Yanks Rebound After Lost Weekend

By Andrew Rosario

 

Coming into the 2021 baseball season, after a Pandemic Covid19 2020 season in which they only played 60 regular season games, the New York Yankees did something they never did last year. They played in front of fans. Granted, the stadium that Steinbrenner built only allowed 20% capacity (roughly 10,000 fans) but the team was serenaded with Bleacher Creature chants for all of the players that took the field. The weather wasn’t picture perfect when they hosted the Toronto Blue Jays last Thursday. The Bronx Bombers were looking to win their 81st home opener when Gerrit Cole took the mound. With a loaded offense that is expected to put tons of runs on the board, one player the team needs to produce both offensively and defensively did both in the opening day loss. Catcher Gary Sanchez stepped up to the plate his very first time and blasted a home run on the first pitch he saw giving the team a short lived 2-1 lead. Cole was cruising through the first five innings striking out 8 Jays. After getting an out to start the 6th inning, Cole threw a pitch he admitted “I just want that slider back.” Toronto’s Teoscar Hernandez blasted the pitch 437 feet for the game tying home run.

 

The Yankees offense was dormant aside from Sanchez. The team struck out 13 times with Giancarlo Stanton going 0-5 (3 strike outs) on the day. Nine times they had runners in scoring position and failed to produce. “They made the pitches today, we just couldn’t break through with the big hit and had our chances,” said manager Aaron Boone. The game would come down to the 10th inning with the new rule in place that had a runner on second base to start the inning. Jays Randal Grichuk blasts a double past Aaron Judge scoring Jonathon Davis for the game winning run. Said Judge off the play, “I let the team down. That’s another opportunity we could’ve at least held them or at least caught that or cut the guy off to keep him from scoring.” 

 

Game two off the series saw Sanchez hit another home run as New York would rebound in the 5-3 win. Newly signed Corey Kluber strikes out 5 in 4 innings as the bullpen gave up only 1 run over 4 innings. Their good feelings were short lived as Toronto won the following Sunday 5-3 with the Yankees bats going cold again. They were held to only 5 hits as the top of the order went as Judge and Aaron Hicks were a combined 0-8.

 

The Baltimore Orioles came to Yankee Stadium Monday night after sweeping the Boston Red Sox three games with a combined score of 18-5 on the road. Judge had given New York a 1-0 lead hitting his first home run of the year. Stanton shook off his early season slump when he stepped to the plate in the fifth inning. O’s reliver Shawn Armstrong tried to get a fastball past Stanton who deposited the pitch 471 feet for his 8th career grand slam in the 7-0 win. Said Stanton, “There’s not anything except you watching the flight of the ball. You don’t know anything else that’s going on. It’s a very cool feeling. It’s hard to describe very specific.”

 

The Yankees continued their series with Baltimore Tuesday and Wednesday. After a day off Thursday, they travel to Tampa to take on the Rays. A team that will have a lot to say in terms of who comes out on top in the American League East.