Di’ lone Yank silver lining
What he did was fine, but what Didi Gregorius didn’t do was sort of impressive Friday night.
He didn’t hit into a double play.
Four other Yankees went down that path, effectively killing scoring threat after rally after comeback attempt after recovery try in the 52 loss to the White Sox at the Stadium, a defeat that left the Yankees four games behind the Blue Jays in the AL East.
Hitting in the ninth spot against the White Sox’s lefthanded starter, Carlos Rodon, Gregorius drove in both runs for the Yankees with a basesloaded single in the fourth inning. The Yankees reloaded the bases that inning — and the threat died on a Chase Headley doubleplay grounder to short, the path of all four double plays. Gregorius walked in the sixth — and was immediately wiped out in a double play by Brett Gardner. His runsproducing hit ended a 10game RBI drought.
After a start that fell somewhere between awful and dismal, Gregorius has been one of the encouraging aspects of the Yankees season. In his last 60 games, since July 23, Gregorius has hit .314 (65of207).
And the improvement is both ways — Gregorius, 25, has made two errors since Aug. 17. Manager Joe Girardi has been impressed by how well Gregorius has held up in his first season in The Bronx. The Yankees surrendered Shane Greene in a threeteam trade with Detroit and Arizona. While the Yankees netted Gregorius from the Diamondbacks, the Tigers got Greene, who, after a strong start, pitched like, well, a member of the Tigers staff.
“It’s kind of what we envisioned when we traded for [Gregorious],” Girardi said. “I liked the personality he had. He’s not a kid that put a lot of pressure on
himself.”