NEW YORK – Aaron Hicks has been at the receiving end for much of this season and Yankees fans jeered him again on Monday as he took to bat. However, his home run, which is the first for him this season, drew cheers giving him hope to win back fans.
A sigh of relief escaped the Yankees’ left fielder as he saw his long shot sail into the stands in right field. After failing to hit a home run in his first two at-bats of the night, the Yankee Stadium crowd booed Aaron Hicks. This has been a regular occurrence for the 33-year-old over the past two seasons, so he made sure that his third at-bat gave them something to cheer about.
Aaron Hicks didn’t lose heart
On Monday night, Aaron Hicks, who batted ninth for the Yankees, smashed a two-run homer to right field that helped New York beat the A’s 7-2 in the series opener. The veteran, who has been having some issues with his form and fielding since last season, hit his first home run of the year.
“[We’re] talking about a guy that hasn’t run from any of this,” said manager Aaron Boone. “He has been working his tail off behind the scenes, whether it’s extra hitting, extra work. He’s trying to make it happen. And none of this, I’m sure, has been easy. But he’s stood there and faced it every single day, and credit to him for continuing to grind and to see him get results now.
Aaron Hicks looked at the crowd as they chanted his name and banged his chest twice before letting out a victorious shout while he crossed home plate and scored a run. Then he walked into the Yankees’ bench, where his friends met him with big smiles and open arms.
“Everybody was excited for me to get one on the board there, especially in a game where we were hitting a lot of home runs,” Aaron Hicks said. “It was very exciting.”
In fact, all of the Yankees‘ runs were produced via home runs. Two runs were scored in the fifth inning thanks to a home drive by Oswaldo Cabrera to left field. Gleyber Torres put his side up by hitting a solo home run in the sixth inning. Two batters later, DJ LeMahieu added to the advantage with another two-run home run.
Against former Yankee’s lefty JP Sears, the Bronx Bombers blasted a season-high four home runs. The Yankees included Sears in the package they traded to Oakland in exchange for starting pitcher Frankie Montas and reliever pitcher Lou Trivino at the 2022 Trade Deadline.
During Sunday’s game, Aaron Hicks displayed some signs of improvement that could help him secure his spot on the roster for the time being. Specifically, the outfielder recorded his first extra-base hit of the season.
Yankees take a sigh of relief
Aaron Hicks’ teammate Harrison Bader admitted that there was typically a sense of relief that followed when a player is struggling and then gets a big hit or positive results.
After a strong first five innings, Nestor Cortes got into trouble in the sixth. Boone took the ball away from him because he had allowed Oakland to load the bases without recording an out. From the dugout, he saw Ron Marinaccio let a run to score on an infield single and a walk. Then, he turned a double play to finish the inning and prevent any more damage. After that, the Yankees started hitting home runs again.
When Aaron Hicks’ home run put the game out of reach, Cortes was on the bench, but he was just as conscious of the significance of the event.
“He knows it, we all know it,” Cortes said. “He’s going through a tough patch, but he’s got to stay together and we’re staying with him. I think that’s what makes us special as a group, we’re pulling for each other every time no matter how down or how up you are.”
In his initial 22 games of the season, Aaron Hicks had a .143/.213/.161 slash line and he was not playing every day. This happened just four years after signing a seven-year contract extension, which had made him the presumed left fielder of the future for the Yankees.
Now, Harrison Bader occupies this slot as he continued his impressive recovery from injury with a leadoff single in the fifth inning that paved the way for Cabrera’s first home run of the game. But it hasn’t stopped Aaron Hicks from working to keep his Yankees career on track.
Cabrera stated that they are aware of Aaron Hicks’ positive traits such as being a hardworking individual and a good person. When Aaron Hicks hit the home run, it elicited a thrilled response from everyone in the dugout as they were anticipating a moment like this.
Aaron Hicks expressed his satisfaction with hitting his first home run, saying that it is always good to get it out of the way, especially since he did it at home.
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