The Yankees opened up their Grapefruit League season with a 7-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. Despite the loss, the team's youngsters shined.
Takeaways
-The big news leading to this game was the big league debut of prospect Jasson Dominguez. The 20-year-old started in centerfield, but the news was what he did with his bat. After grounding out in his first at-bat, the Dominican native launched his first home run of spring after jumping on a first-pitch slider that was high in the zone to tie the game at two in the fifth inning. “The Martian” sent the ball to Mars, as the Philly broadcast rightfully put it.
Dominguez’s day finished after a pop out in the sixth inning. He went 1-for-3 with that long homer.
-Gleyber Torres, who is in the final year of his contract and playing for a starting role, had himself a game. After lining a double in his first at-bat, Torres got the Yankees on the board with a solo homer to cut the Phillies lead to 2-1 in the third inning. His finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
-Oswaldo Cabrera had a good day at the plate, but not so much in the field. First, Cabrera gave the Yankees the lead in the fifth inning with a single that drove in two to give the Yankees a 4-2 lead. However, in the bottom half of that inning, he overran a single that got past him and went to the wall, allowing the tying runs to score. With left field a question mark for the Yankees, Cabrera is given the chance to prove he can man the position but today was not a good sign. He finished 1-for-2 with a walk.
-Other notable batters include Isiah Kiner-Falefa who went 1-for-3 and Harrison Bader, coming off an incredible postseason run, who went 0-for-3 as the team’s DH to give Cabrera, Dominguez and Estevan Florial (0-for-2) time in the outfield.
-The Yankees had a tough time on the mound, however. Randy Vasquez gave up two runs on six hits and a walk in his one inning of work. Tyler Danish also gave up two runs on two hits in his one inning of work.
Standouts for the Yankees include Greg Weissert who pitched one inning giving up just one walk and striking out one. Weissert, who pitched for the Yankees late in the season, is fighting for a spot in the team’s bullpen. Alex Mauricio was very impressive in his one inning of work, striking out two.