With Luis Gil making his second start of the season against Bowden Francis, the Yankees were facing a bit of a challenge as they would have a bullpen running on fumes entering this rubber matchup. On the verge of winning three straight series to open the year, the Yankees wanted to make sure they started their games against AL East rivals right, and they did just that. Despite some erratic command from Gil that required the bullpen to throw over five innings, they were able to get some big outs in tough situations and the offense came alive once again.
It wasn’t always smooth sailing in this ballgame, but a huge blast from Giancarlo Stanton gave the Yankees the momentum they needed to get to 8-2 on the year.
Giancarlo Stanton’s Big Blast Lifts the Yankees to Series Win
Aaron Boone mentioned not losing faith in Giancarlo Stanton, and after being smashed by the media for such a statement, he’s the one laughing now. After Luis Gil got through the first two innings unscathed, he would lose the zone in the third inning, even walking in a run. Facing a bases-loaded jam with two outs, things looked like they would go sideways for him fast, but he was able to pull it together and get a crucial strikeout to end the inning.
Bowden Francis, who was even more dominant through his first two innings, found himself in a bases-loaded jam with two outs as well, and after walking in Anthony Rizzo to tie it, he’d face off against Giancarlo Stanton. It wasn’t just a towering blast, it was a monstrous one, the kind that wakes up the crowd and jolts you back into the game, as he launched a 110.7 MPH grand slam to give the Yankees a lead they would not relinquish.
Luis Gil matched the five-run inning with a dominant fourth but hit a skid in the fifth as a double by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. would end his day. Jake Cousins came in and allowed the run to score on a double from Bo Bichette, and after just barely navigating through that frame, the walk problems would strike again as a bloop and walk set the Blue Jays up to potentially take the lead. An error from Oswaldo Cabrera with Nick Burdi on the mound only further complicated matters, as they pulled within two runs, but Burdi would get out of it without further damage.
From that point forward, the Yankees would get three scoreless and easy innings from Caleb Ferguson and Dennis Sanatana, with some insurance runs off the bat of Oswaldo Cabrera and Juan Soto helping as well. They were able to avoid using Clay Holmes, which is important as that makes him available for the first game of tomorrow’s series against the Miami Marlins. Anthony Volpe had a strong game, collecting three hits and two steals, and both Juan Soto and Gleyber Torres reached twice as well in the contest.
It’ll be Nestor Cortes versus Jesus Luzardo, as the Marlins send out their ace in the hopes of getting past their dreadful start to the season.