Rookie, 32, puts Yankees in daze
Bibens-Dirkx improves to 3-0 in four starts as fill-in for Rangers.
NEW YORK — A dozen years of minor league bus rides paid off with a day in the sun at Yankee Stadium for Austin Bibens-Dirkx.
The 32-year-old rookie pitched seven dazzling innings Saturday, sending the Texas Rangers to an 8-1 victory over New York.
Carlos Gomez and Robinson Chirinos homered for the Rangers, who rebounded quickly from a tough loss that ended at 12:19 a.m. The teams were back on the field less than 13 hours later, and Bibens-Dirkx (3-0) lulled a dangerous lineup to sleep in his first shot at the Yankees.
“I’m trying to enjoy every moment,” he said. “I got to pitch in Yankee Stadium. It was awesome.”
Promoted to the major leagues last month for the first time, Bibens-Dirkx in his fourth career start allowed only Aaron Judge’s major league-leading 26th home run. Filling a spot in Texas’ injurydepleted rotation, the righthander scattered five hits and walked one — his first batter, on four pitches. He kept the Yankees off balance by consistently changing speeds.
“The efficiency of the pitches is really what is the most impressive thing that we’ve seen from him,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said, noting how calm BibensDirkx is on the mound. Mixing his fastball with a slider, change-up and curve, Bibens-Dirkx threw only 93 pitches and never faced more than four batters in an inning. He struck out three.
Bibens-Dirkx pitched in the independent Atlantic League last year. He bounced all around the minors and to winter leagues in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic before finally getting his chance. Fittingly, his name is misspelled in the player development section of Texas’ media guide.
“It’s still kind of surreal,” he said. “Every outing that I have that I’m successful, it reassures me that ‘you can do this.’ ”
After rallying to win the series opener 2-1 in 10 innings Friday, the Yankees (40-32) lost for the ninth time in 11 games. New York began the day leading the AL East by a percentage point over Boston.
Elvis Andrus had a pair of run-scoring hits for Texas (37-37), which has won 10 of 15.
The Yankees’ Luis Cessa (0-2), in his second start this season, struck out eight in five innings. He was charged with three runs and three hits. Gomez hit a tworun shot in the fourth and Texas scored four in the ninth against reliever Tyler Clippard, including a two-run double by ShinSoo Choo. Gomez also scored on a wild pitch from Clippard, booed lustily by the crowd of 40,225. “He’s really in a funk and we’ve got to get him out of it,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.