DUNEDIN, Fla. — The Yankees left TD Ballpark with a spring win Tuesday, but the box score told only part of the story.
An 8-7 victory over the Blue Jays featured veteran thunder, bullpen auditions and a near late collapse by the Yankees’ reserve unit. It also showcased something Aaron Boone has stressed since camp opened. The Bombers want to dominate the automated ball strike challenge system.
They did exactly that.
Yankees veterans deliver the muscle
The Yankees received their biggest jolt from veteran first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who continues to look comfortable in pinstripes.
Goldschmidt crushed a two run homer off right hander Tyler Rogers. He later roped a two run double against Jesse Hahn. That gave him four runs batted in on the day.
Spring training numbers do not define a season. But quality swings matter. Goldschmidt agreed.
“It’s definitely not a time where you just want to go through the motions,” Goldschmidt said. “You want to have good at-bats and really more than anything, just keep building toward the regular season.”
For the Yankees, that approach is key. The lineup features established stars, but it also carries new combinations. Veterans setting a tone matters.
Boone said early in camp he wants the Bombers to be aggressive. Tuesday proved his point.
The Yankees went 6 for 8 on challenges. Austin Wells and Jose Caballero both finished 2 for 2 in overturning calls. Caballero used both of his challenges in one at bat and turned it into a walk.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. nailed his lone challenge. Trent Grisham went 1 for 2.
“We want to be really good at it,” Boone said. “We want to be the best at it. I feel like our guys, we’ve been preaching around here long enough about controlling the strike zone.
“I thought Grish’s second one where he was wrong was probably a little emotional for him. He kind of wanted to challenge the first one and then the last one, when he probably wasn’t convicted. But overall, I thought guys did a good job with it.”
Each team receives two challenges per game and keeps them if correct. Some managers prefer saving them for late innings. Boone does not.
“This isn’t ‘save them for the seventh, eighth and ninth,’ ” Boone said. “I want us to be right. … But I just want us to also inherently understand leverage. You’re down to one and it’s the fifth inning, nobody on, two outs, 1-0 count, that’s one I feel like we got to nail that one if we’re challenging that one. But it doesn’t change [in a] big spot, two strikes, fourth inning, two men on, that’s the biggest spot at that moment.”
For the Yankees, mastering ABS is not a novelty. It is a competitive advantage.
Blue Jays push back as Yankees depth wobbles
The Yankees built an early cushion. But as regulars exited, cracks appeared.
Toronto rallied late against the New York reserve arms and bench defenders. The Blue Jays cut the deficit to one run and put pressure on a bullpen group fighting for roster spots.
Two relievers strengthened their cases. Jake Bird delivered 1.1 scoreless innings. Left hander Brent Headrick threw a clean frame in his spring debut. Kervin Castro, recently added to the 40 man roster, tossed two shutout innings.
Still, the Yankees nearly let the game slip.
Spring depth matters. The Bombers learned that again Tuesday. When starters exit, execution must remain sharp.
The Blue Jays entered camp with one of the American League’s more stable cores. Toronto’s lineup continues to revolve around power and contact balance. That late push reminded the Yankees that AL East games rarely relax.
Yankees edge reveals broader theme
The Bombers finished 2025 among the league leaders in on base percentage and walk rate. Controlling the strike zone remains central to Boone’s identity.
ABS fits that philosophy. If the Yankees can consistently turn borderline calls into strikes or balls through challenges, the impact stretches beyond spring.
It influences at bats, pitch counts and momentum.
Tuesday’s 6 for 8 performance may not appear in season stats. But it reinforced Boone’s belief that preparation matters.
The Yankees won the game because veterans produced and because the club was sharper with technology than its opponent.
Yet the narrow margin exposed something else. Depth is still being sorted. Bench execution remains a work in progress.
For Yankees fans, the takeaway was layered. The Yankees’ core looks ready. Goldschmidt’s bat is loud. The Yankees appear comfortable navigating ABS.
But when reserves enter, the margin tightens.
The Yankees escaped with an 8-7 win. The veterans set the tone. The ABS edge proved real. The backups reminded everyone that spring jobs are still on the line.
