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The Yankees officially have two spring training games under their belts! The offense came out with bats swinging and ran up a 6-0 lead. Some of their prospect pitchers got in to trouble, though. Trevor Stephan gave up three solo home runs during his rocky outing to open the door for the Rays. Tampa was in mid-season form already, obnoxiously using a whopping nine different pitchers before it was all said and done. The Bombers still finished on top, reversing the score in yesterday’s loss to beat the Rays 8-5.
We won’t be running full recaps during the spring, but you can give the box score a read if you’d like. Here are three main takeaways from today’s game:
1. The first base competition is officially underway, and we may have ourselves a dogfight. Greg Bird kicked things off with a double and single in yesterday’s game. Luke Voit answered with an RBI single, then crushed a three-run bomb. I can’t wait to see how this unfolds over the next month.
2. Speaking of the roster, Tyler Wade really wants to earn that last spot. It’s difficult to imagine him sneaking in since they already have a utility player in DJ LeMahieu, but Wade came out with guns blazing today. He hit a ground-rule double during his first at-bat, and followed that with an RBI-double to deep left. Wade finished his 3-for-3 day with a single before he was subbed out. Can’t ask for much more than that.
3. Let’s wrap this up with more positive news: Estevan Florial looks like he’s fully healthy! The top prospect underwent hamate surgery last May and missed about two months of play. The Bombers sent him to the Arizona Fall League, but he wasn’t able to get much going at the plate. He slashed just .178/.294/.260 with two stolen bases. He’s already off to a better start, with two singles and two stolen bases through his first two games.
Highlight of the game
Luke Unit hit it back to New York. pic.twitter.com/ODH2J7jRky
— MLB (@MLB) February 24, 2019
The Yankees will have their home opener tomorrow at 1:05 ET against the Blue Jays. James Paxton is slated to make his first start in a Yankees uniform. You can catch the game on YES Network, or MLB.tv if you have the luxury of tuning in during a Monday afternoon. If not, be sure to check the recap after the game.