The Yankees blasted five home runs to beat the Detroit Tigers, 10-2, on Monday afternoon in Tampa.
Here are the key takeaways….
– Austin Wells got the Yankees on the board fast with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the first inning. After Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger struck out, Paul Goldschmidt and Trent Grisham joined in on the fun, hitting back-to-back solo homers to put New York up 3-0.
They were the only hits on the day for Wells and Grisham, while Goldschmidt added a third-inning single to go 2-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored. Grisham picked up another RBI on a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning.
– Will Warren started for the third time this spring, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits with a walk and strikeout over 3.2 innings. The two runs came in the bottom of the third inning, as former Yankee Gleyber Torres drove in the pair on a double.
Warren has impressed this spring, owning a 1.54 ERA and 0.60 WHIP over 11.2 IP with 12 strikeouts. With SNY MLB Insider Andy Martino saying the Yankees are bracing for Gerrit Cole needing season-ending Tommy John surgery, plus Luis Gil‘s injury, Warren is very much in the mix to join the starting rotation.
– Fighting for a roster spot, DH Dominic Smith drove in two runs on a double in the bottom of the third inning. Smith finished the day 1-for-2 with the two RBI. Everson Pereira, who’s also competing for the DH spot, pinch-hit for Smith in the fifth inning and drove in a run on a sacrifice fly, going 0-for-1 with a strikeout and RBI.
– Judge went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts, a walk, and run scored, while Bellinger went 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored.
– LF Coby Morales hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh, his first of the spring, to put the Yanks up 9-2. SS Alexander Vargas blasted his third homer of spring training in the eighth inning, giving NY a 10-2 lead.
Who was the game MVP?
Goldschmidt, who’s now hit two homers this spring and has five RBI over nine games.
What’s next
The Yankees will have split-squad matchups on Tuesday, as one group will head to Bradenton to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates and the other will stay in Tampa to face the Baltimore Orioles. Both games are scheduled for 1:05 p.m.
