The Comeback Yankees They Are For Sure

Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports

BRONX, NY — The Yankees can’t be perfect. Of course with 162 regular season games, there will be hiccups. 

On Saturday night, in his second start of 2026, marking his home debut as a Yankee, Ryan Weathers got the first out in the Marlins lineup then let up a walk to Agustín Ramírez which followed with a quick strikeout, Otto Lopez singling to right and Heriberto Hernández tripling to center, giving Miami a 2-0 first inning lead.

But these are the Yankees, a different lineup that has shown their power in their first eight games of this young season. They take the extra bases, play small ball, and comeback baseball. They said they were running it back after a disappointing postseason run last October that came to a sudden end against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Saturday wasn’t a clean defensive effort during a cold evening at Yankee Stadium in front of 44,150, but the Yankees after trailing 4-0 in the fourth, played comeback baseball—scoring two runs in the fifth, three in the sixth, a run in the seventh, and three more in the eighth.

Weathers wasn’t at his best, recording 3.2 innings with six hits, three runs, three walks, and four strikeouts. The bullpen that allowed only four runs in 23.0 innings gave up four on Saturday but these are the 2026 Yankees that won’t quit. Their 9-7 win and 7-1 start to the 2026 season matches their best in franchise history.

A frustrated start at the beginning, most definitely, but they found a way to win, got on base, though that came with closer David Bednar throwing 33 pitches total and a strikeout on Griffin Conine to end it with the bases loaded—his fourth save this year. The Yankees will attempt a three-game sweep in the Bronx Sunday afternoon.

But examine how the Yankees are managing to get off to their successful start, it is similar to their first eight games of last season. It’s been the pitching, with only eight runs allowed prior to this win. Starters had allowed only four runs in the first seven games though Weathers struggled in the eighth go round.

“Hopefully more efficient as we go,” said manager Aaaron Boone about Weathers, who also got into trouble working deep counts.

But what mattered again was the Yankees hitting in the clutch even though they were 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position and had nine left on base. A Yankees lineup that has hit in the clutch, Cody Bellinger, hitting his first home run in the fifth, Aaron Judge with a single in the sixth that tied the score 4-4, and Giancarlo Stanton stealing second base, his first stolen base since 2024 in the ALDS versus the Royals. Stanton’s two-run single in the eighth opened a 8-6 Yankees lead.

“We have a lot of capable guys one-to-nine and off the bench,” said Stanton regarding the Yankees’ resilience to come back.

It’s April but these wins all count. The Yankees realize these wins are just as important as if they were in September. The Marlins are young, and pesky as they are described, showing the Yankees and their opponents a no-quit approach on their end. 

Bednar said about the comeback win, “It shows what type of ballclub we have.” 

He was the sixth reliever out of the pen Saturday night and allowed one run in the ninth. But wins come in different ways and the Bellinger home run was a part of that comeback.

“We think we are a really good team and the depth is really good,” Bellinger said despite the Yankees recording six hits.

Regardless, it was another Yankees win in the young season, a brand of baseball that has been different with the stolen bases. Stanton for sure, with his instinct to steal, is leading a team with Aaron Judge that is not dependent solely on the home run ball. They take the extra base and are managing to use the new ABS challenge to perfection, though it was not a factor in this win.

Boone said Stanton had that good at-bat and has worked hard to be in position to take that extra base. Bellinger also was a shot in the arm with the home run to right center when the Yankees needed to make their comeback after their four-run deficit. Basically, it’s a Yankees team that will be resilient, and one that contains a comeback mentality.

“Behind early and quality of bats,” said Boone. “Credit to everyone, it seems everyone had a big bat tonight. It was kind of like they had that 4-0 lead and then all of a sudden you get that shot in the arm there and right back in the game.”

It’s this Yankees comeback mentality they hope to continue, then again the starting pitching has been a major cog in this early to pull off a successful string of wins. And their ace Max Fried, 2-0, still without allowing a run in 2026, gets the opportunity to sweep the Marlins Sunday afternoon.

Overall, Saturday night ended with the Yankees’ second comeback in their first eight games, and largest come from behind win since July 19th of last year at Atlanta where they erased a five-run deficit.

“Heck of a game for the boys and I just wanted to close that one out,” said Bednar.

Rich Mancuso is a senior writer and columnist at LatinoSports.com with coverage of MLB, boxing, and MLS – X:@Ring786, Facebook.com/Rich Mancuso

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