On Monday night, Aaron Judge, who turned to be the designated hitter, took two steps out of the batter’s box and hit a three-run homer to right-center field off Pirates right-hander Colin Selby. The Yankees beat the Pirates 9-2 thanks to their strong offense and Domingo German‘s good pitching.
Aaron Judge’s home run at Steinbrenner Field looked effortless. He didn’t even bother to load his swing. As he tapped his front foot and drove his hands through the zone, his left cleat never left the ground. It was his first home run in a game since he signed a $360 million contract in free agency and became the 16th captain in the franchise’s history.
“It’s normal for us now to see that,” Yankees starter Domingo Germán said. “He signed a big contract and I know fans want to come out here and see things like that.”
Those fans also got to see a blowout win under the lights on a nice evening. The Yankees won easily by putting up runs while six pitchers in pinstripes held the Pirates to only four hits. Germán started the game and threw three perfect innings with four strikeouts and one walk. He threw 43 pitches, and the only hit he gave up was a double by ex-Yankee Miguel Andjar, who was 1-for-2 and played right field for six innings for the Pirates. German was able to pitch well and get better from his first spring start, in which he gave up one earned run over 2 2/3 innings against the Nationals.
“Much better than the last one, and it has to do with the work we’ve been putting in between,” German said. “At this time in spring training, that’s what you want. You want every single start to keep feeling better and better.”
Every good game that Germán has this month makes it more likely that he will be the fifth starter for the Yankees. Boone and the team brass say that right-handed Clarke Schmidt is competing with German. German will say that he is competing against himself.
His fastball speed was in the middle of the 90s. In the first inning, O’Neil Cruz got on base when Aaron Hicks made an error in the field. The right-handed pitcher was able to get around that. The next batter, Tucupita Marcano, hit a ground ball to Anthony Rizzo, who was instrumental in getting rid of Cruz at second base. German didn’t give up a run in three innings. He only gave up one hit and one walk, and he struck out four batters.
In the second inning, when the Yankees had nine batters at the plate, they scored six runs. Hicks was the first person to score when Jose Trevino hit a single that drove in a run. The next batter, D.J. Lemahieu, hit a single that scored two runs.
In the first two innings, the Yankees bats had nine hits.
The Yankees also got another look at top prospect Anthony Volpe, who batted fifth and started at shortstop. Volpe hit a base single through the left side in his second at-bat after striking out with runners in scoring position in his first. On his third plate appearance in the fourth inning, he drew a walk. The infielder also ended the second inning with an acrobatic barehanded play across the diamond and made another excellent play at shortstop, proving that he belongs among the big guys. Volpe leaped in the second inning on a slow chopper above Germán’s head, fielding and delivering a strike to Anthony Rizzo at first in one seamless move. Volpe also singled in the victory, raising his Grapefruit League average to .353 with a 1.097 OPS.
In the sixth inning, Everson Pereira, the Yankees’ fifth-ranked prospect, hit to right. Jasson Dominguez also singled in the eighth inning, as three of the game’s best prospects contributed offensively.
Aaron Boone told during the game that Aaron Judge will play left field in the next two games after Tuesday, which is a day off. The Yankees will keep looking for ways to change up their outfield defense before the season starts.
In six innings of relief, Jimmy Cordero, Ian Hamilton, Yoendrys Gomez, James Norwood, and Matt Bowman only let in two runs and struck out six. Jimmy Cordero and Ian Hamilton, who were in the bullpen, kept trying to make the team by pitching clean innings. Boone said after the game that both of the non-roster invitees’ performances so far have opened people’s eyes. This spring, each right-hander has pitched three innings without giving up any runs and only one hit. Since Cordero is already on the 40-man roster, he may have an easier time getting a spot on the Opening Day team.
The Yankees won their seventh game in the Grapefruit League and have now won two in a row. They will play the Cardinals on Wednesday and the Red Sox on Thursday.
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