Will 9 Home Run Outburst Propel New York Yankees To Victory?
The Yankees hit nine home runs last night. That outburst tied the nine home runs the team hit against the Milwaukee Brewers earlier in the year. Both performances were records. The Major League Baseball record for homers in a game is 10.
The key question is whether the nine home run outburst will propel the Yankees in tonight’s game. New York is now in the first wild card position, riding their winning streak. However, momentum probably does not exist in baseball, as momentum is only as good as a team’s starting pitcher. Do you believe the performance of the starting pitcher determines the success of a baseball team?
Lineups After 9 Home Run Outburst
The Tampa Rays had Chandler Simpson leading off and playing left field. Yandy Diaz was the designated hitter and batted second. Brandon Lowe batted third and was the second baseman. Junior Caminero batted fourth and was the third baseman. Josh Lowe was the right fielder and batted fifth. Hunter Feduccia was the catcher and batted sixth. Jake Magnum was the center fielder and batted seventh. Bob Seymour was the first baseman and batted eighth. Tristan Gray was the shortstop and batted ninth.
For the Yankees, Trent Grisham played center field and led off. Ben Rice was the first baseman and batted second. José Caballero ran for him in the eighth inning. Paul Goldschmidt came in to play first base in Dominguez’s spot. Aaron Judge was the designated hitter and batted third. Cody Bellinger was the right fielder and batted fourth. He moved to right field in the eighth inning.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. was the second baseman and batted fifth. Jasson Dominguez was the left fielder and batted sixth. Anthony Volpe was the shortstop and batted seventh. Ryan McMahon was the third baseman and batted eighth. In the tenth inning, Giancarlo Stanton pinch-hit for him. Austin Wells was the catcher and batted ninth.
News and Notes
New York’s nine-home run outburst yesterday was all the news. When the two-hour rain delay finally ended at George M. Steinbrenner Field, the team hit back-to-back-to-back jacks in the first inning. That was en route to a franchise record-tying nine home runs.
The long rain delay yesterday brings the weather tonight into question. Thankfully, rain was unlikely, and the temperatures were going to be hot. That said, in Tampa, in August, it could rain at any moment. Stanton was not in the lineup tonight. He had “lower body soreness” after playing in the field for three games in a row against the Minnesota Twins. That is a shame, as Stanton is a catalyst in the batting order.
Game Reaction
New York looked to pick up where they left off last night after hitting nine dingers. Grisham led off the game with a homer. The Tampa starting pitcher, Drew Rasmussen, has one of the best sliders in baseball, and the Yankees, before tonight, had only one extra-base hit off him.
New York was relying upon Starting Pitcher Cam Schlittler to pitch effectively in this game. Coming into the game, Schlittler has thrown the 59 fastest pitches for the Yankees this season. He was at it again tonight, throwing 98 MPH fastballs. Schlittler was perfect through six innings. He allowed his first base hit to Simpson, leading off the seventh inning. Two batters later, he walked a hitter.
Even though the Yankees got some hits and scored some runs against Rasmussen, he pitched well in this game. He threw a season high of 91 pitches in this outing. Generally, because he has a significant injury history, the Rays try to limit him to about 80 pitches.
Scoring Summary
In the first inning, Grisham led off the game with a solo home run. The Yankees were up 1-0. In the fifth inning, Wells hit a solo shot. The Yanks took a 2-0 lead. In the eighth inning, Grisham hit a home run, and New York led 3-0. It was Grisham’s second homer of the game.
In the eighth inning, Seymour hit a solo home run. It was 3-1. In the ninth inning, Feduccia hit a two-run double, and both Lowe and Caminero scored. In the tenth inning, Stanton hit a two-run home run, Volpe scored too, and New York had a 5-3 lead. Then, Wells hit a solo shot and New York took a 6-3 lead. Much-maligned Closer Devin Williams worked out of a jam. He struck out the final three batters of the game, stranding runners on second and third to secure a 6-4 win for New York.
Conclusion
The Yankees have struggled against Rasmussen. It was good that Grisham led off the game with a home run, but the club struggled to score off him after that. Once again, Schlittler had to pitch well. It seems that if the Yanks do not hit home runs, they do not win. It was very important that New York not look past this game to the looming titanic showdown with the Boston Red Sox.
