The New York Yankees will roll with veteran star Alex Verdugo to start in left field after he put forth a scintillating performance in Game 1 of their American League Division Series against the Kansas City Royals on Saturday.
Verdugo went 2-3 at the plate including a game-breaking RBI single to left field in the bottom of the seventh inning that broke a 5-5 tie and gave the Yankees a 6-5 lead that they’d hold onto the rest of the way. The 28-year-old has bounced back nicely after a late-season slump threatened his job security in the Yankees’ order and starting lineup in the outfield.
Yankees’ Aaron Boone praises Alex Verdugo after clutch single & big play in left field
Per Yes Network, as a result of his heroics, Yankees manager Aaron Boone had this to say in his post-game press conference about his decision to start the eight-year veteran in Game 1, which also laid a pretext for his ensuing decision to keep him in that role for Game 2, as MLB.com’s Brian Hoch reported:
“Just trusting that he’s going to be ready for the moment, and his experience and his track record. And again, I know that it’s been a little bit of a up-and-down tough second half for him offensively, but the guy is a good hitter. I mean, it doesn’t mean he’s not going to to hit moving forward,” Boone said.
And man, I forgot to mention, that play he made sliding, I mean, that’s as tough a chance you’re going to have as a left fielder with that ball slicing like that on the run. That’s easy to get handcuffed and mess that play up. But you know, great play there and obviously some really good at bats.”
Verdugo is inching closer to entrenching himself as the starter over Jasson Dominguez
Verdugo touched all of his bases, and not only on the physical bags during the affair. He put points on the board, came through in the clutch, and provided New York with noteworthy production in the outfield.
He will now get the nod in left field over top prospect Jasson Dominguez as the Yankees look to take a convincing 2-0 lead over the Royals and get one step closer to the ALCS. Across four career postseason games, the Arizona native has delivered seven RBIs and runs, has been walked six times, and owns a show-worthy .333 batting average and .878 OPS.
It’s that type of efficiency at the plate, coupled with his strong glove that could help fuel the Yankees to a win in Game 2 and eliminate any debate over who should man the left field slot throughout the rest of the team’s postseason run.
