The New York Yankees have struggled this spring in several areas, specifically, their starting pitching. Against the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday, the Bombers fell 10–9, showcasing elite offensive play but failing to hold down Toronto with their pitching.
Michael King got the start for the Bombers, allowing four hits and three earned runs over 2.2 innings. King also gave up two homers, one apiece to Josh Palacios and Cavan Biggio.
The Yankees are now 2–6 this spring, which is completely irrelevant given the starting lineup has been shifted daily, but the pitching has been quite lackluster, which could end up being problematic to start the year.
Good news:
The good news revolves heavily around the Yankees hitters, with Giancarlo Stanton, Joey Gallo, Micheal Andújar, and Rob Brantly all hitting homers.
Stanton seems to be finding his swing alongside Gleyber Torres, which is a great sign ahead of opening day on April 7. New Yankees hitting Coach Dillon Lawson has done a tremendous job getting his guys into form in just a few days after the lockout ended.
This spring, Stanton is hitting .625 and Gallo .364, recording three RBIs in the loss. Last season, the Yankees bullpen stepped up big, supplementing a ton of deficiencies. However, the offense went quiet toward the end of the season, forcing them to settle for a playoff game at Fenway against the Boston Red Sox.
While the pitching was a bit spotty, Lucas Luetge did have an impressive outing, striking out two batters and allowing just one hit over 1.1 innings. Chad Green struck out a batter and got out of a single inning, and Wandy Peralta also struck out three batters, escaping a potential dangerous situation after giving up two hits in the 5th inning.
Bad news:
The bad news starts with Michael King and ends with Reggie McClain. King, as stated above, allowed four hits and three runs in just 2.2 innings. The Yankees offense picked up the slack, but Vinnie Nittoli entered the contest in the sixth inning, giving up three hits and four earned runs before McClain gave up three runs in the seventh.
Luckily, the team’s primary relief options performed well, pitching three scoreless innings. That was the best sign for the Yankees pitching on the day, but their depth was abysmal, which is something to be aware of.