by Paul Semendinger
June 1. 2022
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About Last Night:
The Yankees offense, which over the previous three games scored a combined five runs, woke out of its slumber last night in a big fashion as they put up nine runs to crush the Angels.
As the saying goes, the Yankees scored early and often putting four runs on the board in the first inning, one in the second, two in the sixth, and two in the eighth. The only run the Angels scored came in their half of the seventh inning, and by then the Yankees' win seemed all but secured.
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People say games are not won in the first inning, but maybe, just maybe, sometimes they are. The Angels, who are having a solid year, have hit a rough patch. Heading into last night, they had lost five consecutive games. In the first inning, Shohei Ohtani hit a deep would-be homer to centerfield. Aaron Judge went back to the wall, leaped, and took the homer away, seemingly effortlessly. The next batter, Mike Trout, struck out to end the inning.
Following that letdown, the Yankees pounded the Angels' starting pitcher, Noah Syndergaard for four runs in their half of the first. The big hits there were Anthony Rizzo's RBI double, Gleyber Torres' RBI double, and Matt Carpenter's two-run home run.
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The Yankees don't seem to score much when Jordan Montgomery pitches, and the bullpen seems to blow a bunch of wins for him as well, but neither thing happened last night. Monty allowed just one run over seven innings. It took until the last day of May, but he won his first game of the year.
Quick Stats:
Matt Carpenter has two hits as a Yankee. They're both home runs.
D.J. LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres, and Joey Gallo had two hits each.
Jose Trevino had three hits (a career high). He also drove home two runs and scored two.
Jordan Montgomery allowed just four hits over seven innings. HIs ERA for the season is 3.04.
The nine Yankees runs were the most they scored in a game since scoring ten runs on May 13 at Chicago.
The nine runs, were the most the Yankees scored at home since April 28 against the Orioles.
Noah Syndergaard has allowed 20 runs this year. 12 have come in the first inning.
Shohei Ohtani's first five hits against the Yankees were home runs. Last night he doubled.
Player(s) of the Game:
Jose Trevino had a huge day. He hit his third homer of the year. He picked off Matt Duffy at first base to end the first inning. He had an acrobatic avoidance of a tag at home to score a run. And he called a great game. Trevino is batting .263 on the season. He's not an automatic out and seems to be the Yankees' best choice at catcher.
Better to Forget:
Kyle Higashioka is batting only .164 with no homers. His days as the starting catcher might be over. More, his days as a big leaguer are also in jeopardy. My Take:
It is always great to win the first game of a series. The Yankees are in a tougher stretch of the season now playing higher quality teams (for the most part). Many big name players are still injured and out of the lineup, but they still put up nine runs. If messages can be sent in baseball, the Yankees sent one last night with this decisive victory.
Next Up:
Nifty Nestor Cortes takes the mound tonight for the Yankees against Reid Detmers. Game time is 7:05 p.m.
