Ian Hamilton Starts For New York Yankees In 2nd Half Opener

Hamilton started his fourth career game for the Yankees in the second half opener against the Atlanta Braves. It will be a bullpen game for the Yankees. They were hoping for three innings from Ian Hamilton, but only got two. The Yankees lost this game 7-3 and needed to score some runs early to support Hamilton against Atlanta Starting Pitcher Spencer Strider. What a way to start the second half, with a bullpen game. Hamilton started this game because of the blister that is on the index finger of Max Fried. How many starts will Fried miss?

Lineups To Support Hamilton

This is the lineup the Braves used. They had Jurickson Profar as the left fielder, batting leadoff. Matt Olson was the first baseman, batting second. Ronald Acuna Jr. was the right fielder, batting third. Drake Baldwin was the catcher, batting fourth. Sean Murphy was the right fielder and batted fifth. Ozzie Albies was the second baseman and batted sixth. Nacho Alvarez Jr. played third base and batted seventh. Michael Harris II was the center fielder and batted eighth. Nick Allen was the shortstop and batted ninth. 

For the Yankees, Trent Grisham batted first and was the center fielder. Cody Bellinger was the first baseman and batted second.  Aaron Judge was the right fielder who batted third. Jazz Chisholm Jr. was the second baseman, batting fourth. Jasson Dominguez was the left fielder, batting fifth. Ben Rice was the designated hitter and batted sixth. Anthony Volpe was the shortstop and batted seventh.

Austin Wells was the catcher, batting eighth. Yorbit Vivas was the third baseman and batted ninth. Giancarlo Stanton pinch hit for him in the seventh inning. Oswald Peraza pinch ran for Stanto and stayed in to play third base. JC Escarra pinch hit for him in the ninth inning.

News and Notes

Starting Pitcher Luis Gil, whom the Yankees need in the worst possible way, pitched his second rehabilitation start for the Yankees’ AA affiliate. He struck out 7 in three and a third innings. Fried had Friday night circled on his calendar, the Yankees’ first game back from the All-Star break, which he expected would feature a return to the Truist Park mound for an assignment against the Braves, his former club.

With Fried unavailable, the Yankees intended to offer the start to right-hander Cam Schlittler in what would have represented the rookie’s second big league assignment. But Schlittler was scratched, too, dealing with discomfort near his right biceps that prompted an MRI during the All-Star break.

Game Reaction

Hamilton starting this game as a bullpen game is not ideal in the first game of the second half of the season. The Yankees have significant issues in their starting pitching rotation. Hamilton struggled mightily and was visited by the pitching coach in the first inning.

The Yankees were forced to bring their infield in during the first inning. Bringing the infield in makes the batter a better hitter and increases the likelihood that the batter will get hits.

In the third inning, Vivas attempted to advance to third base via a sacrifice fly. He did not slide and was thrown out by Acuna Jr. That was the type of mistake the Yankees cannot afford to make. The Yankees seemed to be trying to lose this game and seemed unprepared to start the mythical second half.

Scoring Summary

In the first inning, Olson hit a double and Profar scored. The Braves led 1-0 right away.  Then, Acuna Jr. doubled and Olson scored. The Braves lead 2-0. Albies then hit a sacrifice fly, and Acuna scored. The Braves led 3-0. In the third inning, Albies hit a three-run home run for the Braves. Baldwin and Murphy scored. It was 6-0 Braves. This is a nightmare.

In the 4th inning, Baldwin hit an infield single and Acuna Jr. scored. It was 7-0 Braves. In the seventh inning, Stanton hit a two-run double. Rice and Wells scored. It was 7-2 Braves. Stanton advanced to third on a throwing error by Allen. Later in that inning, Bellinger singled and Peraza, who had run for Stanton, scored. It was 7-3 Braves. That was the final score.

Final Thoughts

The Yankees seemed to be unprepared to start the second half and seemed to be trying to lose this game. They did a good job. It is impressive that Statonn has five runs batted in during his last two pinch-hitting appearances, as they finally scored three runs in the seventh inning. As the Yankees scored three runs in the seventh inning, it was even more disappointing that Hamilton pitched poorly.