The New York Yankees took on the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday afternoon, with Deivi Garcia getting his first action of the preseason.
Garcia had a problematic 2021, making just two appearances, tallying 8.1 innings pitched. Back in 2020, the Bombers relied on Garcia far more frequently, making six appearances and posting a 4.98 ERA. He’s only 22 years old, so Garcia has plenty of time to reach his potential at the MLB level.
The Yankees will be excited about his first preseason appearance of the campaign.
Good news for the Yankees:
With the team’s starting pitching struggling to open spring training, Garcia came to play, posting two innings of near-perfect performance, allowing one hit and striking out one batter. However, he wasn’t the only young pitcher to showcase his quality, as Luis Gil, at 23 years old, picked up two strikeouts and allowed one hit over two innings as well.
The Yankees need Garcia and Gil to make strides this season, potentially utilizing them at some point to fill injury roles or supplement deficiencies in some way. Aside from the team pitching, the Yankees also recorded 12 hits and seven runs. Joey Gallo posted two hits on three at-bats, and DJ LeMahieu also scored a run and RBI (solo shot). Giancarlo Stanton homered to left field, driving in Gallo in the 5th inning.
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The Bronx Bombers are BACK: A SHOT from Giancarlo Stanton following DJ LeMahieu's solo blast extends the Yankees lead to 6.
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— YES Network (@YESNetwork) March 24, 2022
The Bombers are finally getting the hang of things after a tough few games recently, but the sign of good starting pitching is probably the biggest positive to consider.
Bad news for the Yankees:
There isn’t too much bad news from the win over Baltimore, aside from some minor considerations. Anthony Volpe struck out in his lone at-bat, making him hitless the spring so far.
Other than that, the pitching was sufficient on all levels, and the Yankees batted Baltimore around with ease. Unfortunately, former Minnesota Twins and new Yankees catcher Ben Rortvedt is still dealing with an oblique injury that will sideline him for the next few weeks. He has been participating in catching drills but simply can’t swing the bat, giving Kyle Higashioka the keys to the kingdom for the time being.