Gary Sanchez gets yelled at, crushes monstrous home run as payback

Gary Sanchez is having an eventful game.

In the bottom of the second inning, Sanchez continued his longstanding tradition of tormenting David Price. The Yankees catcher reached out and crushed a 90.5 mph cutter, depositing it for a solo home run. That marked Sanchez’s seventh hit of his career against Price and the sixth homer. To paraphrase Ken Singleton, some guys just throw your speed.

Things got interesting in the fifth, however, as Sanchez stepped to the plate against relief pitcher Ryan Brasier. With a 1-2 count, Sanchez called for time and stepped out of the box. This irritated Brasier, who yelled at the slugger to get back in. The two had words before Sanchez struck out on a 97 mph fastball up in the zone.

That embarrassing exchange seemed to fuel Sanchez’s next at-bat, where he launched a moonshot home run against Eduardo Rodriguez. The Kraken sent a Rodriguez fastball 479 feet on to Lansdowne Street. The three-run bomb had a 114.8 mph exit velocity, and it gave the Yankees a 6-1 lead.

Sanchez, 25, had a nightmare regular season. He spent significant time on the disabled list, and when healthy, he only hit to a .186/.291/.406 line. His power was still there, as the slugger hit 18 home runs in 374 plate appearances. Still, his overall numbers proved disappointing. This two-homer game, however, goes a long way towards reestablishing some good will.

What an interesting game for Sanchez. It had its low points, but also some great moments. No matter how the rest of the series plays out, this certainly won’t be a performance that we’ll soon forget.