Don’t look now, but the Yankees are heating up.
After their worst start to the season in twenty years, the Yankees have quietly gone 5-2 over the past calendar week, and with a 7-3 win Thursday night, they’ve taken three of four from the world champion Royals in the process. The Yankee offense continued their mission to make up for a lost April, scoring six-plus runs for the fourth time since Saturday. The team added three more home runs to their ledger courtesy of Kansas City’s Ian Kennedy.
The team got starter Nathan Eovaldi some support early when Starlin Castro drove his fourth home run of the season into the right-field stands in the first, making it 1-0 Yankees. Chase Headley (finally) joined the party the following inning when he notched his first extra-base hit of 2016, an opposite-field two-run home run. The Royals would battle back with a pair of runs in the fourth, highlighted by a monster 422-foot homer from Alex Gordon. In the fourth, Didi Gregorius would erase the Royals’ damage when he hit a dinger of his own, re-extending the lead to three.
Eovaldi was no great shakes but performed adequately enough, pitching five innings and allowing three runs on eight hits. The bullpen stole the show from the sixth on, combining for four shutout innings and allowing just one baserunner. Another two-run rally by the offense in the seventh inning ensured that we wouldn’t get our first taste of a Betances-Miller-Chapman endgame, as Chasen Shreve ultimately came on to close out the ninth. Fittingly, it was Chase Headley making a gem of a defensive play to seal the series.
The Play: Didi’s 2-run dinger in the fourth (+.183 WPA)
After the Royals battled back to make the game 3-2 in the fourth, the Yankee offense set out to undo the damage. After Carlos Beltran drew a one-out walk, Aaron Hicks grounded into what looked like a potential double play. Hicks beat the throw to first though, extending the inning for Gregorius. Didi deposited a ball 384 feet away in the right field bleachers, giving the Yankees a 5-3 lead.
Top Performers
Yankees: Starlin Castro (2 for 4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI)
Royals: Alex Gordon (2 for 4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI)
Notes
-Mark Teixeira returned to the lineup after missing two games with neck spasms. He continued his rough start at the plate with an 0 for 4 day and three strikeouts, though he contributed a couple of nice plays defensively.
-Before the game, the Yankees recalled LHP Tyler Olsen for the bullpen, optioning Ben Gamel to Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Olsen made one appearance with the team this year, on April 15 where he gave up two runs in 2 and 2/3 innings.
-Alex Rodriguez (hamstring) hit off a tee and did some running before the game. He remains optimistic that he’ll return to the team when eligible, but there are no plans for a rehab assignment just yet.
The Quote
“Chase is loved in that clubhouse. I think that guys appreciate how he goes about his business and how hard he works. He never makes any excuses. He’s one of the favorites in the clubhouse.” -Joe Girardi on the team’s reaction to Headley’s homer
The Highlight: Chase gets extra bases
It was a long time coming for Headley, who sent this Ian Kennedy pitch to the opposite field in the second inning to finally get the monkey off his back. The homer left Headley’s bat at 99 mph and traveled 356 feet. Not exactly a moonshot, but I suspect he’ll take it anyway.
Up Next
The Yankees will begin a three-game series to wrap up the homestand against the Chicago White Sox, who boast the best record in the American League at 23-12. The offense will have their hands full, facing lefty ace Chris Sale who has posted a 1.79 ERA and struck out 47 batters in 50 and 1/3 innings this year, winning all seven of his starts. Luis Severino will take the hill for New York, coming off a start against Boston in which he posted a season-high nine strikeouts but also surrendered three long balls in 6 and 2/3 innings. Game time is 7:05 pm.
Lead photo: Anthony Gruppuso / USA Today Sports