Carlos Carrasco fans six, Yankees' backup catchers homer in win over Phillies

In their third meeting of Grapefruit League play, the Yankees rallied late to beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-5, on Friday night at Steinbrenner Field.

Here are the takeaways…

— Now in the mix as a rotation option, Carlos Carrasco made his fourth appearance (third start) of camp. While the veteran right-hander allowed a walk and a double in the first inning, he escaped the jam when Aaron Judge gunned down Kyle Schwarber at home plate on a fly-ball double play off the bat of Edmundo Sosa.

— It didn’t take long for the Yankees to produce offense against Phillies veteran Taijuan Walker. With two outs, Cody Bellinger doubled on a sharp line drive to right, and just moments later, Ben Rice crushed a two-strike, two-run homer to right-center field. After one, New York led 2-0.

— Carrasco ran into further trouble in the second inning, as he plunked a batter, allowed a single, and surrended a sac fly. But he managed to complete 3.1 innings (61 pitches), recording six strikeouts with velocity that reached 93 mph. Carrasco lowered his spring ERA to 2.45 across 11 innings, and the interesting wrinkle is that he can opt out of his contract on March 22. He isn’t on the 40-man roster.

— Aaron Judge snapped a hitless streak of 13 at-bats with a single to center in the sixth inning. It was a quiet night for middle infielders Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Vople, who went a combined 0-for-6 with one strikeout. Rice’s plate appearances were encouraging, however, as he bolstered his case for a role in the Opening Day lineup.

— Luke Weaver, now serving as the Yankees’ set-up man, entered in relief for Carrasco. He recorded two outs in his second appearance of camp, inducing a flyout and groundout with seven pitches.

— There’s a strong chance the Yankees carry three catchers to begin the season, which is encouraging news for J.C. Escarra. The longtime minor leaguer flaunted his hot bat with a game-tying solo shot to right in the seventh. In 31 spring at-bats, he’s hitting .355 with three homers and seven RBI. Escarra could very serve as the backup to Austin Wells on Opening Day.

— Allan Winans, who received a non-roster invite to camp, logged three innings out of the bullpen. He allowed two hits — including a go-ahead two-run homer to Stevenson in the seventh — along with three walks and three punchouts. Winans entered Friday with a 1.08 ERA across 8.1 spring innings.

— With one out in the ninth inning, non-roster invitee T.J. Rumfield crushed a two-run, game-tying homer to right-center. The 24-year-old first baseman produced laudable Triple-A numbers last season, slashing .292/.365/.461 with 26 doubles, 15 homers, and 71 RBI in 114 games.

— Facing a potential tie with two outs, Brendan Jones ripped a ball down the line that was stunningly snagged by the Phillies’ first baseman. But the pitcher was late to cover the bag, and heads-up baserunning from Jesus Rodriguez — who started at second on the hit — forced a play at the plate and a late throw home. A funky rally and walk-off win for the Yankees.

— It wasn’t exactly a night to remember for Trent Grisham. During the second inning, he was thrown out at second base trying to stretch a single to right into a double, and two innings later, he surprisingly dropped a routine fly ball in center.

— It’s still unclear when — or if — Giancarlo Stanton will see playing time in 2025, but his indefinite stint on the injured list isn’t only due to chronic tennis elbows. Prior to first pitch on Friday, manager Aaron Boone said that the veteran slugger is also nursing a “minor” calf issue. Stanton underwent a third round of PRP injections on Monday.

Highlights

What’s next

The Yankees (10-9) will spend the entire weekend south in Port Charlotte for a pair of games against the division-rival Rays on Saturday and Sunday (1:05 p.m. starts).

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