Yankees 1, Tigers 1: Pitching impresses in tied game

For Friday’s game against the Tigers, the Yankees sent out a lineup that we could very well likely see in a regular season game at some point. Seven of the nine will probably be the regulars at their various positions, and the other two will probably have a role to play at some point.

Despite that, the offense wasn’t firing on all cylinders just yet. The regulars mustered one run on four hits and two walks. However, there were still some good signs, some from the offense, but mainly on the pitching side of things.

Domingo Germán made his spring debut and looked good, striking out four in two innings. Behind him, Michael King bounced back from his difficult first outing and allowed just one hit in two scoreless innings. Nick Nelson was likewise good in his inning.

In total, the pitching allowed just one run on the day. However, with the offense only mustering one themselves, that meant we had our first deadlock of the spring as the Yankees and Tigers finished 1-1 after nine innings.

After three and a half scoreless innings, the game’s first run came courtesy of a member of said strong Yankees’ lineup. With one out in the fourth, Gleyber Torres hit a solo home run off Tigers’ pitcher Tyler Alexander.

In the next half inning, he was involved in another highlight play. With Akil Baddoo attempting to steal, Torres made the tag after a nice throw from Gary Sánchez to nail Baddoo at second base. It was the second time so far this spring that Sánchez has thrown out a runner.

Also leading the way for the big names was DJ LeMahieu, who, stop if you’ve heard this before, had a multi-hit game. LeMahieu reached base all three times he came to the plate, picking up two singles and a walk. In his final at bat of the day, Aaron Judge recorded a ground-rule double before exiting for a pinch runner. The Tigers’ defense also took away a couple hits, including one from Giancarlo Stanton, who had reached base via walk earlier in the game.

As mentioned, the pitching side of things was mostly good. The Yankees kept the Tigers off the board until the eighth inning. Prospect Luis Medina did not have the best day as he struggled to throw strikes and walked four batters in just 0.2 innings. He didn’t allow any hits, but the number of walks made it so a ground out plated a run to tie the game.

The Yankees very nearly walked off in the ninth thanks almost single-handedly to Hoy Jun Park. He drew a two-out walk and then stole second. On the throw to second on the steal, the ball got away from the Tigers’ fielders, allowing Park to go to third. However, the very next pitch was a very, very high called third strike on Michael Beltre. That not only ended the inning, but the game as it finished in a 1-1 tie.

One last performance of note belonged to Yankees’ 2020 first round draft pick Austin Wells. He appeared in the later innings in the DH spot, and drew a walk in his only plate appearance of the day.

Tomorrow, the Yankees will head to Bradenton, where they will take on the Pirates. Gerrit Cole is expected to get the start against his former team, although adjustments are possible if the weather intervenes.

Box score.