The New York Yankees faced off in an inter-squad matchup consisting of a fraction of their 59 summer camp players.
Ultimately, it was the starting lineup first the reserve line up, but neither of the two looked ready for live-action. Prior to the start of the game, a storm rolled through the Bronx, forcing the tarp out onto the field. It would’ve been an interesting site to see a rain delay on an inter-squad exhibition game the represents live reps for the players.
The Yankees have waited idly by for the opportunity to get on the field, and the matchup showed us several things to keep an eye moving forward.
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Here are the two biggest takeaways from the New York Yankees exhibition game:
1.) The pitchers dominated
As expected, the pitchers dominated the first matchup against live hitters. Even the Yankees’ top sluggers were behind on pitches, due to a lack of reps during quarantine. This is a fantastic opportunity for the players to return to their previous form in spring training.
Several months ago, Giancarlo Stanton, who is reportedly healthy after straining a calf muscle before spring training began, stated that he needed about 30 at-bats to get into baseball shape.
Stanton, aside from his health issues, hit starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka in the head with a line drive over the weekend, staining the come back for the Bombers.
The inadequacy of the hitters was more a testament to the quality of the pitchers, especially youth star Clarke Schmidt, who blanked everyone he faced. He struck Gary Sanchez out on a swing and a miss, something we have become accustomed to over the past two years.
Both the starting and reserve lineups struggled to get anything going, hitting a majority foul balls or light grounders to shortstop and third-base. The only positive sign was Thairo Estrada, who hit a homerun to left field off Tommy Kahnle.