GOLDEN GREG
Oft-injured 1B shows why he was missed in Yanks’ lineup
How greatly the Yankees missed Greg Bird during the first two months of the season didn’t exactly align with his career achievements.
The first baseman is still measured mostly by potential. His repeatedly suspect health hasn’t allowed much more.
But that potential remains incredibly powerful.
In the third game of his third partial season, Bird collected two hits, including his first home run of the season — off of Astros star Justin Verlander — in the Yankees’ 5-1 loss Monday in The Bronx.
Despite debuting in 2015, the 25-year-old was appearing in just the 97th regularseason game of his career, having missed all of the 2016 season with a right shoulder injury, and being limited to 48 games with a right foot injury last season.
Bird, who missed the f irst 47 games this season following ankle surgery, went 2-for-4, and is batting . 273 (3-for-11) since returning from the disabled list.
“His at-bats all three days now [have been encouraging],” manager Aaron Boone said. “[He’s] controlling the zone. You can just see a real comfort up there. The fact that he’s gotten some early results has been nice, but what I’ve been pleased with is really all of his at-bats have been really competitive and you can just tell he’s in a really good place.”
With Giancarlo Stanton receiving the day off, Bird batted cleanup, and provided the only evidence that the Yankees can accomplish anything against Verlander.
The Houston ace, who holds a remarkable 1.11 ERA this season, opened with six shutout innings. Then, Bird led off the seventh, and crushed a 2-2 slider to right field in his 10th at-bat of the season, cutting the Astros lead to 4-1.
It was the first home run Verlander had surrendered to a lefty all season, and snapped the ace’s 25-inning scoreless streak against the Yankees, dating to Game 2 of last year’s ALCS.
“You gotta respect the fastball. That’s the biggest thing with him,” Bird said of his approach. “He’s got a great fastball, and he knows how to use everything else.
“I just feel good and I like that. I’ll take my chances off of anyone.”
Bird, who later added a ninth-inning single off Houston closer Ken Giles, has driven in a run in each of the past two games, and demonstrated the lefty pop recently missing from the lineup.
Last fall, Bird provided it, hitting a home run in six of the final 14 games of the regular season, before adding another three in the postseason.
Now he is back, and looks like he never left.
“I’m feeling good at the plate and in the field, and the timing and all of that,” Bird said. “Just gotta stay the course. That’s the hardest thing.”