Baseball is officially back! The Yankees have finished their opening series of the season, and there’s a lot to talk about here. The Toronto Blue Jays won the series 2-1, taking the first and final games. Here are some big takeaways from the 3-game set.
Rise of the Kraken
Much was said about Gary Sanchez following his disastrous stretch in the 2020 season. In 49 games last year, Gary hit just .147, with an OPS+ of 70. However, he got off to the best start he possibly could in 2021.
That was the first pitch he saw in the regular season. A middle-middle fastball from Hyun-Jin Ryu was deposited into the left field seats. But the flash wasn’t limited to just that home run. Sanchez also recorded a single and a walk, finishing 2/3 on the day. In addition, he threw out a runner trying to steal second base. And he kept the momentum going during the second game on Saturday.
With a home run in each of the first two games, Sanchez became the first Yankee catcher to do so since Elston Howard in 1963. Through the first three games of the season, Sanchez has recorded 3 hits in 11 at-bats. The pair of home runs are obviously encouraging, but also encouraging is the fact that he has only struck out once.
It will be a long year, of course. But Sanchez bore the brunt of a lot of criticism throughout last season and the offseason. This was the best opening series that he could have asked for, and is a great note for him to start on.
A Lack of Offense
However, besides Gary Sanchez, the Yankees struggled to get the offense going in the opening series. In the Opening Day loss, the Yanks were 0/9 with runners in scoring position, stranding ten men on base in the 3-2 loss. There were a couple terrific opportunities for the team to take the lead, but they could not cash in.
Possibly the biggest opportunity for the Yankees in the game was Aaron Judge’s at-bat in the 7th inning. Judge came to bat with the bases loaded and only one out. With the score tied 2-2, Judge grounded to third, and Cavan Biggio started an inning-ending double play. The Bombers also got the winning run to third in the bottom of the 9th, but Mike Tauchman (pinch-running for Sanchez) was thrown out at home by Biggio.
Despite putting more runs on the board in the second game, the Yankees still couldn’t seem to get that big, big hit. Jay Bruce’s two-run single with the bases loaded was the biggest hit of the game, helping the team to a 5-3 lead. However, even though they went 4/10 with runners in scoring position, the Yanks still left 12 men on base in the game.
This trend continued in the Sunday rubber match, as well. In a 3-1 loss, the Yankees mustered just five hits. The team’s only run scored on a groundout by Brett Gardner, bringing in Clint Frazier. The Yanks were 0/5 with runners in scoring position, making them 4/24 with RISP in the series (.167 average).
It’s early in the year, and the bats are still getting warm. However, it is definitely not the start that the Yankees hoped for with their offense.
The Klubot Debuts with the Yankees
One of the biggest storylines for the Yankees over the weekend was Corey Kluber‘s debut in pinstripes. The 2-time Cy Young winner signed with the team over the offseason, and there were a ton of eyes on him after throwing just 36.2 innings since the start of 2019. While his outing wasn’t lengthy, it was effective.
Kluber threw 4 innings, allowing 2 runs (1 earned), with 3 walks and 5 strikeouts. He started the fifth inning, but allowed a leadoff home run to Marcus Semien before being pulled. The man known as “Klubot” struggled with his command a bit at times, walking two in the third inning, which lead to a 2-out run scoring on an error. But flashes of the old Kluber showed at times, as well.
His breaking ball (which he exclusively refers to as a “breaking ball”) was great, and he got several big strikeouts with the pitch. Kluber worked in and out of trouble seemingly all afternoon, which drove his pitch count up (hence only pitching 4+ innings). It was an encouraging start for the veteran pitcher, who will need to be an effective arm for the Yankees this season.
A Tale of Two Pitchers
In the Sunday game, Domingo Germán made his first MLB start since the end of the 2019 season. The right-hander made a controversial return to the team this spring, and pitched well. Yet, he wasn’t able to keep that momentum going in his first regular-season start.
Germán lasted just 3 innings, allowing 3 runs. After a quick first inning, he allowed a leadoff homer to Vlad Guerrero Jr. in the 2nd, and it piled on from there. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. followed with a single, and then Randal Grichuk went deep to extend the Toronto lead to 3-0. Although Germán responded by retiring 6 of the last 8 he faced, the damage was done.
His final line was 3 innings, 3 earned runs, 1 walk, and 2 strikeouts. It wasn’t the return that he had hoped for, but the man who came in relief of him ended up stealing the show.
Michael King started the 4th inning on the mound, and ended up working into (and out of) trouble. From there, it was smooth sailing.
There has been some talk about King’s offseason adjustments, and his first outing of 2021 showed those off. King had said that he wanted to break the rotation to start the year, and while he was unable to do that, he basically got a full start in on Sunday.
The Yankees’ Bullpen: Heavy-Lifting
King dominated in his first appearance, but he wasn’t the only reliever to impress in the opening series of the year. Jonathan Loaisiga appeared in each of the first two games, and it quite literally couldn’t have gone better.
Those two perfect innings on Saturday followed a perfect inning on Opening Day. Through his first three innings of the season, Loaisiga has retired all nine batters he’s faced. He struck out four of those batters, as well.
Chad Green recorded a 4-out save on Saturday, pitching in place of Aroldis Chapman. With Chapman suspended the first two games of the year, and Zack Britton and Justin Wilson both injured, Green became the closer for the first two games. In those two games, he threw 3 scoreless innings, allowing 1 hit, no walks, and 2 strikeouts. But, these weren’t the only relievers to have success.
In total, the Yankees’ bullpen threw 15 and 2/3 innings in the 3-game series. They allowed just one run, with just one walk and 14 strikeouts. To see the bullpen throwing like this without Chapman, Britton, or Wilson, is an extremely encouraging start. At full strength, this is likely the best bullpen in major league baseball.
A Birthday Hit for Bruce
I mentioned how much the Yankees struggled to hit with runners in scoring position, but one of the team’s biggest hits came off the bat of Jay Bruce.
The two-run single made it 5-2 Yankees, and they held on for a 5-3 win in the game. As the tweet states, it was Bruce’s first hit in pinstripes, and it was a big one. The veteran is only on the team due to the injury to Luke Voit, and he’s attempting to make the most of his time in the Bronx.
He’s been impressive at first base, which isn’t his natural position. After Sunday’s game, Bruce has played just 57 games at first base. In comparison, the left-handed hitter has played 1,465 games in the outfield. But his outfield experience is still a factor for the team.
In Saturday’s game, Clint Frazier had trouble finding a ball in the sun, and ended up having it drop in front of his diving figure for a base hit. After the inning, he was seen in the dugout talking to Bruce, who appeared to be talking through the play with him. If the opening series is any indication, Bruce will be an important clubhouse presence while he’s with the Yankees.
