Spencer Jones was thrown right into the fire in his Yankees debut.
The 24-year-old slugger had to face a tough Milwaukee staff headlined by ace right-hander Jacob Misiorowski over his first three games at the big-league level.
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Jones looked a bit overmatched, striking out four times in his six at-bats Friday and Saturday, but he finally delivered the elusive first knock and RBI early on Sunday.
After Jose Caballero opened the top of the second with a double, he ripped the first pitch he saw from Brewers right-hander Logan Henderson right back up the middle for a single.
The liner left the bat at a whopping 106.4 mph.
Jones celebrated at first base then pointed towards his teammates and fired-up family, sitting in the front row behind the Yankees’ dugout.
“It was super exciting,” Jones said. “I’m glad that my family was here to share that with me, my teammates were rooting me on, I got a lot of congratulations, and I was excited to be able to get a run across for the guys — just a special moment.”
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He finished the day hitless across his other three at-bats.
Despite reached base just two times in his first weekend up with the club, Aaron Boone actually liked what he saw from the free-swinger at the plate.
“He had a lot of good at-bats,” the skipper said. “Was able to get the first one today which everyone was excited about, got some decent swings off, was recognizing the zone well, wasn’t chasing, but also ran into some tough matchups.”
Despite those tough matchups, the youngster feels he’s adjusting well.
“Trial by fire is the best way to do it,” Jones said. “Getting exposed to a lot of really good arms is the best way to get your feet wet — as the days have gone I’ve settled in more, I’m starting to feel comfortable and do what I do, and moving forward I’ll be in a good spot.”
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