The New York Yankees started their 2024 spring training journey on the right foot, beating the Detroit Tigers 22-10 in a typical early spring slugfest. The Bombers honored their nickname and went yard a whopping four times against the Tigers’ pitching.
Trent Grisham, Luis Torrens, Jorbit Vivas, and Spencer Jones all cleared the fence on Saturday, and each one was more impressive than the other. Jones’ blast, a solo shot in the fifth frame, left his bat at 109.2 mph and traveled a projected 470 feet (!), according to Statcast:
Luis Gil and Clayton Beeter both showed excellent fastball velocity despite allowing two runs each, and each struck out three hitters on a day in which quality pitching was in short supply.
READ MORE: Yankees’ star outfield prospect launches 470-foot homer in first spring training at-bat
The Yankees’ hitters showed power, contact, and patience all afternoon
In the second inning, Grisham started the party with a three-run home run, but Andy Ibanez made it a 3-2 game with a two-run shot of his own in the bottom of the frame.
The third inning brought three more runs for the Yankees, thanks to a run-scoring single by Torrens, a double by Oscar Gonzalez, and Anthony Volpe’s fielder’s choice.
Torrens’ homer would come in the fourth inning, and one frame later, Vivas and Jones would clear the fence to make things 9-2. Detroit would cross the plate twice in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a Colt Keith two-bagger.
An Eddis Leonard single and a bases-loaded walk by Bligh Madris in the sixth would make things interesting: 9-6, still in favor of the Yankees. But New York would score one in the seventh (on a Jeter Downs’ bases-loaded walk), fourth in the eighth (a two-run error by Wenceel Perez, a Jones’ single, and a Downs’ double), and another eight in the ninth to reach 22.
In that ninth frame, Ben Rice had an RBI single, and Jones and Jose Rojas both imitated him, but with two-run hits each. After that, Downs scored on a wild pitch, a Rice walk forced in another run, and Caleb Durbin drove in Brandon Lockridge on a sac fly.
When all was said and done, Jones was the brightest spot on the Yankees, going 3-for-3 with the dinger, two singles, and four RBI. Grisham plated three runs, homered, and walked, while Downs also drove in two, and Vivas went 1-for-1 with the homer and two walks.
For the Yankees, Nick Ramirez tossed a scoreless inning, and Dennis Santana contributed two.
The Yanks will return to play on Sunday, splitting their squad as Marcus Stroman will be facing the Philadelphia Phillies at 1:05 pm ET at BayCare Ballpark, and Carlos Rodon will be toeing the rubber vs. the Toronto Blue Jays at the same time at George Steinbrenner Field.