BRADENTON, Fla. — The Yankees beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-2 on Sunday at LECOM Park, and the scoreline was the most forgettable thing about it. The way the runs came, the arms that kept Pittsburgh quiet, and the names that surfaced in the process told a far more useful story about where this roster is headed.
New York drew 11 walks against Pirates pitching. They chased top prospect Bubba Chandler after just 1.2 innings. And they did it not with power but with patience, plate discipline, and timely contact from players fighting for jobs.
Yarbrough and Blackburn set the tone on the mound
The Yankees fell behind 1-0 in the first inning when Marcell Ozuna delivered an RBI single that scored Oneil Cruz. It was the kind of early damage that can define a spring game if the pitching staff lets it snowball. Ryan Yarbrough did not let it snowball.
The veteran left-hander worked two innings, struck out four and settled in after the rocky first. His second inning was clean. He got some help from the Automated Ball-Strike System too, as a borderline call on Cruz was challenged and overturned to a strikeout. But the pitch shapes looked right. His timing was deceptive enough to keep Pirates hitters off balance. That is exactly what the Yankees signed Yarbrough to do as a rotation depth piece behind Max Fried, Luis Gil, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers.
Paul Blackburn followed with two scoreless innings. He ran into traffic early, loading runners with an infield single and a walk to open the third. But he induced a forceout and then a 5-4-3 double play to escape without damage. The fourth was cleaner despite back-to-back singles.
Ben Hess steals the show with five strikeouts in spring debut
The game’s most revealing stretch came in the late innings. Ben Hess, the Yankees’ 2024 first-round pick out of Alabama, made his spring training debut in the sixth inning and did not waste the spotlight.
The 23-year-old right-hander worked three innings. He struck out five batters, allowed two hits, one run, walked two and hit one batter. But the numbers barely capture what he did to Pittsburgh’s hitters.
His first inning was surgical. Nine pitches. Two strikeouts. His fastball hit 95 mph and generated three swings and misses, including a looping curveball that froze Omar Alfonzo for the final out. His sweeper showed more than 20 inches of lateral movement, which is elite-level horizontal break for any pitcher, let alone one with fewer than 100 professional innings on his resume.
Hess was scoreless through his first two frames before running into trouble in the eighth. He plunked Jhonny Severino, gave up an RBI double to Nick Cimillo and walked Alfonzo. But he steadied himself, inducing a 6-4-3 double play and retiring Brian Sanchez to close the inning.
Rice and Dominguez chase Chandler in pivotal second inning
The Yankees’ offense did its best work early. After Chandler retired the side in order during the first, the second inning turned chaotic for the Pirates’ prized young arm. Four walks loaded the bases and chased Chandler, who had touched 100 mph on his fastball just one frame earlier.
Reliever Tyrone Yulie came on and immediately gave up a two-run single to Ben Rice. Then Jasson Dominguez ripped a double to left field that cleared the bases and pushed the Yankees’ lead to 4-1. Just like that, the game was essentially over.
Ben Rice finished the day with two hits, two RBI and a walk. He slugged .499 in his first full big league season in 2025, tied for seventh in MLB in hard-hit percentage at 56.1% and tied for ninth in average exit velocity at 93.3 mph. His 26 home runs and 28 doubles showed a blend of power and contact that the Yankees badly need in a lineup that can go cold for stretches.
Dominguez, batting second in left field, also made a positive impression. For a player whose development path remains one of the biggest question marks in the organization, a clutch extra-base hit off a live arm is a solid early step. The Yankees may begin the season with Dominguez at Triple-A, given the crowded outfield of Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham, but days like Sunday keep his name in the conversation.
Schuemann quietly makes his case for the Opening Day roster
Max Schuemann is not going to generate back-page headlines. He is the kind of player whose impact only shows up when you study the margins of a roster. The Yankees acquired the 28-year-old from the Athletics on Feb. 9 for minor league pitcher Luis Burgos, and the move was barely a blip.
But Schuemann’s spring audition is worth watching. He reached base on an infield single Sunday while playing right field. That versatility is the entire point. In two MLB seasons with Oakland, he logged starts at shortstop, second base, third base, left field and center field. His career batting average of .212 across 234 games will not turn heads, but he posted plus-5 Outs Above Average at second base and plus-4 at third base in 2025. He also swiped 21 bases in 23 tries over two big league seasons.
Schuemann is on the 40-man roster with three minor league options remaining. He could break camp with the team or shuttle between New York and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre all season. Either way, he fills a real need as a right-handed defensive weapon off the bench.
Geoff Gilbert closed out the ninth for the final three outs, and the Yankees moved to 2-2 in Grapefruit League play.
The win itself is meaningless in the standings. But the way it unfolded told the Yankees things about Hess, Rice, Schuemann and their pitching depth that no statistic from last October could have provided. Sometimes the most important spring training games are the ones nobody remembers by April.
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