In their third meeting of Grapefruit League play, the Yankees rallied late to beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-5, on Friday night at Steinbrenner Field.

Here are the takeaways...

-- Now in the mix as a rotation option, Carlos Carrasco made his fourth appearance (third start) of camp. While the veteran right-hander allowed a walk and a double in the first inning, he escaped the jam when Aaron Judge gunned down Kyle Schwarber at home plate on a fly-ball double play off the bat of Edmundo Sosa.

-- It didn't take long for the Yankees to produce offense against Phillies veteran Taijuan Walker. With two outs, Cody Bellinger doubled on a sharp line drive to right, and just moments later, Ben Rice crushed a two-strike, two-run homer to right-center field. After one, New York led 2-0.

-- Carrasco ran into further trouble in the second inning, as he plunked a batter, allowed a single, and surrendered a sac fly. But he managed to complete 3.1 innings (61 pitches), recording six strikeouts with velocity that reached 93 mph. Carrasco lowered his spring ERA to 2.45 across 11 innings, and the interesting wrinkle is that he can opt out of his contract on March 22. He isn't on the 40-man roster.

-- Judge snapped a hitless streak of 13 at-bats with a single to center in the sixth inning. It was a quiet night for middle infielders Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Vople, who went a combined 0-for-6 with one strikeout. Rice's plate appearances were encouraging, however, as he bolstered his case for a role in the Opening Day lineup.

-- Luke Weaver, now serving as the Yankees' set-up man, entered in relief for Carrasco. He recorded two outs in his second appearance of camp, inducing a flyout and groundout with seven pitches.

-- There's a strong chance the Yankees will carry three catchers to begin the season, which is encouraging news for J.C. Escarra. The longtime minor leaguer flaunted his hot bat with a game-tying solo shot to right in the seventh. In 31 spring at-bats, he's hitting .355 with three homers and seven RBI. Escarra could very well serve as the backup to Austin Wells on Opening Day.

-- Allan Winans, who received a non-roster invite to camp, logged three innings out of the bullpen. He allowed two hits -- including a go-ahead two-run homer to Stevenson in the seventh -- along with three walks and three punchouts. Winans entered Friday with a 1.08 ERA across 8.1 spring innings.

-- With one out in the ninth inning, non-roster invitee T.J. Rumfield crushed a two-run, game-tying homer to right-center. The 24-year-old first baseman produced laudable Triple-A numbers last season, slashing .292/.365/.461 with 26 doubles, 15 homers, and 71 RBI in 114 games.

-- Facing a potential tie with two outs, Brendan Jones ripped a ball down the line that was stunningly snagged by the Phillies' first baseman. But the pitcher was late to cover the bag, and heads-up baserunning from Jesus Rodriguez -- who started at second on the hit -- forced a play at the plate and a late throw home. A funky rally and walk-off win for the Yankees.

-- It wasn't exactly a night to remember for Trent Grisham. During the second inning, he was thrown out at second base trying to stretch a single to right into a double, and two innings later, he surprisingly dropped a routine fly ball in center.

-- It's still unclear when -- or if -- Giancarlo Stanton will see playing time in 2025, but his indefinite stint on the injured list isn't only due to chronic tennis elbows. Prior to first pitch Friday, manager Aaron Boone said that the veteran slugger is also nursing a "minor" calf issue. Stanton underwent a third round of PRP injections on Monday.

Highlights

Aaron Judge battles the sun and still nails Kyle Schwarber trying to score on a sac fly! pic.twitter.com/WwSQrsptYP

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 14, 2025

Ben Rice 2-run shot! pic.twitter.com/yeghOg5nGp

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 14, 2025

Aaron Boone joined @flash17yes and @NYnellie43 for the top of the 4th inning. The first thing they discussed? Joe Torre being down in Tampa! #YANKSonYESpic.twitter.com/Q2y62Stsyk

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) March 14, 2025

JC Escarra 💪 pic.twitter.com/iJgqpmtFRg

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 15, 2025

TJ Rumfield 2-run game-tying homer in the 9th! pic.twitter.com/vSjYNjnSzI

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 15, 2025

Jesus Rodriguez hustles all the way around from second base and the Yankees have a spring walk-off pic.twitter.com/1pQH4ATz80

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) March 15, 2025

What's next

The Yankees (10-9) will spend the entire weekend south in Port Charlotte for a pair of games against the division-rival Rays on Saturday and Sunday (1:05 p.m. starts).

Mets ace Kodai Senga has become renowned for his array of pitches, including his infamous ghost fork. But the right-hander has introduced a new pitch, with an equally catchy name.

In the Mets’ 3-3 tie with the Cardinals on Friday night, Senga was on the mound against Yohel Pozo in the third inning. With the Mets up 1-0, the Cardinals were threatening with a man on second and no out when Senga threw a 63.5 mph curveball on a 1-1 count.

Pozo waved at it and fouled it back, but how slow the pitch was thrown caught the eyes of those in Port St. Lucie. 

Here's the "miracle ball" in action from Kodai Senga: https://t.co/GPCyBcZUh0pic.twitter.com/uNbjlMierh

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 15, 2025

Pozo would get the better of Senga, launching a two-run shot off an 84 mph slider to put St. Louis in the lead.

