DJ LeMahieu mentioned he felt “close” to clicking after Friday’s loss to the Padres, however he didn’t have the outcomes to point out for it. That modified Saturday.
LeMahieu, who entered the sport slashing .133/.188/.133 with zero extra-base hits over his final 32 plate appearances, generated the Yankees’ first two runs in opposition to San Diego on Saturday. That set the stage for Isiah Kiner-Falefa, whose walk-off single within the tenth inning off Fordham product Nick Martinez shut the door on a 3-2, series-tying, Yankees win within the Bronx.
“It feels good,” Kiner-Falefa mentioned of his first Yankees walk-off. “It was loud, so I felt like a little kid out there running around. It was a dream come true.”
Added LeMahieu: “It was just one of those at-bats, you knew he was going to get a hit.”
As for LeMahieu, he began his day with an RBI single off Michael Wacha within the first inning. Wacha, a Yankees killer, settled in for some time after that, however LeMahieu received to the right-hander once more within the seventh when he tied the sport at two with a solo house run. The liner was LeMahieu’s first longball since May 10 and his first extra-base hit since May 16, however he mentioned he didn’t change something going into the day.
“Just results were different,” LeMahieu continued. “Felt good, felt comfortable. I’ve faced Wacha plenty in my career. I kind of know what to expect.”
While LeMahieu had Wacha’s quantity Saturday, the veteran solely surrendered these two runs over seven innings. He struck out 4 and walked none.
Luis Severino, in the meantime, appeared sharp in his second begin of the season. Pitching in entrance of the house crowd for the primary time this yr, the righty held the Padres to at least one earned run over 6.2 innings. He walked three and struck out 5 whereas tallying 82 pitches.
“I thought his stuff was great,” Aaron Boone mentioned. “The velo was there, but he was really crisp, and he had a good slider. He mixed in his changeup, too. Was ahead in the count. To be as efficient as he was, too, that’s Sevy at his best right there. That’s what it looked like to me.”
Severino sounded happy together with his second begin, and he’s trying ahead to build up extra after a spring coaching lat damage delayed the start of his season.
“I feel pretty good, feel pretty healthy,” Severino mentioned. “It’s a matter of getting more pitches in.”
Severino’s one earned run stemmed from a Fernando Tatis Jr. homer within the fourth inning. It was El Niño’s second dinger of a sequence through which he’s heard loads of boos and chants of “steroids” from Yankees followers.
Severino exited within the seventh following an error from Gleyber Torres. Michael King took over from there, and Ha-Seong Kim proceeded to hit an RBI single that gave the Padres a 2-1 lead. But LeMahieu tied issues up within the backside of the inning earlier than Kiner-Falefa took care of enterprise in extras.
After the sport, Boone praised the utility man, not just for his massive hit, however for his willingness to embrace a brand new position after beginning at shortstop final season.
“You get character reveals all the time in this game, because you’re gonna face rough waters, you’re gonna face adversity,” Boone mentioned of Kiner-Falefa, who struggled final yr. “It reveals itself, and what it’s revealed is a guy that wants to go out and be part of a team, and be part of a winning team, and be part of it here and stick his nose in there and get better all the time.”
The Yankees and Padres will wrap up their East-West showdown on Sunday when Gerrit Cole takes the ball for the pinstripers.
Cole is coming off a poor outing in opposition to the Orioles, as he allowed 5 earned runs and two homers on May 23 at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees ace is 5-0 with a 2.53 ERA and 70 strikeouts over 67.2 innings and 11 begins this season.
The Padres will ship Yu Darvish to the mound, making for an thrilling pitching matchup. Darvish is 3-3 this season with a 3.67 ERA and 57 strikeouts. He’s logged 54 innings over 9 begins.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com