Run it back? More like running wild.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what the Yankees have done in the early going of the 2026 season, as they entered Saturday night\u2019s contest against the Marlins with 11 stolen bases over seven games, the most in the American League.<\/p>\n
Only the Brewers (15 in 6 games) had more.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe became [a team that runs] in the second half of last season, where night in and night out, we were rolling a good amount of some speed and some athletes out there to where that slowly became a little more of our identity,\u201d Aaron Boone said Friday after the Yankees\u2019 8-2 win over the Marlins<\/a>. \u201cAnd obviously we have a lot of the same group now with a handful of guys that can really push it in the running game.\u201d<\/p>\n Boone made that comment after the Yankees\u2019 swiped five bases on five attempts in Friday\u2019s game. With the defensively-unreliable Liam Hicks behind the plate for Miami, it was the Bombers\u2019 most steals in a game since Sept. 5, 2013 (6 vs. BOS). Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Jos\u00e9 Caballero each took two bags, while Aaron Judge added one himself.<\/p>\n Judge, who noted that he\u2019d like to steal more bases during spring training, said the fleet-footed afternoon was an example of the Yankees playing \u201ccomplete baseball\u201d as they improved to 6-1.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a really athletic team,\u201d added Cody Bellinger. \u201cWe believe that we\u2019re one of the best teams out there, and we can win in many different ways. We just want to continue showcasing that and just continue playing the best that we can play.\u201d<\/p>\n The Yankees were also aggressive by taking extra bases on Friday, as Austin Wells surprisingly and successfully tagged up from second when Ryan McMahon lofted a flyball to left in the sixth inning. Wells went on to score on a wild pitch.<\/p>\n There was also the eighth inning, when Trent Grisham tried to go from first to third on a Judge single to left. Grisham was thrown out at third, but only because he couldn\u2019t maintain contact with the bag when he collided with tumbling Marlins third baseman Leo Jim\u00e9nez on his slide.<\/p>\n Those attempts were welcomed by Boone, whose Yankees had the second-worst extra bases taken percentage (37%) in 2025, per Baseball Reference<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to be a little bit risk-adverse too because of who we are offensively and what our identity is. That being said, absolutely, we gotta be aggressive in certain spots,\u201d Boone said Saturday. \u201cThere\u2019s times to absolutely push it. There\u2019s times when, even if it\u2019s 50-50, you want to push it and get to a base.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to be smart and aggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n GIL\u2019S RETURN SET<\/p>\n Luis Gil is scheduled to make his first big league start of the season on April 10 against the Rays in Tampa, Boone said. First, he\u2019ll make a start at Triple-A on Sunday.<\/p>\n