middle through a drawn in infield.

➤ Stanton homered in the ninth, typical for him. He did nothing in the three games he played, but when this one was already decided, that’s when he hits a home run.

➤ I’ll give Carlos Rodon credit for the way he battled in his first start, but this was not a good performance. He only managed 4.1 innings because he was constantly in trouble and his pitch count soared to 87 when Boone took him out. His velocity was good, but his command was terrible and he gave up five hits and three walks. His saving grace is when he needed to make a pitch, he did and he limited the damage until the Yankees broke through.

➤ The bullpen had to get the last 16 outs and it did so while allowing no runs on two hits and three walks. Luke Weaver got four of the outs while Nick Burdi, Victor Gonzalez, Caleb Ferguson and Clayton Beeter all made successful Yankee debuts.

➤ Torres got drilled on the right hand and after initially staying in the game, he asked out a bit later. I thought Berti would come in to play third with Cabrera moving to second, but Boone sent Jahmai Jones out to play second.

March 30: Yankees 5, Astros 3

➤ Another night, another comeback win. The Yankees fell behind 2-0 and later 3-1, but roared back again and thus became the ninth team in MLB history to win their first three games of a season after trailing in the sixth inning or later in each game. One of the other eight teams was the 1957 Yankees.

➤ Marcus Stroman made his Yankee debut and he was excellent. He went six innings and all three runs he allowed were unearned thanks to some shoddy fielding behind him. He gave up four hits and two walks with four strikeouts and he looked confident and comfortable.

➤ Cabrera’s bad throw on a routine grounder led directly to two unearned runs in the second. Stroman followed that with a walk, and with outs he gave up a two-run double to Dubon. And in the fifth, he gave up a pair of singles but looked like he would escape when he induced Alvarez to ground to Rizzo. Rizzo fed Volpe for the force, but then Volpe threw the ball away which allowed a run to score to make it 3-1.

➤ Back came the Yankees. Bryan Abreu, one of Houston’s best relievers, came in for the seventh and he stunk. Wells walked and Cabrera homered to right to tie the score, and with two outs, Soto hit an opposite field rope to left for his first Yankee homer and a 4-3 lead. Volpe then hit a solo homer to left center off Pressly for some insurance.

➤ In the midst of that, Ian Hamilton pitched two dominant 1-2-3 innings, and Holmes locked it down in the ninth, again creating a little drama when he hit Pena which brought the tying run to the plate. No worries as Dubon grounded out.

March 31: Yankees 4, Astros 3

➤ If I was a betting man, I would have lost some money Sunday. I just figured the law of averages would get the Yankees and they weren’t going to finish a four-game sweep of the Astros. No way. Well, way, though this time they did it a little differently as they jumped out to an early 3-1 lead, allowed the Astros to rally, but then pulled it out in dramatic fashion in the ninth.

➤ Clarke Schmidt has been oozing confidence all spring, and when the time came to show it, did he ever. He pitched five superb innings, the only blemish a solo homer by Altuve. But then in the sixth he wobbled and it cost him the victory as Altuve and Tucker doubled to cut the Yankees lead to 3-2. Loaisiga entered and he was lousy. He got Bregman for the second out, but then gave up three straight singles to Diaz, Jon Singleton and Chas McCormick which tied it at 3-3. Schmidt’s final line showed three runs on seven hits, no walks and five K’s.

➤ Loaisiga seemed primed to blow the game when he walked Altuve in the seventh, but Boone brought in Ferguson to face lefties Alvarez and Tucker. He whiffed Alvarez, walked Tucker, but then got Bregman on a groundout to kill the threat.

➤ After a scoreless eighth, the Yankees won it in the ninth against fireballing Josh Hader, the Astros’ $105 million closer. He mowed down Trevino and Cabrera, but Torres blooped a single to right, stole second, and raced home with the winning run when Soto drove a line drive single to left. “I always want to be up in that situation,” Soto said. “That’s what we play for. We all know there’s going to be times where you fail, but I always want to be up there. I don’t mind to be up there and get all the boos or all the claps. I’m always ready for it.”

➤ What a hitter this guy is. I mean his career numbers are the proof, but now that I’m watching every at bat, it’s incredible how tough he is to get out. Over the four games he saw 76 total pitches, swung 29 times and missed only four, and he went 9-for-17 with a double, a homer, three walks, four RBI and just two whiffs. “You feel good when he’s up there,” said Verdugo. “He’s really special. It doesn’t matter; lefty, righty, the way he controls the zone, knows himself and doesn’t let the moment get too big. He’s a dawg. Just put it like that, he’s a dawg, bro.”

➤ And then as I wrote at the top, Holmes made things way too interesting. Pena and Victor Caratini opened with singles meaning Altuve, Alvarez and Tucker were lined up and again, it just felt like there was no way Holmes was escaping unscathed. But as Easter dinner was delayed, Altuve ripped a grounder to third that Berti dove to stop, then stepped on third for the first round. And Alvarez and Tucker flew out and the Yankees formed the high-five line for the fourth night in a row.

➤ Boone said Volpe has been feeling sick since the team left Mexico early last week and he just couldn’t play Sunday.

➤ What’s crazy about this series is the Yankees won four straight getting almost nothing from Judge, Stanton and Torres. They were a combined 7-for-45 with two RBI.

➤ The bullpen pitched a total of 15.1 innings and did not allow a run. In fact, the only run that scored while a reliever was on the mound came on Sunday when Loaisiga allowed one of Schmidt’s inherited runners to score. On the other side, Houston’s bullpen was tagged for 14 runs.

➤ The Yankees acquired another pitcher Sunday, grabbing righty reliever Jake Cousins from the White Sox for cash considerations. The 29-year-old Cousins, who is the cousin of NFL quarterback Kirk Cousins, spent his first three seasons with the Brewers and pitched in 51 games to a 3.08 ERA before joining the White Sox. To make room on the roster, the Yankees designated lefty Nick Ramirez for assignment, and if he clears waivers he’d probably for to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

➤ Beeter, after pitching a scoreless ninth in his MLB debut Friday, was sent back to S/WB and Tanner Tully was called up. I don’t know why. Boone said they want to be careful with Beeter and not rush him.

The Yankees continue this grueling season-opening seven-game road trip with three against the defending NL champion Diamondbacks in Phoenix.

Arizona took three of four from the awful Rockies at home, so they’re obviously picking up where they left off when they made their shocking postseason run to the World Series. In their opener, they scored 14 runs in the third inning to beat Colorado 16-1. They won 7-3 on Friday, then lost 2-1 on Saturday before closing the series with a 5-1 victory Sunday.

Former Blue Jays outfielder Lourdes Gurriel is smoking hot as he hit .471 in the opening series with three homers and 10 RBI. Yeah, 10 RBI already! Slugging first baseman Christian Walker hit two homers and five RBI, third baseman Eugenio Suarez hit .429, and second baseman Ketel Marte hit .353. Arizona’s best player, outfielder Corbin Carroll, has started off with a .474 on-base thanks to six walks.

All three games will be on YES. Monday’s 9:40 opener pits Luis Gil against Ryne Nelson. Then the Yankees will see the Diamondbacks’ two best starters. On Tuesday at 9:40 it’s Cortes against Zac Allen, and on Wednesday at 3:40 it’s Rodon against Merrill Kelly.