Key Players To Watch as Yankees Face First Road Trip Against Pirates

The New York Yankees are heading on the road for the first time in the 2025 regular season to face the Pittsburgh Pirates in an interleague matchup.

The Yankees will be looking to spoil their home opener at PNC Park as the Pirates started the season with seven games on the road against the Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays, going 2-5.

After their offensive explosion against the Milwaukee Brewers in the first series of the campaign, New York cooled off against the Arizona Diamondbacks, winning the series finale to avoid a sweep after going 3-0 against the Brewers.

The Yankees will be playing six games on the road and it would be great to get off to a strong start against a struggling Pittsburgh squad.

Here are a few players to keep an eye on that will determine the outcome of the games.

Max Fried

Set to make his second start in pinstripes, Fried will be looking for a better performance than his first outing against Milwaukee. He went only 4.2 innings, as his defense let him down, being charged with six runs, but only two of them were earned.

It wasn’t his sharpest outing, allowing seven hits and issuing two walks. But this is a great chance to get on track against an anemic Pirates offense.

Entering the contest, they have a .197/.291/.278 slash line. There won’t be any better opportunities for him to find his groove than in the series opener.

Oneil Cruz

New York fans will appreciate the Pittsburgh center fielder being named after one of their all-time favorites, right fielder Paul O’Neill.

The Yankees are certainly hoping that he doesn’t produce to that level in this series, as he is one of the only real threats in the Pirates' lineup to worry about. He leads the team with two home runs and six stolen bases, as he can make things happen when he gets on base.

Showing better discipline at the plate this year than previously in his career, he surprisingly leads the team in walks drawn with six as well. Keeping him off the bases is a good recipe for the Yankees to win.

Devin Williams

One of the biggest acquisitions that New York made this offseason was the star closer from the Brewers.

He has made only one appearance thus far this season, recording a save on Opening Day against his old team. It was far from a clean outing, as he gave up two hits and one walk, resulting in one run, barely escaping with the save.

After that, he went on the paternity list and hasn’t pitched since. The team missed him when they blew a two-run lead against the Diamondbacks in that series opener and it will be interesting to see how he responds upon his return.

Mitch Keller

The Yankees are fortunate enough that they are going to be missing phenom Paul Skenes during the series. But they are still going to be facing a challenge in the team’s former ace, Mitch Keller.

He was great in his 2025 debut, throwing six innings and allowing only one run on five hits and one walk. Keller presents the biggest challenge for New York in terms of probable pitchers, as lefties Bailey Falter and Andrew Heaney will follow him.