Yankees 7, Braves 0/Yankees 9, Blue Jays 5: Split-squad sweep

After kicking off their Grapefruit League season on Saturday, the Yankees were set to have their spring home opener on Sunday, but that wasn’t the only action. Sunday saw the Yankees in split-squad mode, with some of the team heading to Dunedin to play the Blue Jays while the rest stayed home in Tampa to host the Braves.

Both games featured notable players, prospects, and storylines, as the likes of Aaron Judge, Anthony Volpe, and Clarke Schmidt were in action. In the end, both Yankees teams came away with victories on a solid Sunday.

Yankees 7, Braves 0

Pretty much everything went right for the Yankees in their first spring game at Steinbrenner Field. The offense, featuring several expected regulars, put up seven runs as the pitching, including potential fifth starter Clarke Schmidt, allowed just one hit in a 7-0 victory over the Braves.

The top five in the Yankees’ starting lineup were all guys that will likely either start or play a role in the majors this year, and they jumped on Braves pitching early. Gleyber Torres, Judge — in his first game action as Yankees captain — and Aaron Hicks hit three-straight singles to lead off the game, and bring Jose Trevino to the plate. The Yankees’ catcher then took a grand slam deep over the left field wall.

Meanwhile, starting on the mound for the Yankees was Schmidt in his first appearance as part of a battle for the fifth starter spot. Obviously, there’s still a long way to go in that, but Schmidt impressed in this early look. He threw two perfect innings, striking out five of the six hitters he faced.

Torres singled and Judge added a walk before they both exited after the fourth inning. Meanwhile, Oswald Peraza drew a walk and recorded a single as he looks to make his case enough to take the full-time shortstop job. The Yankees’ bench proceeded to add three more runs in sixth inning to pour it on.

As for the pitching side of things, the Braves’ offense did not record their first hit of the game until the seventh inning. After Schmidt, Albert Abreu threw a 1-2-3 inning. Deivi García threw two and got into a bit of trouble in one of them, issuing a walk, but got out of it, thanks in part to a pickoff.

Prospects Will Warren and Clayton Beeter finished things off by each throwing two scoreless innings, as the Yankees picked up a win in their spring home opener.

Box Score

Yankees 9, Blue Jays 5

The lineup over in Dunedin wasn’t quite as strong, but they too put up some runs, helping the Yankees sweep Sunday with a 9-5 win over Toronto.

Like their teammates over in Tampa, the Yankees’ offense also struck quickly in this one. Facing an MLB pitcher in Tim Mayza (most notable for giving up No. 61 to Judge last September), the Yankees scored one run on three hits in the first inning. One hit came from Josh Donaldson — the lone expected regular Yankees starter in the game — and he scored on an Andres Chapparo single.

This lineup was more prospect heavy, including the top-ranked Yankees farmhand Anthony Volpe. In the third inning, Volpe recorded a double and eventually came around to score on a double by former Rangers prospect Willie Calhoun, in camp on a minor-league deal.

The lineup really got going in fourth, scoring three more runs. Carlos Narvaez and Jesus Bastidas hit back-to-back homers, and the third came in large part because of Volpe. After recording his second hit of the day, he stole both second and third base ...

... before scoring when Calhoun grounded into a double play. Bastidas drove in another run in the fifth when he drew a bases-loaded walk.

The Blue Jays had sent out a fairly strong lineup, but they were mostly held in check by Yankees’ pitching. They didn’t get on the board until the fifth inning, when LJ Talley hit a three-run home run off non-roster invitee Matt Bowman. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. then added a two-run shot, which he’ll do. Prior to that, the Yankees’ pitching, led by Jhony Brito, had been mostly pretty good.

Chapparo — an intriguing prospect himself — gave the Yankees a sixth-inning run courtesy of a home run, his second hit of the day. Brandon Lockridge put the cherry on top of the offense’s nice day with a two-RBI triple in the eighth.

Of the notable players, Donaldson went 1-for-2 with a walk and Volpe went 2-for-4, while prospect Everson Pereira drew two walks.

Box Score