Tyler Austin and Aaron Judge wasted no time in making an impact on the New York Yankees, becoming the first teammates to hit home runs in the first at-bats of their major league debuts in the same game. The bomb was the highlight of a second straight productive afternoon for Hicks, who finished the day 2-for-4 with a stolen base.
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Two days after his final game with the Yankees, Alex Rodriguez’s gear and personal belongings were still in his locker along with his nameplate and No. 13 on his chair. He lost his no-hit bid when Kevin Kiermaier reached on a bunt single to third, gave up a single to Evan Longoria before Miller hit his 21st home run over the left field fence. The others, including big-league debutants Austin and Judge, came up large today. “I’m just trying to go out there and do the job”. It remains to be seen how the Yankees will consistently get both players in the lineup since both are natural first basemen.
Rookies Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez each homered for the Yankees (60-57), who had a four-game winning streak stopped and were unable to go a season-high five games over.500. As for Austin Hicks (.198, 5 HR, 22 RBI) while he can not yet come close to lacing up Carlos Beltran’s cleats at the plate (.304, 22 HR, 64 RBI in 99 Games with the NY Yankees) he is still an upgrade defensively.
Asked why he thought so few men 6-foot-7 or taller played Major League Baseball, manager Joe Girardi offered a rather conventional theory: “I don’t know”. Two hits apiece. Each one got his home run ball back. “At the beginning of the year, I honestly didn’t think that I would be”.
“I think it was just the fourth inning (that was bad) today”, Tanaka said. NY won 2-1 in its first victory with just one hit since July 1914. That home run, the three-run home run, that was very unnecessary. Castro has had a trying season, but he does have an OPS over 1.000 during his past eight games. Aaron Hicks has homered in back-to-back games for the first time this year.
Rodriguez hit.200 with nine homers and 31 RBIs for the Yankees this season. Austin and Judge would match – and then surpass – them, and all it took was their first two at bats. “Tough to grip the ball, but I don’t like to make excuses like that”.
The Yankees called up both prospects from Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday and inserted them into the starting lineup.
RHP Luis Severino (1-7) starts the series finale for the Yankees on Sunday, when Mariano Rivera’s Monument Park is unveiled.
The six-time All-Star had a tumultuous tenure in Washington that included him grabbing National League MVP Bryce Harper by the throat during a dugout altercation in September. It’s okay, though, we’re going to do the heavy lifting for you each morning, and find the things you need to see from within the SB Nation baseball network, as well as from elsewhere.
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For the first time in Yankees franchise history, five players age 26 or younger hit home runs Saturday. There are guys we feel are going to help us.
