CLEARWATER, FLA — The Yankees and the Phillies squared off for a day game in Clearwater. The Yankees beat the Phillies 4-2, improving to 11-6 in their Grapefruit League play.

— Luis Gil had a weird day today. His velocity was up over 97 MPH today, which is a good sign because his velocity had been a question mark to this point in spring. The one blemish on the day was the solo home run by J.T. Realmuto. The other run was unearned.

The bad news for Gil was he did not get a single whiff (0-18) on his fastball in this game. Gil needs to work on generating more whiffs on his pitches if he looks to be more successful than he was in 2025.

— Tim Hill and Brent Headrick both looked good in relief today. For Headrick, he is competing for a spot in the bullpen, and frankly should win one. His stuff has been really good and he was solid in some big league time in 2025.

— Paul Blackburn bounced back from his bad outing against the Twins last week. Today, he pitched in relief, throwing four scoreless innings, allowing just a hit. He owns a 1.59 ERA this spring. If Blackburn can be the new sort of Michael King, being able to work out of jams and give two/three innings out of the bullpen, that is a huge asset for the Yankees to have in the most volatile spot on their roster.

— Jasson Dominguez hit a home run from the right side today, and added a single later on from the left side. He continues to have a productive spring training looking to work his way onto the roster.

Dominguez is not likely to break camp with the team, but his homer off a lefty is a really good sign of progress towards one of the weaknesses in his game. If Dominguez is sent to AAA, he will get a good sample size to fix his defense and improve his offense from the right side.

— Spencer Jones hit another home run today. His home run ability is undeniable. He can hit bombs with the best of them.

“In my mind, this is the best organization to play for,” Jones said earlier this spring to the media. “If opportunities come later, I think it’s for a good reason, and that’s because we’re trying to help the team win a World Series.”

Jones is ready to play a role, even if it’s in AAA. We could see Jones play a role at some point this season if injuries arise, but his talent will most likely be saved till 2027.

— Max Schuemann has had a really good spring for the Yankees, as he looks to lock up a bench spot. He is batting .417 in 19 plate appearances, and added to that today with an RBI double to tack on some insurance.

— Yesterday, the Yankees announced that they optioned OF Spencer Jones and RHP Elmer Rodríguez to Triple-A Scranton and reassigned them to minor league camp.

The Yankees will take on the rival Toronto Blue Jays tomorrow at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Cam Schlittler will get his second start of the spring, opposing Eric Lauer. The game will take place at 6:35pm and will be aired on the YES network and the Gotham Sports App.

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