’MINE BLOWING
Gary’s fill-in keeps powering Yanks
The Yankees were 1-4, and skidding toward disaster when Gary Sanchez was sent to the disabled list. Exactly how could vanilla backup Austin Romine fill in for last year’s slugging sensation?
Well, soon enough, Sanchez may have a hard time filling Romine’s spikes.
In addition to his routinely effective game-calling behind the plate, Romine had one of his best offensive performances Saturday afternoon, driving in a career-high five runs in a 12-4 win over the Orioles at Yankee Stadium to improve the Yankees’ record to 12-2 since he took over as the team’s starting catcher.
“For however much longer it is [I start], I’m gonna keep having fun with it,” Romine said. “I never thought I’d be starting for the Yankees. I’m taking every day as a gift and I’m enjoying the hell out of it.”
Romine, who went 2-for-3, with a home run and a sacrifice fly, is now batting .300, and is 4-for-6 with runners in scoring position this year, after hitting .364 in such situations last season.
Following a second-inning sac fly, Romine gave the Yankees a 7-0 lead with a two-run single in the fourth. In the sixth, he added his second home run of the season, blasting a two-run shot to left on an 0-2 pitch from Vidal Nuno.
Prior to this season, Romine appeared in 139 games since 2011. With an opportunity he never knew would come, the 28-year-old has showcased what many never knew he could do.
“It means a lot to me because I can show what I’m worth to the team,” Romine said. “All I want to do as a backup player that gets thrust into that kind of position is do well for the team and show them that you belong and be a part of this. It’s a fun team to be part of.
“I’m having more consistency at the plate because I’m getting to play more. It’s tough to hit every five, six, seven days.”
Though Romine played in the previous three games, manager Joe Girardi wanted him in the lineup on the short turnaround because of how well the catcher has worked with starter Michael Pineda.
And it worked again.
Pineda, who allowed four runs and eight hits in 32/3 innings with Sanchez on April 5, picked up the win after allowing two unearned runs in 5 ¹/3 innings. In 25 innings with Romine, Pineda has held hitters to a .196 (18-for-92) batting average, while striking out 30 and walking four.
“He’s done a really good job with our pitching staff,” Girardi said. “He’s very bright and he knows what he’s doing back there and he understands how to call a game.”
On Tuesday, Sanchez begins his re- hab stint, and could be back with the Yankees as soon as next weekend.
Even though Girardi said Romine deserves “a lot” of credit for the team’s turnaround, the backup can’t do anything to avoid returning to the bench — deeper than it recently appeared.
“Sanchez is our No. 1 guy here, but Romine has played excellent,” Girardi said. “He could be a No. 1, too. I believe in the kid and he’s played really well.”