Marcus Stroman bounced back from his worst spring start and the Yankees got longballs from Austin Wells and Cody Bellinger, as New York walked off the Blue Jays on Friday night at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Here are the takeaways…
-Stroman’s last spring start saw him give up four runs (two home runs) in 2.2 innings. The veteran right-hander bounced back in a big way for the Yanks, getting through three innings in relatively easy fashion.
The only hiccup came in the second inning when Nathan Lukes hit a hanging curveball over the right-center field wall. But aside from that, Stroman induced four groundball outs and even struck out a pair. Stroman’s final line saw him allow just one run on two hits while striking out two batters across three innings (50 pitches/33 strikes).
-On the offensive end, the Yankees got off to a quick start with leadoff hitter Wells launching a 0-2 sinker off of Yariel Rodriguez just over the right field wall (326 feet). It’s the catcher’s second home run this spring. Two batters later, Bellinger hit a homer that was the opposite of Wells’ wall-scrapper, going 384 feet with an exit velocity of 107.7 mph to put the Yankees up 2-0. It’s also Bellinger’s second home run this spring.
Wells finished 2-for-3, while Bellinger went 2-for-2.
–Oswald Peraza and Jorbit Vivas were in the starting lineup among the third base candidates for the Yankees, but neither was playing at the hot corner. Peraza played shortstop while Vivas was at second. Andrew Velazquez started at third base, hoping to make the team out of camp in his second stint with the Yankees.
Peraza finished 0-for-1 with a walk, Vivas went 2-for-2 with an RBI single after he got on top of a high sinker and pulled it up the middle to score Trent Grisham from second in the fourth inning. Velazquez went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts.
-Things unraveled for the Yankees in the fifth. The combination of Eric Reyzelman (3 ER) and Luis Velasquez (1 ER) gave up four runs on one walk and four hits, most were smoked for doubles as Toronto continued to keep the carousel going. The inning would have likely ended earlier but the second base umpire called Lukes safe sliding into second on a stolen base when it looked like his leg popped off the bag and Peraza had the tag on him. Lukes would score on the next pitch when Addison Barger doubled into deep center.
Replay is not used in spring training games.
-Aaron Judge went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. The reigning AL MVP is hitting just .125 this spring. Paul Goldschmidt also went 0-for-3 with a strikeout and is hitting .182 in camp. Dominic Smith started in left field and is looking to make the team out of camp. The veteran slugger finished 1-for-3 and is hitting .294 so far this spring.
Everson Pereira, also fighting for a spot on the roster, pinch-hit in the eighth for Grisham and launched a monstrous home run that went 406 feet (107.5 mph off the bat) to left field to tie the game at 5-5. It’s Pereira’s second home run this spring and is hitting .400 this spring.
-The other Yankees scoring came when shortstop Alexander Vargas drove in a run on a double in the sixth that deflected off of the Blue Jays’ third baseman and blooped into shallow left field. The other was in the eighth when catcher Alex Jackson singled up the middle to score Cole Gabrielson from second, and put the Yankees up 6-5.
Gabrielson would be the hero after the Yankees gave up the lead in the top of the ninth. With one out and men on second and third, Gabrielson hit a liner toward the centerfielder who dove for it, but could not come up with the ball. The ball trickled away, allowing two runs to score and the Yankees walked it off.
Highlights
What’s next
The Yankees will hit the road to take on the Houston Astros on Saturday night. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m.
Allan Winans will get the start for the Yankees while Hayden Wesneski will take the bump for the Astros.
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