Aaron Judge hit a homerun in his first at bat of the new season — and his first at bat as Yankee Captain — and Gerrit Cole pitched 6 shutout innings, striking out 11 to set a new record for opening day Yankee starters.
Both guided NY to a 5-0 win over the Giants at a cold (40+ degree) but sunny Yankee Stadium on a Thursday afternoon.
Not a bad way to start the year.
Gleyber Torres added a 2-run bomb in the 4th to make it 3-0 NY, and DJ LeMahieu and Judge singled in runs in the 7th for insurance.
“It was cold,” said Gerrit Cole afterwards. “Just tough to feel the hand. I didn’t think my command was great all day. I did make some good pitches in good situations. But I thought that Trevi (catcher Jose Trevino) was using what we had really well; and he was locked in, giving us the most margin for error with the pitches that he was calling.”
“And obviously it was nice to get a lead right out of the shoot with Aaron,” added Cole. “To be able to attack in the middle of the strike zone, and we continued to tack on from there so I just tried to remain as efficient as I could.”
1. Judge Starts Off Where He Left Off
In the bottom of the 1st inning, Aaron Judge took a strike and then launched the 2nd pitch from Giants’ starter Logan Webb over the centerfield wall for a 1-0 Yankee lead. Like last year all over again.
Somebody call @FDNY 🔥 pic.twitter.com/5uPqKhFAQc
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 30, 2023
The Giants’ centerfielder who tried to catch up to the ball in vain was Mike Yazstremski — 31-year-old grandson of Carl Yazstremski, who is now in his 5th year with San Francisco.
2. Cole Brilliant
And then Gerrit Cole took over — ripping through the cold but sunny afternoon with high heat: 6 innings, 3 hits, 11 strikeouts, 2 walks.
Cole turned it up to 11 🔊 pic.twitter.com/O0X1pgOV80
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 30, 2023
3. Torres Bomb
In the 4th, Josh Donaldson got a one-out single and Gleyber Torres hit a 378-foot homer to right center for a 3-0 Yankee lead.
Rock-a-bye Gleyby 👋 pic.twitter.com/cf0AUqhGMW
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 30, 2023
4. LeMahieu & Judge Insurance
Webb left in the 7th after walking Torres leading off. Jose Trevino followed with a 1-out single, and then with 2 outs (after Anthony Volpe struck out) — DJ LeMahieu added insurance with a 2-out RBI single, and Aaron Judge followed with a bloop hit to center to drive in another run and make it 5-0.
That'll work. pic.twitter.com/l2UIOuTk8q
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 30, 2023
5. Bullpen Brilliant
Wandy Peralta and Jonathan Loaisiga combined on a shutout 7th, and Ron Marinaccio pitched a shutout 8th and 9th — allowing 0 hits and striking out 3.
Painting by Ron – Circa March 2023🖌️🖼️ pic.twitter.com/rMm3iGWqbm
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 30, 2023
6. Volpe First Game
Anthony Volpe started at shortstop for his first major league appearance. Wearing #11 — he was 0-2 with a walk and stolen base. Volpe also looked sharp in the field — as he did throughout Spring training.
Molto Bene🤌 pic.twitter.com/Cx40nrlU9O
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 30, 2023
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