Miggy pop!
Andujar is giving Yanks all they need
BALTIMORE — Brandon Drury went 1-for-4 with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday and has been hitting well, especially over the last week or so.
As opposed to earlier in the season, however, Aaron Boone is rarely asked about Drury, who the Yankees acquired during spring training to play third base.
That’s because Miguel Andujar has been even better for the Yankees.
Andujar continued his hot streak in Saturday’s 8-5 win over the Orioles at Camden Yards. He homered in the second and added a run-scoring double in the eighth.
The 23-year-old leads the Yankees with 18 doubles, hitting eighth — right in front of rookie phenom Gleyber Torres.
“[Andujar] just continues to give us quality at-bats and some thunder at the bottom [of the lineup],’’ Boone said. “Obviously, he had that stretch when he had so many extra-base hits [earlier in the year]. He hit that low-patch there and I thought his at-bats were still competitive.” And Boone said he believes Andujar is better for it.
“The experience he’s gained has been really good,’’ Boone said. “The compete has been really good. The last week, 10 days, he’s been swinging a lot better.”
That included his first at-bat, when Andujar came up with two outs in the second inning.
After Gary Sanchez grounded out and Didi Gregorius followed with a strikeout, Aaron Hicks walked to bring up Andujar.
Andujar fell behind 0-2, but then drilled a splitter from righthander Kevin Gausman out to leftcenter. It gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead the Yankees never relinquished.
“That’s good for him,’’ Boone said. “To ride out a two-strike splitfinger out of the ballpark off a guy with a good split, that was a really good swing he put on that ball.’’
Meanwhile, Drury remains with SWB, where he’s been since May 11. Drury was optioned to SWB after finishing his rehab stint on May 14, in large part because of Andujar. His homer on Saturday was his first since May 22.
Andujar said he isn’t thinking about his future.
“I’m here and doing my job,’’ Andujar said. “I don’t control anything else or when I play. I want to stay here [with the Yankees], but I can’t control that. I just want to help and be here.”
And he admitted Andujar has exceeded expectations.
“I don’t think I did envision that,’’ Boone said of him leading the team in doubles.
Boone said he understands Andujar’s value.
“He’s been a big part of what we’ve been able to do so far,’’ Boone said.