Jasson Domínguez's big hit, Max Fried's latest gem leads Yankees past Royals

Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News on Apr 15, 2025

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — Jasson Domínguez’s early-season splits were extreme.

Entering a pivotal at-bat in Tuesday night’s sixth inning, the switch-hitting Domínguez was just 1 for 20 against left-handed pitchers, compared to 12 for 30 against righties.

But the biggest blow in the Yankees’ 4-2 win over the Kansas City Royals on Jackie Robinson Day came courtesy of Domínguez — hitting from the right side.

Domínguez’s go-ahead three-run double against left-handed Royals reliever Angel Zerpa capped a four-run rally for the Yankees (10-7), giving Max Fried the support he needed to pick up his first win in the Bronx.

“It feels really nice,” Domínguez said.

The Yankees were shut down for the first five innings by Royals right-hander Michael Wacha and trailed, 2-0, going into the bottom of the sixth.

Aaron Judge led off that inning with an infield single, but Wacha struck out the next two batters. Wacha suddenly unraveled from there, issuing back-to-back five-pitch walks to Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe to load the bases.

That spelled the end of Wacha’s day, as Zerpa entered to face lefty-swinging Austin Wells with Domínguez on deck.

Zerpa walked Wells on four pitches, pushing across the Yankees’ first run. Domínguez then ripped a 1-2 fastball down the left-field line, clearing the bases to give the Yankees a 4-2 lead.

“I’ve been having a little bit of a struggle from the right side, but lately I feel I’ve been doing something different,” Domínguez said, explaining he has been “just getting more reps and being more on time.”

Domínguez exited in the top of the seventh, with Trent Grisham taking over in center field and Cody Bellinger sliding over to left. The move was not a standard defensive replacement, but rather the result of Domínguez losing his contacts when the backswing on his game-winning hit struck his helmet.

The 22-year-old Domínguez also singled twice against Wacha as a left-handed batter and finished 3 for 3. It was the second three-hit game of his career, while his three RBIs set a new personal best.

“He never seems panicked or rushed, and that’s one of the things you always like about him,” manager Aaron Boone said. “You know the situation is not too big for him.”

Judge’s rally-starting single, meanwhile, marked his second hit in three at-bats against Wacha, whom he entered just 1 for 21 against in his career, including the playoffs.

The Yankees continue to get strong returns from Fried, who improved to 3-0 through four starts after joining them on an eight-year, $218 million contract in the offseason.

Fried limited the Royals (8-10) to two runs over 6 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts.

The left-hander began the game with back-to-back 1-2-3 innings, but MJ Melendez broke the scoreless tie with a home run to lead off the third. The Royals tacked on another run in that inning when Maikel Garcia reached on a two-out infield single and Bobby Witt Jr. followed with an RBI double.

But Fried, with a fastball that ranged from 91-97 mph and an effective curveball, kept Kansas City off the board from there. He elicited 12 swings and misses and now sports a stellar 1.88 ERA.

“The joke in high school was I was 85 to 95 [mph],” Fried said. “Being able to vary speeds and being able to have different velocities, that’s just understanding that hitting is timing. It’s rhythm and timing, and if you can try to disrupt that and throw a couple of different speeds on a fastball, hopefully I can get some weak contact.”

The Yankees remain undefeated in games started by Fried, who has picked up the win in each of the last three. The previous two wins came on the road.

“I’ll turn to [bench coach] Brad [Ausmus] and be like, ‘Man, I would not like to hit off this guy,' ” Boone said of Fried. “The fastball’s cutting. He can add to it. He can rip a 95, 97 at times. The sinker’s really good. I thought, overall, he was really good.”

Luke Weaver hurled 1 1/3 scoreless innings in relief, while Devin Williams pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to pick up his third save as a Yankee and second in as many nights.

The 4-2 final score was perhaps poetic, considering every player in Tuesday’s game wore No. 42 in celebration of Jackie Robinson Day.

Tuesday marked the 78th anniversary of Robinson, who wore No. 42, debuting for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 and becoming the first Black player of MLB’s modern era.

This week’s three-game series is a rematch of last year’s ALDS, which the Yankees won in four games.

The Yankees won Monday’s series opener, 4-1, and will go for the sweep Wednesday night. Right-hander Clarke Schmidt is set to make his season debut in his return from right rotator cuff tendonitis, while left-hander Kris Bubic (2-1, 0.96 ERA) is scheduled to start for Kansas City.