The Yankees rose to a new level tonight against the NL Champs and tossed an 8-ball to win 8-1. The night started off quickly when the lineup put two on the board in the first off two batted balls that didn’t leave the infield. From there, they were on autopilot and absolutely shined in The People’s Ace’s season debut. The Yanks looked like a well-oiled machine and as if they were in mid-season form.
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Gleyber Torres continues to shine for the Yankees:
Nestor Cortes pitched 5.0 innings worth on the night and was efficient and on point. Cortes struck out three, gave up one run, and the typical Nestor flare was there, with a pair of custom cleats painted with his patented mustache. The bullpen followed suit, and Ian Hamilton made his debut in Pinstripes.
Loiasiga also put in his usual solid night’s worth of work, as Lasagna came in and shoved for 1.1 innings. He was followed by Clay Holmes, who was much better tonight than he was in his debut over the weekend. He shut things down in the Bronx in the ninth. The pitching was great, but the offense is where the Yankees were really rolling.
The first inning was a hot start for the Yanks as they forced Taijuan Walker to throw a lengthy three-outs needed and would let the good times roll the rest of the night. Gleyber Torres had a phenomenal game as he went 2-2 with a massive HR and walked three times. He was locked in and continues his quick start to the season.
Gleyber needed to have a hot start, and I can imagine his confidence has never been higher. He’s been one of the biggest contributors these first four games, and I imagine it should continue. Rizzo blasted a 2R homer, and Franchy Cordero smacked a bases-clearing double that was 113 MPH off the bat.
The 5th inning was a wild ride for the lineup, as they tossed 5 of their 8 runs on the board in the bottom half of the inning. They continued to roll what they did yesterday, and Hicks also made his season debut and worked a walk. It was a great night of Yankee baseball all-around, and Anthony Volpe also made a few nice plays at shortstop. He also walked twice on the night and has been showing tons of patience at the plate and aggressiveness on the bases.
The Yankees take on the Phillies again tomorrow night, and Domingo German makes his season debut. It should be another great offensive day, as thus far, the Phils are 0-4 and have the worst pitching ERA as a staff in baseball. It may not mean as much as October in April, but the games still matter. The Yanks sit at 4-1 ahead of tomorrow’s game.