NEW YORK — The multicolored strobe lights were flashing. “How We Do” by The Game was playing over the clubhouse speakers. It was clear that moments before reporters walked into the Yankees clubhouse, players had been celebrating.
Understandably so. With a convincing 6-0 win over the Giants on Sunday, they had just snatched their first series victory of the season. They did it thanks to some familiar faces, as Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton each homered. And they relied on rookie Jhony Brito, who struck out six, walked one and gave up just two hits over five innings in his major-league debut.
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Here are four takeaways from the Yankees’ first series:
Power surge
The Yankees clubbed seven home runs in their first three games. It was the fifth time in franchise history they had hit multiple home runs in each of the first three home games of a season. Judge and Stanton had two bombs apiece in the series. On Sunday, they both homered, and the Yankees improved to 29-2 when Judge and Stanton homer in the same game. While Judge’s third-inning solo shot off Ross Stripling was impressive at 392 feet and 111.4 mph, Stanton outdid him with his solo shot in the same frame. Stanton’s blast traveled 117.8 mph and went a whopping 485 feet, over the batter’s eye — his second-longest home run since 2015, the start of the Statcast era. “G’s weird, man,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Stanton’s power. The Yankees outscored the Giants 18-7 in the three games. And how about a Judge fun fact? He has hit 222 homers in 732 career games, which ties Ryan Howard for the most blasts in that span in MLB history.
GIANCARLO STANTON 😳
4️⃣8️⃣5️⃣ feet of absolutely sledgehammered.
🎥 @Yankeespic.twitter.com/AKmhMCsTlz
— The Athletic MLB (@TheAthleticMLB) April 2, 2023
Volpe’s speed
Anthony Volpe was easily the highlight of the series. The top prospect, who made his big-league debut on Opening Day, looked calm and collected whenever he took the field. At shortstop, he was steady. At the plate, he had multiple competitive at-bats. He went just 2-for-9 (.222) and is still waiting on his first home run and RBI. But he wreaked havoc on the bases, stealing a trio of bags and scoring twice. He also drew a pair of walks. “Not surprised,” Boone said of Volpe’s work on the basepaths. “It’s one of the things he’s excellent at. He’s an elite base runner. He’s not a burner. He’s got good speed. But he’s just a special base runner. Does his homework. Stays under control.” It’s been exactly a week since the Yankees told Volpe that he would be their starting shortstop. He hasn’t done anything that should make them question their decision.
Two shutouts
Clarke Schmidt (3 1/3 innings, three runs allowed) wasn’t great in Saturday’s loss. But ace Gerrit Cole (six scoreless innings, 11 strikeouts) and Brito bookended his outing with big-time performances. A longtime National League scout who was in attendance for Sunday’s game was familiar with Brito. “I’ve seen him good,” the scout said, “I’ve seen him terrible. This is the best I’ve seen him.” Boone lauded Brito’s poise. “He kept pounding the strike zone — had good stuff with his fastball, both four- and two-seam and that really good changeup,” the manager said. “He was able to land the breaking ball enough for strikes to get back into the count. But more of what we’ve seen: Very at ease out there.” The Yankees are going to need Brito to pick up the slack at least a couple of more times before Luis Severino (lat strain) or Carlos Rodón (forearm strain) return from the injured list. It was the first time in Yankees history that they had recorded two shutouts in the first three games of a season.
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Looking ahead
The Yankees will turn to Nestor Cortes on Monday night against the Phillies, who feature as tough a top of the order as any team in baseball with Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto. Cortes seems to have recovered from a hamstring strain that held him back at the start of spring training and kept him out of the World Baseball Classic. He is looking to prove that his breakout season wasn’t a fluke. In 2022, Cortes went 12-4 with a 2.44 ERA, and he made 10 starts with six or more innings pitched and one or fewer runs allowed. … Boone said that it was “likely” that Aaron Hicks would get his first start of the season Monday. The Phillies will start righty Taijuan Walker. Hicks is 4-for-11 (.364) with a home run in his career versus Walker. … It’ll be interesting to see if the Yankees give Judge his first off day of the season Wednesday, heading into Thursday’s off day. Often, when Judge gets a day off, it’s followed by an off day so he’s off two days in a row.
(Top photo of Aaron Judge: Seth Wenig / Associated Press)
