The Yankees‘ third game of spring training, Sunday’s 4-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers, featured hits by Cody Bellinger and Jazz Chisholm Jr. while Jasson Dominguez struggled defensively.
Bellinger picked up where he left off from this past Friday’s 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, which was a 1-for-2 debut, singling to right field with two outs in the first inning. Batting third and starting in center field, Bellinger flew out to right field to end the third inning. Alexander Vargas replaced him in center field before the top of the sixth inning.
Chisholm rebounded from an 0-for-2 beginning to 2025 two days ago, following a first-inning lineout to center field with a third-inning single on a line drive to right field. He led off and started at second base before giving way to Andrew Velazquez in the top of the sixth inning.
Dominguez, who batted cleanup behind Bellinger, posted an 0-for-2 afternoon with an inning-ending flyout to center field in the first and a 5-3 groundout to start the top of the fourth. Defensively, Dominguez — the starting left fielder — lost a fly ball in the sun with one out and two on midway through the third inning.
The play went down as a single by Colt Keith, but Dominguez’s misplay was obvious — the fly ball fell to his left. He picked up the ball at the warning track and fired the ball into shortstop Anthony Volpe, though, whose relay throw to catcher Alex Jackson caught Jahmai Jones out at home plate and prevented a run.
Manager Aaron Boone was asked about Dominguez’s defense during an interview with YES Network in the top of the fourth inning:
“Belli could play anywhere any day, but he’s just so good in the middle of the diamond that I want to try and use that,” Boone said of Bellinger. “And then because [Trent Grisham] then factors in. So, on the days Grish is playing, I can move him to center and then Belli plays the open position. I don’t want to necessarily get in the habit of moving Dominguez back and forth — so, if Grish is playing, then I bump Dominguez over to left. I want to exhaust the workload in left field right now for Jasson.
“He’s done a really good job. You know how it is in Florida. We’ve seen our first two games — not us, but the other two teams have misplayed a sun ball. It’s going to happen. I feel like there’s no better place to kind of cut your teeth in positions for outfielders as there is in spring training. So his work’s been really good. He’s moving there really well. He’s handling the different balls off the bat — the slice, different spins off ball — really well.
“That was the case where, obviously, he just couldn’t get it out of the sun. But it’s something that I’m paying attention to, and we’ll do what we have to do as everything unfolds.”
Dominguez, 22, is set to be the Yankees’ left fielder while Bellinger (center) and Aaron Judge man the other two spots.
“I think that’s the corner outfielder anywhere,” Boone said of the perceived toughness that comes with the corner spot at Yankee Stadium. “We say, a lot, ‘in Yankee Stadium.’ In Yankee Stadium requires a better athlete with more speed because there’s more ground to cover. The position doesn’t necessarily change with the reads off the bat and everything like that. He has the athleticism to do it. It’s just going to be getting used to being in the corner.
“Again, he’s still a very young man and has had injuries already in his career that he doesn’t have a ton of experience really anywhere compared to as many years as he’s been at it now.”
