Spring Training for the Yankees officially began in today’s day game win vs. the Philadelphia Phillies with a score of 8-5. Curtis Granderson looked more than ready for the regular season to start as he went perfect with the bat, going 2 for 2 with a double in the 1st inning and a home run in the 3rd inning. Recently acquired Raul Ibanez earned early cheers as he drove in one run on a double in the 1st inning following Granderson.
On the other side of the ball, Ivan Nova took the mound for the Yankees to begin his sophomore season after a very successful rookie season. Nova allowed 2 runs on 1 hit and 2 strikeouts but only one of the runs was earned. The reason for this was because of shaky defense in the infield, including the 25-year old righty. Errors by Eduardo Nunez at shortstop and a poor pickoff attempt by Nova played a role in the 2 runs allowed.
Two names that could become familiar, if not already, to Yankees fans in the near future, Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances, each made appearances in today’s game. The highly-touted prospects were a bit wild though. Banuelos had a clean inning of work with three groundouts and a shaky inning of work that involved a double and two walks but he did not allow a run despite the jam he created for himself. Betances pitched just one hitless inning of work in which he walked two but escaped this without allowing a run as well.
A name that you may not be familiar with is the 27-year old outfielder, Cole Garner, went 2 for 2 today with a double and a two-run home run in the 7th inning. He was signed to a minor league contract with a spring training invitation and he certainly started on the right note.
The Yankees got the win but as we all know, in Spring Training, it is not about the wins, it’s about playing the game and preparing for the regular season.
Ryan Nakada
@adakannayr
