The New York Yankees haven’t had a smooth start of the 2021 season. Overall, except from a specific appearance here and there, the pitching has been good, led by an excellent performance by Gerrit Cole so far and with Chad Green showing up for the relievers.
However, the Yankees’ offense still isn’t firing on all cylinders. Several key components are currently struggling, most notably Aaron Hicks, Gleyber Torres, and Gio Urshela.
Prior to Sunday’s game, Urshela had 6 hits in 26 at-bats, and a .231/.259/.269 line, one walk and six strikeouts. Of course the sample size is small, but we are talking about a player that hit .314/.355/.534 in 2019 and.298/.368/.490 last season.
He missed Friday’s Yankees game as he was recovering from some side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine, but it appears the extra day of rest did wonders with him.
The Yankees had the best Urshela on Sunday
On Sunday, Urshela finished with three RBI and four hits, including a mammoth home run that traveled 451 feet. The Yankees had lost the previous two games against the Rays, but managed to salvage the last one, thanks to Urshela.
“It was a rough series all around. We hadn’t been able to get anything going offensively, missing that big hit,†outfielder Aaron Judge told MLB.com. “Today, we had Gio Urshela lead us from his first at-bat on. It’s always nice ending the series with a win. I wish we would have won the series, but it’s good on getaway day to get the win.â€
The best Yankees’ lineup has Urshela hitting line drives and taking advantage of his surprising pop. “I don’t try to do too much; just hit the ball as hard as I can,†Urshela said. “There’s no pressure at all. We’re trying to play ball and have some fun. That’s it.â€
Hopefully, Sunday’s game is the start of a turnaround for Gio Urshela and the New York Yankees.