Yankees Highlights: Gerrit Cole wins again as Yankees smash Orioles

After an unplanned two-day hiatus, the Yankees were back in action, having taken an impromptu trip to Camden Yards to face off with the Orioles. As far as juicy matchups go, it doesn’t get much juicier than tonight; Gerrit Cole on the mound against a hapless Baltimore lineup, backed up by a Yankee brigade looking to feast on a staff they crushed for 61 homers last year.

Winner of the Game

This was a Yankees-Orioles game in 2020, and as such, there were plenty of good choices for tonight’s winner. You had DJ LeMahieu, who racked up four hits and two RBI, thanks in part to his leadoff dinger:

Or Aaron Judge, clocking in with his first homer of the season en route to reaching base four times on the night:

And of course, there was Cole, who mostly cruised through a 6.2-inning, three-run start. Like his first game as a Yankee, it didn’t seem that Cole had everything quite clicking, and a two-run, two-out homer by Dwight Smith Jr. in the seventh marred what had been an otherwise strong outing. Still, Cole retired 14 in a row at one point and struck out seven against two walks. That’ll play most days.

Honorable mention: Catcher’s interference. The Yankees had two runners reach base via CI in the span of three plate appearances in the first. One must always appreciate a spontaneous tribute to Jacoby Ellsbury.

Loser of the Game

Another rough night for Gary Sanchez, who is still looking for his first hit after going 0-4 with three strikeouts. The Yankees will have to hope that their backstop is just going through a brief slump to open the year, one that will end promptly.

Chart

FanGraphs