Rough run on Broadway
Carpenter hammers Cubs with 2 HRs, 7 RBIs as Yankees complete weekend sweep
NEW YORK — Matt Carpenter homered twice and tied his career high with seven RBIs, powering the New York Yankees to complete a weekend sweep of the Chicago Cubs with a 18-4 rout on Sunday for their 11th win in 12 games.
The 36-year-old was signed on May 26 after spending the first seven weeks at Texas’ Triple-A Round Rock. A three-time All-Star with St. Louis coming off three straight seasons of decline, Carpenter became the second player since 1900 to hit six home runs in his first 10 games for a team after Colorado’s Trevor Story in 2016.
Carpenter drew a tying bases-loaded walk as New York chased Keegan Thompson in a five-run first and hit a three-run homer off Daniel Norris for an 8-1 lead in the second. He added a two-run drive against Alec Mills in the sixth for his first multihomer game in four years and an RBI double in the seventh against Sean Newcomb.
Carpenter is hitting .333 with 13 RBIs, quickly becoming a clubhouse and fan favorite known for a gritty look with thick eye black. Carpenter shaved his longtime beard to comply with Yankees rules on facial hair but kept a mustache — joining pitcher Nestor Cortes. Their style inspired Marwin Gonzalez and Lucas Luetge to give mustaches a try.
His matched his seven RBIs against the Cubs in July 2018, when he had his only three-homer game. He played flawlessly at third base with two assists in his first big league game in the field this year.
Kyle Higashioka added his first two home runs of the season, after hitting seven in spring training. He was given the silent treatment when he got back to the dugout after his third-inning drive off Norris, then home red in the eighth off Frank Schwindel, usually a first baseman. Carpenter and Higashioka were late additions to the lineup because second baseman Gleyber Torres felt nausea and catcher Jose Trevino had back pain.
Giancarlo Stanton and Isiah Kiner-Falefa had three RBIs each as the Yankees scored their most runs since beating Toronto 20-6 on Sept. 15, 2020.