Trent Grisham, Ben Rice homer again as Yankees fall to Blue Jays

The Yankees fell to the Toronto Blue Jays by a score of 6-5 on Monday afternoon.

Here are the takeaways…

–Paul Goldschmidt left the game in the bottom of the third inning after two at-bats. Later, he told reporters he exited because of a sore back, which he’s been dealing with for a few days. Fortunately for the Yankees, Goldschmidt said he has no concern about this holding him out come Opening Day.

–Clarke Schmidt was originally scheduled to start this game, but out of an abundance of caution the Yanks had him throw a bullpen session instead, which went well by all accounts. Left-hander Brent Headrick got the start in Schmidt’s place, but things didn’t go well for him as he allowed three earned runs on three hits with a pair of walks in just one inning.

After a couple of scoreless outings to start his spring, Headrick has been hit hard in his last three appearances.

–Trent Grisham hit just .190  with nine homers in 179 at-bats with New York last season. On Monday, he slammed his fourth homer of the spring, with this one just clearing the top of the fence in left center.

Grisham will likely be the fourth outfielder and a defensive presence in 2025, but his power numbers this spring have been eye-opening.

-The Yankees had Ben Rice catching and hitting out of the leadoff spot on Monday. Rice put the Yanks on the scoreboard in the top of the third, roping a single off the base of the wall in right-center, scoring Ismael Munguia from second base.

Later, Rice deposited the first pitch of the seventh inning over the wall in left-center for his fourth homer of the spring.

It’s hard to imagine a scenario where Rice isn’t with the major league team coming out of spring training

–J.C. Escarra, serving as the Yanks’ DH on Monday, registered two more hits as he continues to push for a spot on the Opening Day roster as a catcher/DH option. The 29-year-old left-handed-hitter is batting .368 this spring with a 1.032 OPS.

-The Yankees took their first lead of the day in the top of the eighth inning, when 22-year-old Brenny Escanio hit a solo homer to left. Escanio played in Low and High-A ball last season. But Toronto tied the game and then walked it off with home runs in the eighth and ninth.

Who was the game MVP?

Rice, who homered and hit another ball off the wall.

Highlights

What’s next

The Yankees host the Boston Red Sox in Tampa on Tuesday at 1:05 p.m.

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