Randy Vasquez and the Yankees knew that the Padres’ lineup would take a look at the 24-year-old pitcher in his main league debut Friday. But Vasquez almost handed with flying colours — till Juan Soto bought ahold of a cutter within the fifth inning.
With a runner on first, Soto drove the pitch 432 ft at 114.1 miles per hour. The second-deck deposit began the scoring in a 5-1 series-opening win for the Padres.
Still, Vasquez exited to applause a couple of batters later, as he threw the ball properly earlier than Soto went deep.
With simply 9 begins of Triple-A expertise, Vasquez appeared comfy on the mound at Yankee Stadium, totaling 4 hits, two earned runs, three walks and 6 strikeouts over 4.2 innings and 84 pitches. He additionally hit a batter.
“He threw the ball well,” stated bench coach Carlos Mendoza, who crammed in for suspended supervisor Aaron Boone. “First outing within the large leagues, Yankee Stadium, Friday evening crowd, in opposition to a reasonably good lineup. I believed his physique language, his mound presence was good.
“I’m pretty sure he grew up watching those guys like [Fernando Tatis Jr.] and Soto, and now he’s here competing against those guys. Overall, I thought he handled it really well.”
It seemed as if Vasquez, a Dominican native like Tatis Jr. and Soto, was in for a tough debut when he walked two within the first, however he escaped bother and settled in for a couple of innings after that. Vasquez, pitching within the first large league sport he ever attended, carried out in entrance of cousins, uncles and his grandfather, who celebrated his birthday on Friday.
“Really, really, really great feeling going out there and warming up and getting ready for the start,” Vasquez stated. “I took a moment and I looked around, and you can see how majestic Yankee Stadium is. So many thoughts came into my mind at that moment, and I just thanked god for this opportunity, and my family, who helped me so much along the way to get here.”
As anticipated, the Yankees despatched Vasquez again to Triple-A after the sport. He solely made one large mistake, however the Padres weren’t achieved with the second deck. After Soto went to proper area, Tatis Jr. took care of the left aspect along with his personal two-run missile off Ron Marinaccio within the sixth.
Vasquez solely made one large mistake, however the Padres weren’t achieved with the second deck. After Soto went to proper area, Fernando Tatis Jr. took care of the left aspect along with his personal two-run missile off Ron Marinaccio within the sixth.
Tatis Jr., who heard “steroids” chants from the Bronx trustworthy within the first inning, admired the shot earlier than circling the bases.
“Probably,” Aaron Judge stated when requested if the group’s jeers motivated Tatis Jr. “I’m not too sure. That’s probably a better question for him, but I think he was locked in. He was ready to go.”
The Padres added one other run within the ninth when ex-Yankee Rougned Odor picked up an RBI single off Ryan Weber.
The Bombers’ offense, in the meantime, had a tough time with Joe Musgrove. The right-hander went 6.1 innings whereas holding the Yankees to 1 run. He additionally surrendered six hits and struck out six batters with out strolling any.
“His ball was moving all over the place,” stated DJ LeMahieu, who picked up a single Friday however is hitting .133 with zero extra-base hits since May 17. “When he’s on, he’s pretty good. He threw the ball well against us.”
The Yankees scored their lone run off an Anthony Rizzo groundout within the sixth. Friday was the offense’s second consecutive sport with only one run, and Judge made certain Vasquez knew the loss wasn’t the younger pitcher’s fault.
“I told him after the game it’s on us as an offense not getting you a couple runs when you’re going up against a lineup like that,” the captain stated.
The Yankees at the moment are on a three-game shedding streak. They’ll look to snap that on Saturday when Luis Severino makes his second begin of the yr.
The righty made his 2023 debut on May 21 in Cincinnati after struggling a lat damage late in spring coaching. Severino pitched properly in opposition to a awful Reds group, permitting one earned run over 4.2 innings as he continued to construct up on the main league stage.
Michael Wacha, a Yankees killer, will begin for San Diego. The veteran, who used to pitch for Tampa Bay and Boston, owns a 3.02 ERA throughout 50.2 profession innings in opposition to the pinstripers.
Wacha has a 3.58 ERA after 9 begins this season.
Sunday’s finale options the perfect pitching matchup of this collection, as Gerrit Cole will face Yu Darvish. Cole has a 2.53 ERA via 11 begins, whereas Darvish has a 3.67 mark after 9 begins.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com
