The New York Yankees received a consistent effort throughout their lineup in the opener of their three-game interleague series against the host Miami Marlins
The Yankees will look for more of the same on Saturday when they test their mettle against reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara and the Marlins
After going 3-for-26 with runners in scoring position in the previous series versus the Chicago White Sox, the Yankees went 7-for-13 in Friday’s 9-4 victory over Miami. New York recorded 14 hits overall, including at least one by each member of the starting lineup
Rookie Anthony Volpe belted a three-run homer, Aaron Judge also went deep and Kyle Higashioka ripped a two-run single in the ninth inning to highlight a three-hit performance. Gleyber Torres, who joined Oswaldo Cabrera and Isiah Kiner-Falefa in collecting an RBI single, is 17-for-39 (.436) with five RBIs and seven runs during his 10-game hitting streak
“Today we were able to get a couple clutch hits, especially out of Volpe to start it,” Judge said. “I know Gleyber was able to deliver a run there in the middle of the inning to add to the lead. (Higashioka), IKF, all those guys, up and down, were doing their job. Keep getting guys on base, keep having traffic and keep having good at-bats.
Keeping the Yankees in check will be the responsibility of Alcantara (4-10, 4.28 ERA), who is 1-4 in his last seven starts
Alcantara, 27, answered a scoreless outing against the Philadelphia Phillies on Aug. 1 by struggling mightily five days later. He allowed three homers and five runs total (four earned) over six innings in a 6-0 setback to the Texas Rangers
Alcantara owns a 1.26 ERA without a decision in two career starts against the Yankees
New York did not publicly announce a starter for Saturday’s game after placing left-hander Nestor Cortes on the injured list because of a strained left rotator cuff. Rookie right-hander Jhony Brito (4-5, 5.02) likely could get the nod after being recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday, although Yankees manager Aaron Boone did not show his hand after the game
“We’ll see,” Boone said, when asked about Brito after Friday’s game. “We’re going to go talk about it right now.
Brito, 25, has yet to face the Marlins in his young career
Miami, which has lost eight of its last 11 games, has received loud contributions from recent acquisition Josh Bell. He went deep for the third time in two contests on Friday and is 11-for-35 (.314) with four homers, eight RBIs and six runs in his last nine games, all in August
“He hit the ball hard in Cleveland, he just didn’t have any luck,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “Now he’s getting the ball in the air a bit more and having better luck. … He’s been great, middle-of-the-order bat and providing slug in the order.
Luis Arraez went 0-for-4 in the series opener to fall to 1-for-13 in his last four games. His batting average dropped to a majors-best .366
–Field Level Medi
