Aaron Judge made his long-awaited spring training debut and picked up where he left off last season, driving in two runs to help lift the Yankees to a 9-3 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday afternoon at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Here are the takeaways…
-Judge played in his first game since Game 5 of the World Series. After playing more games in 2024 than he did in any of his other pro seasons, manager Aaron Boone felt it was necessary to give the team’s captain a breather this spring before he got back in the batter’s box, and it looked like it worked.
After the right-hander struck out looking in his first at-bat, he made Houston pay in the third. With men on second and third and one out, Judge lined a high fastball from lefty Bennett Sousa into left field to drive in a pair and give the Yankees a 3-1 lead. If it wasn’t spring, Judge would have likely been walked, but Judge got an opportunity to hit with runners in scoring position and cashed in.
Judge finished 1-for-2 with the two RBIs.
–DJ LeMahieu also made his spring debut Saturday. LeMahieu is battling to be the starting third baseman and is looking to bounce back from an injury-plagued 2024. The veteran infielder started as the team’s DH and did not look great. In his first at-bat, LeMahieu struck out swinging on four pitches and then flied out in his second. He went hitless in his two ABs.
–Ben Rice is looking to make the Opening Day roster, potentially as the backup catcher. He started behind the plate Saturday and showed his power in his second at-bat, putting a charge into a slider, lasering it over the right-field wall. The home run had an exit velocity of 113.3 mph, the hardest blast he hit all of last season at any level.
The left-hander finished 1-for-3 with a strikeout.
Rice’s home run wasn’t the only one from the Bombers. Prospect George Lombard Jr., who started at third, got the Yankees scoring started in the third with a 414-foot blast, his first this spring. Lombard Jr., 19, won’t make the roster but his blast shows why many publications have him as one of the top Yankees prospects.
The youngster finished 1-for-2 with that blast.
-The Yankees are looking for back-of-the-bullpen arms, especially with injuries to Jake Cousins and Jonathan Loaisiga still recovering. Two potential arms showed their stuff on Saturday. Yerry De Los Santos was dominant, striking out one in 1.2 perfect innings. Yoendrys Gomez was solid as well, allowing just a walk in 0.2 innings.
-Three projected Opening Day starters (Anthony Volpe, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Jasson Dominguez) were in Saturday’s lineup. Volpe and Chisholm started another game together in the middle infield, but Chisholm was the only one to get a hit. The second baseman went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a strikeout out of the leadoff spot Volpe struck out all three times he came to bat.
Dominguez went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts. The positive with Dominguez was that there were no odd plays or tracks in left field on Saturday.
-The Yankees would pour it on with a five-run seventh inning. Jesus Rodriguez hit an RBI single before Cole Gabrielson hit a grand slam to cap off the Yankees scoring.
-The lone Astros runs came off a Jeremy Pena single in the third, a Luis Castro ground out in the seventh, and Cam Smith scoring on a wild pitch by Kervin Castro in the ninth.
What’s next
The Yankees travel to Venice, FL to take on the Atlanta Braves on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.
Marcus Stroman is set to take the mound for the Yankees while the Braves will send out Reynaldo Lopez.
Read the full article here