Yankees 6, Tigers 9: Yankees lose, but Gary Sanchez did a mean thing to a baseball

Wednesday’s game saw the Yankees trot out a potential regular season lineup for really the first time this spring.

Of the nine players in the lineup, eight will probably break camp on the 25-man roster, and the ninth will likely play in the majors at some point this season. The starting pitcher, Luis Cessa, won’t be the starting rotation, but he may very well make some spot starts this year.

The starting lineup didn’t do amazing, although one player definitely showed what he’s capable of. The bench got the Yankees back into the game late, but the pitching coughed up nine runs, and that was a couple too many. The Tigers handed the Yankees their first spring training loss, winning 9-6 in Tampa.

The Yankees got on the board in the first when Gary Sanchez did a very mean thing to a baseball. With Giancarlo Stanton on after a bloop single, Sanchez took a Daniel Norris pitch over the scoreboard in left field to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. Here’s an informative graphic on how far the ball went.

Or, you could watch it here:

Sanchez and Stanton were the only starting hitters to record hits, as both went 2-3. Greg Bird and Gleyber Torres each drew walks, but otherwise the starting lineup didn’t do much. Aaron Judge made his spring training debut, but went 0-2.

One person who definitely did not have a good day was Cessa. He allowed four runs on four hits and a walk in his two innings. Cessa actually came out to start the third inning, but was pulled after allowing a three-run home run to John Hicks. It may have been a thing of him reaching a pitch count, but it was about to as close as being pulled for ineffectiveness as you’ll see in spring training.

Other pitchers of interest to appear in the game were Adam Warren and Dellin Betances. Warren threw three scoreless innings after coming in for Cessa. Betances did not have quite as good a day as allowed a run on a hit and a walk in 0.2 innings pitched.

Later on, the Yankees’ bench got them back into the game. With the bases loaded and the Yankees down 6-2 in the eighth, prospect Estevan Florial singled to score two runs. He then was one of two runners to score after the Tigers gave up more runs on a pair of wild pitches.

The tie game did not last long as someone named Michael King came in and gave up three runs in the ninth and the Tigers closed the game out in the bottom half of the inning.

Other relevant people to play include Tyler Wade, who walked and scored in the eighth inning rally. Jake Cave had a walk, while Danny Espinosa went 0-2.

They might not have played up to potential, but seeing all those people in the starting lineup together was pretty fun and will be even more fun when the games matter.

Box score.