After his outing, Senga was asked about that curveball. The right-hander simply called it the “miracle ball” before a smirk came over his face.

When pressed about the pitch, the 32-year-old was reluctant to go into too much detail. The media present pressed a bit, asking if he was trying to throw a Yu Darvish eephus pitch.

Senga laughed before answering through his interpreter, “Didn’t have any thoughts. Threw it lightly and it went in the zone. So…great.”

Unlike his ghost fork, however, fans probably shouldn't expect the miracle ball to be added to Senga's repertoire.

"If it's that slow, I'm going to regret it if it gets hit," Senga said. "So I don’t know [if I'll add it]."

Friday was Senga's second spring start this year, and he was inconsistent. He pitched 3.1 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and striking out just one batter on 53 pitches. While there was a lot of traffic, Senga's lone mistake was the two-run shot to Pozo.

Despite his struggles, Senga was relatively pleased with his outing.

"Feel good. Came out of the outing healthy and was able to try out a bunch of things," he said. "It was a productive outing."

The Mets are now 8-10-3 in spring training games. The Cardinals are 8-11-2.

Here are the main takeaways...

-Kodai Senga threw 3.1 innings and allowed seven (!) hits and two runs while striking out one, walking none, and also throwing a wild pitch. He threw 53 pitches, 30 for strikes and 30 of his pitches overall were four-seam fastballs – he said afterward it was a fastball-heavy night as he hones his repertoire during camp.

-Senga gave up several hard-hit balls, including a 356-foot home run to No. 9 batter Yohel Pozo in the third inning. Senga got some help from José Siri, who made two nice running catches in center field on back-to-back plays to end the second inning. 

-Senga came out of the game with one out and a runner on first in the third inning after throwing 23 pitches in that frame alone. Righty Carlos Guzman got the final two outs of the inning. But then Senga returned to the game to pitch the fourth inning, which is allowed by spring training rules. Carlos Mendoza had said before the game that Senga would have four “ups” in the game. Senga gave up a hit to the leadoff batter in all four innings. The fourth inning started with Senga allowing a single and a double on the first two pitches, but he retired the next three in order.

-The Senga vs. Pozo at-bat had some interesting wrinkles, and came after Michael Helman hammered a double over the head of left-fielder Tyrone Taylor. The first pitch of Pozo’s at-bat was a 93.4 mile-per-hour fastball. Two pitches later, Senga threw a 63.5 mph curve. Pozo, who had not had a hit this spring prior to his homer, connected for his homer on a 3-2 sweeper traveling about 84 mph.

-Brett Baty, vying for playing time as either the second baseman while Jeff McNeil is on the mend or as a utility player, smacked a two-out double to left in the fourth inning and finished 1-for-3. Baty entered the game tied for eighth with 11 Grapefruit League hits. 

-Reed Garrett threw a 1-2-3 fifth inning and now has tossed five innings this spring and allowed no runs and just one hit. He fanned one, giving him six strikeouts against one walk. Chris Devenski and Sean Reid-Foley also threw scoreless frames and Trey McLoughlin, a 16th-round pick out of Fairfield in 2021, struck out the side in the top of the ninth.

-The Mets tied the score at 3-3 in the eighth inning when José Azocar scampered home on a wild pitch. Azocar singled and then stole second and moved to third when the catcher’s throw went awry. 

Game MVP: Juan Soto

Soto entered the night with a .905 slugging percentage this spring. In the first inning, he smacked a solo home run off righty Michael McGreevy. It was Soto’s fourth homer of camp and he had entered the game tied for ninth in MLB spring blasts. In the fifth, Soto sprinted to make a sliding catch in right field.

One inning later, he hit an RBI single to bring the Mets within one, 3-2. Soto drove in Francisco Lindor, who had started the inning with a chopper that glanced off Helman’s glove at second. Lindor never stopped running and dove into second base with a hustle double. 

Highlights

Luis Torrens got 'em 🎯 pic.twitter.com/YJb97gTl3G

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 14, 2025

ANOTHER JUAN SOTO SPRING HOMER! pic.twitter.com/vhKmCABwsy

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 14, 2025

A knock up the middle for Starling Marte pic.twitter.com/looAVs2pvN

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 14, 2025

José Azócar comes in to score and tie the game on a wild pitch! pic.twitter.com/c01QbRAzHI

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 15, 2025

What's next

The Mets hit the road to take on the Washington Nationals on Saturday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.

Giancarlo Stanton can't catch a break.

The Yankees designated hitter is already dealing with tennis elbow in both his arms, which will keep him off the roster to start the season, but manager Aaron Boone revealed that Stanton has a calf injury as well.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported Thursday that Stanton's calf ailment is "chronic" but that the elbow injuries are the bigger problem.

Stanton is back with the Yankees in camp after he had his third PRP injection on his elbows, but the team still doesn't have a timetable for the slugger's return.

Heyman did report that an optimistic estimate for a Stanton return is Memorial Day, but it's way too early to tell.

As Stanton tries to overcome his elbow issues, surgery has not been ruled out for the slugger. But the former NL MVP admitted that if he were to go under the knife, it could certainly be season-ending.

Stanton had an injury-plagued 2024 season, managing to play in 114 regular season games and slash .233/.298/.475 with 27 homers and 72 RBI. He hit seven home runs and had 16 RBI in 14 playoff games, however.