AUSTIN POWERS A YANK ROUT:
Tyler, Romine lift Sonny in rout
KANSAS CITY — It’s a testament to the Yankees’ depth that they can put up 10 runs on 14 hits with Gary Sanchez and Didi Gregorius both on the bench and Aaron Judge putting up an 0-fer at the plate. But that’s just the way things have been all season — different guys stepping up on different days and carrying the offensive load when needed. On Sunday, Sanchez’s backup, Austin Romine, went 3-for-5 with a 440foot homer and two RBI, his batting average sitting at .326 after one of the best days of his career. Tyler Austin, who has filled in more than admirably with Greg Bird down, blasted a pair of two-run homers — numbers seven and eight on the year — that traveled a combined 845 feet. Miguel Andujar, who has relegated Opening Day starter Brandon Drury to minor-league duty at least for now, delivered three hits of his own, including a homer and a triple. And Gregorius’ backup, Ronald Torreyes, had a hit and made a diving play at short, his average now sitting at .339. And that’s not even mentioning the multi-hit days from both Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Hicks.
So even with Sanchez and the mightily slumping Gregorius both getting the day off and Judge finishing 0-for-4 with a walk — making him hitless in 15 at-bats on the road trip even though he did drill a ball to right-center on Sunday that looked like it was going out — the Bombers didn’t miss a beat.
“It’s crazy. It’s so much fun,” Sonny Gray said after the Yankees won their eighth series in a row, trouncing the lowly Royals 10-1 at Kauffman Stadium. “It’s at the point where you just expect it every day.”
The Bombers have won 21 of 25 and currently possess the best record in the majors at 30-13. Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone, though, could have a difficult decision to make with Austin swinging the bat as well as he has and Bird (right ankle surgery) possibly ready to return sometime this upcoming week.
The roster crunch could eventually come for Austin (who has options) — even though most fans would prefer veteran Neil Walker, who has performed much better of late, and his $4.5 million salary, be the one jettisoned.
Still, the idea of a Bird-Austin right-left platoon at first is extremely enticing given Austin’s ability to mash lefties (1.098 OPS in 37 at-bats), which in my opinion should give him an edge to keep his roster spot.
The organization elected to send down fan-favorite Clint Frazier after Sunday’s game, clearly wanting the 23-year-old outfielder to continue getting every-day playing time in the minors rather than sporadic playing time in the majors. And now they can bring up a 13th pitcher again, which they’ve preferred having in American League games.
Their bullpen, however, isn’t taxed in the slightest after the inconsistent Gray turned in his best start of the season, tossing eight innings of one-run ball on an economical 92 pitches.
Boone wasn’t ready to talk about the immediate futures for Austin — or Frazier, for that matter — as he hadn’t spoken with Cashman about them just yet. But regardless, this is just the latest good problem for the first-year manager and his GM to have. After all, they’re used to making tough decisions with so many talented position players at their disposal.
Gray’s start, though, may have been the most important thing to happen to the Yankees on Sunday.
Rebounding from a lousy outing against his former team in the A’s, the 28-year-old righty had great rhythm and pace working with his personal backstop, Romine, throwing 22 of 29 first-pitch strikes. He lost his perfectgame bid with two outs in the fifth and his shutout bid with two outs in the eighth. “He was electric today,” Boone said. The Bombers don’t possess anywhere near as much depth on the pitching front, which is why Gray’s outing may have been most encouraging of all. A starting pitching upgrade is something they still seek, but a more consistent Gray might be just as significant an acquisition at this juncture in the year.
“Success is a beautiful thing especially when you’ve had some ups and downs,” Boone said. “But as I always say going through adversity is not the worst thing — especially when you’re Sonny Gray and you’ve got the equipment to get out of it, which he clearly does.”