INSTANT RETURNS
Didi gets two hits, RBI in first game
The Yankees got back Didi Gregorius, and the rich got richer.
Before Friday’s huge first-place game against the Orioles, the Yankees activated Gregorius, who had been out with a shoulder injury. off the disabled list. The shortstop made his season debut and helped the Yankees to a 14-11 come-frombehind 10-inning win over the Orioles at Yankee Stadium that pull the two clubs into a tie atop the American League East.
“It’s always good to be back, especially when we got the win in that situation. It was an unbelievable game,’’ said Gregorius, who had missed the first 20 games with a strained subscapularis muscle suffered while playing for the Netherlands in a World Baseball Classic game.
“The team never gives up. … We’ve been like that since last year and everybody saw what we did last year in the second half. I trust these guys, I believe in these guys.”
In Gregorius’ season debut, he went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI. He also made a great play to rob Baltimore second baseman Jonathan Schoop leading off the sixth.
“Great to see him. Good to have him healthy, good to have him back at shortstop,’’ Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “I’ve looked forward to the day that Didi was to come back. Things aren’t changing a whole lot. [Ronald] Torreyes now will become what he was designed to be. … But we haven’t forgotten the year that Didi had last year. It’s good to have him back.”
Girardi slid Gregorius’ in between right-handers Starlin Castro and Aaron Judge. Torreyes, who had hit .308 with a homer and 13 RBIs in Gregorius’ stead, went to the bench.
“I tried to keep the lineup fairly similar. I think we’ve done a pretty good job of scoring runs with this lineup, and I wanted to divide the left-handers up,” Girardi said. “So [Friday] they’re first, fourth, sixth and eighth. We just moved [Greg Bird] down one [to eighth] and Judge down one as well.”
Girardi added he likely will have Gregorius sit out one game in the six-game homestand to “build him up.”
Gregorius, who hit .444 with a homer, double, two runs scored and two RBI in five rehab games for Single-A Tampa, rejected the notion there was any rust to shake off.
“I feel great. … It’s always good to be back with the boys,’’ Gregorius said. “I’m feeling good. I played five games down there and I put up some pretty good at-bats, so it’s good. I’m ready to go.”