TAMPA — This, more or less, is what it’s supposed to look like.
Juan Soto put on a laser show batting in front of Aaron Judge. Giancarlo Stanton legged out a double. DJ LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres and Anthony Rizzo made solid contact and found holes.
In what amounted to roughly a dress rehearsal for the Opening Day lineup, the Yankees’ offense looked ready for the bright lights. Perhaps to smash them, in Soto’s case.
A facsimile of the Yankees’ starting lineup — with the exception of Anthony Volpe, who had played a day earlier — took the stage and mashed eight runs in the first five innings of an eventual 9-8 win over the Braves.
Manager Aaron Boone said Sunday’s 1-through-8 “could be” the same when the regular season begins March 28 in Houston.
Leadoff man LeMahieu bounced a single in three at-bats. Soto-Judge-Rizzo-Torres-Stanton represents a top and middle of the lineup that has as high a ceiling as any in baseball.
No. 7 hitter Alex Verdugo added one of the club’s 17 hits, and No. 8 bat Jose Trevino smoked a home run in his spring debut.
“It just keeps going,” Judge said of a lineup that normally will include Volpe, though Oswaldo Cabrera batted ninth and played shortstop. “I think that’s the thing that I’m noticing now with this lineup is it just doesn’t stop after the first inning, the first couple hitters. It’s six, seven, eight — even Trevy.”
The depth might be a strength, but the meat of the order definitely is — a fact reinforced by Soto continuing what has been a surreal spring.
Batting second in front of Judge — is it too soon for lineup protection to kick in? — Soto went 2-for-3 with his fourth homer of the exhibition season, a moon shot that exited Steinbrenner Field and wound up an estimated 447 feet away on the grass that leads into Dale Mabry Highway.
“That’s one of the furthest ones I’ve seen hit here,” Judge said of the fourth-inning, three-run shot off Atlanta’s Patrick Halligan. “I’ve been trying to get on him: I said, ‘Every homer you’ve hit so far, you’ve been sprinting out of the box. You got to enjoy a couple of these.’ ”
After admiring the blast, Soto is 9-for-18 with 10 RBIs and a 1.828 OPS, somehow surpassing early expectations.
More encouragement was found at the six-hole. After Stanton had not been able to turn his noticeably new physique into noticeably different results in the first few weeks of camp, he broke through with a 110 mph double to right-center — Stanton reached second despite the ball not reaching the wall — and a bullet single into left field.
With the obvious caveat that spring games do not matter, the Yankees quickly climbed out of a four-run hole they had dug in the first inning.
“[Games are] never going to be too far away for this lineup,” Stanton said. “It’s cool to see a preview of it.”
The Astros have not yet named an Opening Day starter, though lefty Framber Valdez is the most likely option. A southpaw on the mound might mean Boone turns to Trent Grisham (who is a lefty but hits lefties well) over lefty-hitting Verdugo.
Boone acknowledged the opposing team’s starter will play a role in the lineup and said he still could tinker with the middle.
“I might play with the 4-5-6 depending if it’s left-right,” said Boone, who could boost Stanton if the slugger shows more glimpses of the star he usually has been in his career.
The Yankees scored the sixth-fewest runs in all of the majors last season, when injuries spiraled and the reinforcements struggled.
A season and a Soto later, they hope their lineup can reach heights like the one Soto admired Sunday.
“I think it’s going to make our jobs a lot easier,” said Clarke Schmidt, who was charged with four runs in 2 ²/₃ innings but watched as the deficit was erased. “A lot of times for us, I think for the starters, if we just get to the fifth inning we’ll be in line for the win at this point with how the offense looks.”