The Yankees are Finally Doing the One Thing They Do Best

The New York Yankees dissected the Kansas City Royals pitching staff and swept them at home in the Bronx.

Apr 19, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) runs off the field during the fifth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Aaron Judge said the New York Yankees needed to simplify their approach last week. At that point, they had fallen to 8-7 after a 7-1 start and were just swept by the Tampa Bay Rays.

The reason for this slide was their offense. A team that had one of the best offenses in the sport a year earlier was struggling to put runs on the board, and that wasn't any more evident than in a 1-0 loss to the Athletics, in which a dominant effort by Ryan Weathers was thwarted by their own bats.

What was most surprising during the slump was the lack of power. Between April 6th and April 12th, the Yankees hit five home runs as a team. They had an atrocious 68 wRC+.

New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) reacts after grounding out to end the eighth inning against the Athletics at Yankee Stadium. | John Jones-Imagn Images

It was one of those "sky is falling" moments, and the Yankees hadn't even entered their usual June swoon yet. The regularly scheduled summer free fall is months away. The thing about baseball, though, is that things can flip in an instant. They may have heeded their captain's advice, because whatever wasn't working is working now.

A power surge this week

Between April 13th and April 19th, the Yankees have crushed 18 homers and have a 151 wRC+. They are second in the majors in RBI, with 44, trailing only the Pittsburgh Pirates during that span.

TRENT GRISHAM PINCH HIT THREE-RUN HOMER FOR THE LEAD!! pic.twitter.com/d2Xg8FBmTG

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) April 14, 2026

Compared to that stretch when they hit only 5 homers, the Yankees only put up 18 runs that week. They were the fifth-worst team during that span, with oly the Mets, Royals, White Sox, and Phillies being worse.

The difference in opponents could have been a factor, but whatever the case, the Yankees needed just about anything to recapture their offensive identity from last season. In 2025, they crushed bad pitching, and it's something they did in spades to the Royals' pitching staff.

Beating up on Ragans

While Saturday was a prolific beatdown in which they scored 12 runs and saw one of the best versions of Will Warren since his debut two years ago, their game against Cole Ragans on Sunday showed just how good this offense can be. Ever since the Royals acquired Ragans from the Rangers for Aroldis Chapman, he has emerged as one of the best young pitchers in the sport despite an injury-shortened 2025.

Ragans hasn't quite been himself this season, but he still came into the afternoon with a 3.78 ERA in 16.2 innings. Before yesterday, Ragans had started against the Yankees only twice. He had an outing that September in which he went six innings of two-run ball, and then, later in the postseason, the Royals gave him a quick yank. He went four innings before being pulled for the fifth.

The 28-year-old was supposed to be the Royals' stopper, but instead, he ran into a buzzsaw emerging from their slumber. After a Ben Rice walk in the first, Aaron Judge crushed a Ragans knuckle curve that he left dangling down the heart of the plate. It traveled 425 feet and left his bat at 111.6 mph.

AARON JUDGE FIRST-INNING TWO-RUN BLAST pic.twitter.com/xtQkXr7vN3

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) April 19, 2026

The Yankees then loaded the bases, and an Austin Wells sac fly drove the score up to 3-0. Ragans never did settle down after that first inning, though. Ben Rice crushed him for a homer that brought the score to 4-0. This was a pitch that was essentially at Rice's fists, and he still sent that into the right field seats. It was much better than the pitch Judge saw, and still, Rice was able to do damage.

Trent Grisham did the final bit of damage on Ragans for the afternoon. By that point, his fastball velocity had dwindled down to 91.9 mph, and Grisham crushed it. The power in his stick looks to be back. It was at the top of the zone, and that three-run blast left the park, too. Ragans was yanked after allowing a walk a few batters later.

TRENT GRISHAM TO THE SECOND DECK pic.twitter.com/vDnOuWwTlg

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) April 19, 2026

It was not the best version of Ragans, but the key to the Yankees' offense last year was not letting teams breathe after making mistakes. That's what they did to the Royals this series.

One of Cody Bellinger's homers from this weekend was off a ball that was left down the heart of the plate. He did damage on that one, and it was almost a prelude to what was coming that weekend.

Whatever ice-cold slump they had a week ago may be behind them, though if the up and down nature of this team is one of their traits, then maybe another slump is on the way.