THIRD IS FIRST
On an otherwise sleepy night for the Yankees, Miguel Andujar continued his run as the top rookie in the American League.
The third baseman slugged two more extrabase hits, including his 19th home run of the year, to provide the only offense for the Yankees in their 6-1 loss to the Rays on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.
At a time when fellow rookie Gleyber Torres — once the favorite for AL Rookie of the Year — is struggling since returning from a hip injury, Andujar has caught fire. After going 2-for-4 Wednesday, Andujar is batting .354 with seven home runs, 20 RBIs and a 1.030 OPS in 25 games since the All-Star break.
“Every time I go to the plate, I’m trying to see a good pitch to hit, trying to hit the ball hard and see what happens,” Andujar said. “It’s part of my goal: play the game hard, try to help my team and be happy.”
Andujar improved his MLB rookie-leading totals to 34 doubles, 59 RBIs, 55 extra-base hits and a .296 batting average.
The 23-year-old got his night started by blasting a 390-foot solo home run off Jake Faria to lead off the second inning. He nearly went deep again in the fourth, but his long fly ball was caught by a leaping Kevin Kiermaier at the wall in center field. Andujar added a leadoff double in the sixth inning, but was stranded at second.
Manager Aaron Boone couldn’t help but gush about Andujar before the game, reaching back to the first time he saw the rookie in the batting cage in spring training and thinking, “That’s special stuff.”
“There’s a joy with which he plays the game that I really admire,” Boone said. “He strikes that balance be- tween having a confidence and a swagger about him, but with a lot of humility. He’s a really good teammate and he’s come up here as a young player, wasn’t given anything in spring training, took this job, has run with the job, is having an amazing rookie season, is a big reason why we’re having a really strong season.
“He’s been an impact player. He has battled through ups and downs that are inevitable for not only a young player but any player through the course of the season.”