LO’ & BEHOLD
ROOKIE WINS MLB DEBUT, SANCHEZ BUSTS OUT TO FUEL YANKS
Even before Jonathan Loaisiga made his major league debut Friday night, Aaron Boone raved about the right-hander’s “presence” and said he didn’t seem to get rattled easily.
That belief was put to the test when the 23-year-old faced the Rays despite never having pitched above Double-A.
Loaisiga then loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth with the Yankees up by a run.
Pitching coach Larry Rothschild went to the mound with a simple message for the right-hander.
“He told me to breathe,’’ Loaisiga said through an interpreter after he tossed five scoreless innings in a 5-0 win. “Take it easy.”
The visit paid dividends, as Loaisiga responded by striking out Christian Arroyo to end the only real scoring threat the Rays had in The Bronx.
A solo homer from Didi Gregorius in the third — his third home run in as many games — provided a 1-0 lead against former Yankee Nathan Eovaldi. Giancarlo Stanton’s sacrifice fly in the sixth provided some insurance and Gary Sanchez’s three-run double in the eighth put the game away. Loaisiga — who informed fans on the scoreboard that his teammates call him “Lasagna” because his last name is difficult to pronounce — didn’t need that much help. The native of Nicaragua, who began this season with Single-A Tampa and was called up Friday from Double-A Trenton to fill in for the injured Masahiro Tanaka, didn’t give up a hit until Wilson Ramos singled to right with one out in the fourth. He whiffed four in his first two innings and got a pair of double plays before running into trouble for the first time later in the fourth. Ramos moved to second on a Joey Wendle groundout before Willy Adames singled, again to right. Third base coach Matt Quatraro decided not to test Aaron Judge’s arm and stopped Ramos at third. Loaisiga followed by walking Mallex Smith. It was the fourth walk of the night for Loaisiga, who had walked just four in 45 innings in the minors this season. That prompted the visit from Rothschild and Loaisiga took care of the rest. “When he had to make a pitch there in the fourth, he buckled down,’’ Boone said. “He got a huge out. In the fifth, he definitely tired, but he figured it out. It confirms the feeling we have about Jonathan from a makeup standpoint. He fits in very well.’’
Loaisiga is just the latest addition to the rotation to deliver after the Yankees lost a key starter.
Domingo German tossed six no-hit innings against the Indians in his first start in the majors on May 6, but he already had appeared in a dozen games to that point.
When Tanaka went down with stiffness in both hamstrings last week against the Mets, the Yankees turned to Loaisiga — who was already on the 40-man roster — over more highly touted prospects like lefty Justus Sheffield.
“He’s obviously young,’’ general manager Brian Cashman said. “He’s getting a taste early in his development. … This is a whole new environment now.”
It came following his worst outing of the season, when Loaisiga gave up four runs in two innings against Binghamton. He proved to be up to the task Friday, allowing just three hits, while striking out six.
Jonathan Holder, David Robertson, Dellin Betances and Adam Warren chipped in with shutout innings. Yankees relievers have given up just one run over their past 11 games. That was expected. Loaisiga’s performance was more of a surprise.
“He was executing pitches and calm out there,’’ Sanchez said through an interpreter. “It didn’t look like it was his first start. He was impressive. ”