1. Giancarlo Stanton’s Historic Opening Day
Giancarlo Stanton’s Yankee debut was highly anticipated and he did not disappoint blasting an opposite-field home run in his first at bat. He finished the game 3 for 5 with two home runs and four RBI.
Giancarlo Stanton became just the 7th player in Yankee history to hit a pair of home runs on Opening Day.
Stanton is the first to achieve this feat in 55 years when Joe Pepitone slugged two home runs against the Kansas City Royals on April 9, 1963.
2. Luis Severino Dominates in Season Debut
Luis Severino has looked nearly unhittable in his first two starts this season. On Opening Day, he overpowered the Toronto Blue Jays with his blistering fastball and making them look foolish with his devastating slider. He finished the afternoon tossing 5.2 innings while allowing just one hit and zero runs. In his following start, Severino made quick work of the Tampa Bay Rays to improve his record to 2-0.
Luis Severino is the first SP in Yankee history to allow zero runs and one or fewer hits on Opening Day.
Luis Severino is the youngest SP to allow zero runs and one or fewer hits on Opening Day since 1940.
Luis Severino is the first Yankees SP to start the season 2-0 since Andy Pettitte started 3-0 in 2013.
3. Didi Gregorius Shines in the Rain
Derek Jeter who? Okay, Yankee fans will never forget about Jeter and everything he accomplished, but Gregorius has certainly made the transition as smooth as possible. Gregorius set all kinds of records blasting 2 home runs and 8 RBI in the Yankees home opener.
He’s the only shortstop in Yankee history with 8+ RBI in a single game.
He’s the only player in MLB History with 8+ RBI in his teams home opener.
List of SS in MLB History with 2+ HRs and 8+ RBI in a single game:
Cal Ripken
Nomar Garciaparra
Miguel Tejeda
Didi Gregorius
Not a bad list.
4. The New York Yankees Start 2-0
Okay, it is just two games. Does it mean anything that the Yankees won the first two games of the season? Probably not.
However, somewhat surprisingly, it is the first time the Yankees have started 2-0 since 2011.
Additionally, the Yankees reached the playoffs in each of the past seven seasons in which they started 2-0.
In those seven seasons, the Yankees managed to reach the World Series four times winning the championship twice.