Anyone who stayed through this game deserves a medal. The weather for the 2018 home opener at Yankee Stadium was about as bad as it could get, while still allowing the ballgame to be played. We have lots to talk about, so let’s get to it.
The Yankees and Rays exchanged blows in the first few frames, and the game was tied going into the bottom of the third 1-1. The other writers here at Bronx Pinstripes have talked a lot about Didi batting fourth and whether that is really the best option, but the dude keeps raking. In the third inning, Didi snuck a three run Yankee Stadium special out to give the Yanks an early 4-1 lead.
Jordan Montgomery, while pitching in the aforementioned awful weather, pitched pretty decently. It was a very Pettitte-esque outing, bending but never breaking, getting timely strikeouts, and a big double play in the 5th inning. His final pitching line: 5IP 4K 4BB 2H 1ER, 80 pitches, 46 strikes. A few too many walks, but he threw a ton of changeups with good action, which he had talked about working more into his plan of attack this season. Well done. I thought Boone pulled him a little early at 80 pitches, but given the weather, probably not the worst idea.
Things took a turn in the sixth inning, as Boone opted to go for the last man in the bullpen in a three run game. Jonathan Holder entered the game and promptly served up a run and loaded the bases on four hits. Tommy Kahnle came in and tried to extinguish the fire, but yielded a two run double which tied the game, before retiring Matt Duffy on a tapper back to the mound. Tyler Wade almost hit his first career home run in the bottom of the inning, but Carlos Gomez robbed him blind and took the homer away. Not a fan of Carlos Gomez.
Tyler Austin led off the bottom of the 7th with a double into the left field corner. He’s been making the most of his opportunities so far this season, so that was good to see. Keep hitting kid. Gardner then bunted a ball to Duffy at third, who threw the ball away down the first baseline and allowed Austin to score the go-ahead run. After a Judge bloop single to center, and Stanton’s fourth K (ouch), up came today’s hero, Sir Didi. Didi smacked a high fastball into the upper deck in right field to give the Yankees an 8-4 lead. To the very necessary bat flip gif:
DIDI GRE-GLORIOUS!
HOME RUN #2 ON THE DAY!@YANKEES UP 8-4! pic.twitter.com/6nBJUwaqiU
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 3, 2018
Chants of “Didi, Didi” were heard loudly on the YES broadcast throughout the game. He also had a two RBI single in the 8th inning to give him eight on the day. Didi has eight hits so far this season and seven of them have gone for extra bases. Bonkers.
Other notes: Stanton had the ultra golden sombrero today, 0-5 with 5 K’s. Hopefully he gets mad and goes on a homer rampage. Tyler Wade had an RBI single in the first and also walked. He’s looked much more comfortable at the plate this season, even though the results have not been there just yet. David Robertson came into the game in the bottom of the 8th inning and threw a clean frame. He had a little help from Neil Walker, who made a very nice play against the netting in foul territory. Chasen Shreve got in his first action this season and mopped up in the 9th.
Tomorrow at the Stadium: Luis Severino vs. Blake Snell. First pitch scheduled for 1:05PM.
