Ryan McMahon off to fast start with Yankees: `First impressions are usually pretty big'

NEW YORK (AP) — Two games into his New York Yankees career, Ryan McMahon has fans talking. And in this case, that's a positive.

“First impressions are usually pretty big,” he said Sunday after sparking a comeback with a tying, two-run double and some dazzling defense in a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies that stopped a three-game losing streak.

Acquired on Friday from Colorado, the 2024 All-Star went 1 for 3 and made a nifty backhand stop in his pinstriped debut Saturday, a 9-4 defeat.

After the Phillies went ahead 2-0 Sunday against Carlos Rodón on second-inning homers by Nick Castellanos and rookie Otto Kemp, McMahon grounded a Zack Wheeler curveball into the right-field corner in the bottom half.

“He looks great so far. Hopefully he continues it," Yankees closer Devin Williams said. "I’ve obviously played against him in the past and he was a good player and I’m happy to have him here.”

McMahon also singled and was hit by a pitch. He's reached base five times in two games with the Yankees.

His glove work has been even more impressive. McMahon easily fielded J.T. Realmuto's 104.3 mph grounder in the second, jumped to grab Bryce Harper's looper leading off the fourth, then ranged to his glove side for a fifth-inning grounder with two out, slid and spun and then threw out speedy Trea Turner at first.

“Three big plays that stood out to me,” Rodón said. “It’s a whirlwind for a guy that gets traded and has to figure things out. So it’s a pleasure to have him.”

McMahon made 129 errors over six minor league seasons. He credited his defense to former Rockies teammates Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story and DJ LeMahieu, who have combined for 13 All-Star selections and 14 Gold Gloves.

“When you have those three guys and you’re 20 years old and in your first big league camp, you’re going to learn a lot if you just shut up and watch and pay attention,” McMahon said.

McMahon arrived in the Bronx on Friday night following his trade from the Rockies, the team that drafted him in 2013. He took only one suitcase of clothing and his gear, and is staying in a hotel through the homestand.

His wife Natalie and 1 1/2-year-old daughter Austyn Brooke remained behind.

“We’ll figure that out, man,” he said. “My wife, she’s a rock star. She’s awesome. She’ll let me get settled a little bit and then they’ll probably come out next homestand.”

Yankees players, led by captain Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole and Giancarlo Stanton, have been working at getting to know McMahon.

“Real easy to be around. I kind of sat with him a little bit today in the locker room, just kind of shooting it a little with him and he feels, to me, he feels comfortable,” said manager Aaron Boone, a third baseman obtained by the Yankees from Cincinnati at the 2003 trade deadline.

“It’s allowing them space, allowing them to be themselves but also trying to really get to know them a little bit and making them immediately feel part of it,” Boone said.

Austin Wells hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly and Trent Grisham an RBI single against Wheeler (9-4), who tied his career high with three hit batters — including two in a row ahead of the double by McMahon, who himself was hit by a pitch in the sixth.

A smile on his face, McMahon left the clubhouse to address some of the logistics of the trade.

“I've got a lot of calls to make today, that’s for sure,” he said.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

New York Yankees' Ryan McMahon goes to second base on Austin Wells' walk during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

New York Yankees third baseman Ryan McMahon catches a ball during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

New York Yankees' Ryan McMahon sits in the dugout before a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

New York Yankees' Ryan McMahon celebrates after his two-run double during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

New York Yankees' Ryan McMahon runs after hitting a two-run double during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado was at the White House on Thursday discussing her country's future with President Donald Trump even after he publicly dismissed her credibility to take over after an audacious U.S. military raid captured then-President Nicolás Maduro.

Trump has raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in Venezuela. His administration has signaled its willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s vice president and, along with others in the deposed leader’s inner circle, remains in charge of day-to-day governmental operations.

In endorsing Rodríguez so far, Trump has sidelined Machado, who has long been a face of resistance in Venezuela and sought to cultivate relationships with Trump and key administration voices like Secretary of State Marco Rubio among the American right wing in a gamble to ally herself with the U.S. government.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was expecting a positive discussion during the lunchtime meeting and called Machado “a remarkable and brave voice” for the people of Venezuela.

The White House said Machado sought the face-to-face meeting without setting expectations for what would occur. Her party is widely believed to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro. Machado previously offered to share with Trump the Nobel Peace Prize she won last year, an honor he has coveted.

Leavitt said Trump is committed to seeing Venezuela hold elections “one day,” but wouldn’t say when that might happen.

Machado plans to have a meeting at the Senate later Thursday. Trump has called her “a nice woman” while indicating they might not touch on major issues in their talks Thursday.

Her Washington swing began after U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says had ties to Venezuela. It is part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil after U.S. forces seized Maduro and his wife at a heavily guarded compound in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.

The White House says Venezuela has been fully cooperating with the Trump administration since Maduro’s ouster.

Rodríguez, the acting president, herself has adopted a less strident position toward Trump and his “America First” policies toward the Western Hemisphere, saying she plans to continue releasing prisoners detained under Maduro — a move thought to have been made at the behest of the Trump administration. Venezuela released several Americans this week.

Trump, a Republican, said Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with Rodríguez, their first since Maduro was ousted.

“We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things,” Trump said during an Oval Office bill signing. “And I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela.”

Even before indicating the willingness to work with Venezuela's interim government, Trump was quick to snub Machado. Just hours after Maduro's capture, Trump said of Machado that “it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.”

Machado has steered a careful course to avoid offending Trump, notably after winning last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, which Trump wanted to win himself. She has since thanked Trump. Her offer to share the peace prize with him was rejected by the Nobel Institute.

Machado’s whereabouts have been largely unknown since she went into hiding early last year after being briefly detained in Caracas. She briefly reappeared in Oslo, Norway, in December after her daughter received the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf.

The industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate began challenging the ruling party in 2004, when the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, Súmate, promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado and other Súmate executives were charged with conspiracy.

A year later, she drew the anger of Chávez and his allies again for traveling to Washington to meet President George W. Bush. A photo showing her shaking hands with Bush in the Oval Office lives in the collective memory. Chávez considered Bush an adversary.

Almost two decades later, she marshaled millions of Venezuelans to reject Chávez’s successor, Maduro, for another term in the 2024 election. But ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared him the winner despite ample credible evidence to the contrary. Ensuing anti-government protests ended in a brutal crackdown by state security forces.

Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela, and Janetsky from Mexico City. AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

FILE - U.S. President George Bush, right, meets with Maria Corina Machado, executive director of Sumate, a non-governmental organization that defends Venezuelan citizens' political rights, in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, May 31, 2005. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures to supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)