Derek beater?
Derek Jeter may soon be looking up at his replacement.
Following Didi Gregorius’ second straight game with a home run — his 23rd of the season — the Yankees shortstop is now one homer shy of tying Jeter’s single-season franchise mark for the position, which the future Hall of Famer set in 1999.
Despite missing nearly the entire opening month of the season, Gregorius still became the first shortstop in team history with at least 20 homers in back-to-back seasons, and he ranks third on the Yankees this season with 80 RBIs, a mark Jeter last surpassed in 2006.
Batting cleanup for the 30th game this season, Gregorius went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored in the 9-3 win over the Orioles at Yankee Stadium. Prior to this season, Gregorius had hit fourth in the lineup just 13 times in his career.
“We lost some hitters that we expected to hit in the middle of the order from injuries and Didi has stepped in and done a fabulous job,” manager Joe Girardi said. “[It’s] just really impressive what he’s done. The home runs, the RBIs, the big hits that he’s had, the outstanding defense.”
A game that ended in a blowout was scoreless in the third inning.
Following two-out walks by Chase Headley and Aaron Judge in the third inning, Gregorius put the Yankees on top, lofting the second pitch of his atbat against Jeremy Hellickson into the right field seats to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead, with his career-best 23rd home run of the season.