NEW YORK — The Yankees lost on Sunday night. That much is known. But there is a number buried inside the weekend’s box scores that tells a far more interesting story than the final score.
It is a number that dates back to 1934. And the Yankees just broke it.
New York fell 7-6 to the Miami Marlins in the series finale at Yankee Stadium on April 5, surrendering a four-run eighth inning to squander a 4-3 lead handed to them by Max Fried. The bullpen came up short. The bottom of the batting order went quiet again. And yet the Yankees walked off the field at 7-2, the best record in the American League, carrying a franchise achievement that no team in pinstripes had ever managed before.
A franchise-first hidden inside a tough loss
Over the three-game home series against the Marlins, the Yankees drew 30 walks. That is a new franchise record for a three-game series, topping the previous mark of 28 set against the Chicago White Sox way back in May 1934, according to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch.
The patience was spread across the entire lineup. Outfielder Trent Grisham led the way with six walks across the series. Former MVP Cody Bellinger and first baseman Ben Rice each worked five. Even with the loss on Sunday, the Yankees had drawn 11 walks in that game alone, continuing a relentless approach at the plate that forced Marlins pitchers into one uncomfortable count after another.
It was not a fluke. It was a team-wide approach playing out across nine innings, three games, and nearly every lineup spot.
Ben Rice keeps delivering at the top of the order
If there is one Yankee who has separated himself through the first nine games of 2026, it is Ben Rice.
The 26-year-old first baseman homered for the third time in four games Sunday, launching a three-run shot in the first inning off Miami’s Pete Fairbanks to put New York on the board early. Rice has reached base safely in all eight games he has started this season and drew three more walks on Sunday. His exit velocity on the home run registered at 96.9 mph off the bat. For the series, he was as dangerous as anyone in the Yankees lineup.
Rice is hitting with purpose and making contact that matters. His hard-hit rate this season sits at 75 percent, and his wOBA is at .523. Those are elite early-season numbers, and they are coming from a player the Yankees are counting on to hold down a middle-of-the-order role.
The bottom of the order is the open wound
Here is where manager Aaron Boone would like to see more. Here is the main news the Yankees took away from the home series against Miami.
Through nine games, the Yankees’ No. 6 through No. 9 hitters have produced a combined batting average of .143 with a .404 OPS. Both figures rank last in the majors. The Yankees are also the only team in baseball that has not received a single home run from any of those four spots in the order.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. bats sixth and is 7-for-36 (.194) through nine games. The All-Star second baseman hit 31 home runs and stole 31 bases last season, and his power has not yet shown up in the early going. He did connect on a two-run double in the ninth inning on Sunday, a 106 mph rocket off Anthony Bender that gave the Yankees brief hope of a comeback.
“I feel like that could help a lot,” Chisholm said. “Right now, we’re just working day-to-day, getting better every at-bat, and hoping to get hot soon.”
Strip Chisholm out and the numbers get worse. The Yankees’ No. 7 through No. 9 hitters are a combined 11-for-90 (.122) with a .360 OPS. Ryan McMahon is 2-for-23 (.087), though he snapped an 0-for-20 skid with a single Sunday. Jose Caballero is 4-for-31 (.129) with 10 strikeouts in nine starts at shortstop, covering for Anthony Volpe while the starter recovers from offseason shoulder surgery. Volpe is expected to begin a rehab assignment around mid-April.
Boone addressed the bottom of the order directly after Sunday’s loss.
“We need to get some more production there,” Boone said. “And we will.”
On McMahon specifically, Boone said the third baseman has been caught between being patient and being aggressive.
“Like, not wanting to chase or not wanting to make a bad decision, which is great, but you’ve also got to go out there and let it rip a little bit,” Boone said. “Because he is really talented. He’s got pop. He does know the strike zone.”
Early history says patience at the plate pays off
The bottom of the order concerns are real. But context matters. Nine games represent less than 6 percent of the full season. Small samples in April look nothing like full-season outcomes, and the 2025 Yankees proved that point.
Last season, the Yankees’ No. 7 through No. 9 hitters batted .224, which ranked 25th in the majors. However, those same spots combined for 67 home runs, which tied for the MLB lead, and posted a .687 OPS that ranked eighth in the league. The offense as a whole led baseball with 5.2 runs per game, 274 home runs, and a .787 OPS.
Through nine games this year, the Yankees are averaging 5.2 runs per game. They rank 13th in home runs with nine and 11th in OPS at .705. The big picture is solid. The bottom of the order just needs time to catch up.
The walk record adds a layer of optimism that goes beyond those early batting averages. A lineup that draws 30 walks in three games against a competitive pitching staff is a lineup that stays in at-bats, wears out relievers, and creates damage in ways that the box score does not always show. The Yankees were 6-for-38 with runners in scoring position across the series. That number will improve.
Boone’s confidence is not manufactured. It is rooted in what he saw the same lineup do for a full season a year ago. Whether the bottom of the Yankees order finds its footing in April or waits until May, the discipline at the plate that broke a 92-year-old franchise record is a sign of what this offense can become once every piece clicks into place.
What do you think? Can the Yankees win the AL East crown chances this season?
