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Yankees Didi Gregorius sees ten pitches, drives in four, team cruises

By Steve Contursi |
(Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
(Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)

The Yankees put it on cruise control last night winning their third straight game and seventh in their last ten while stretching their Wild Card lead to four games.

Yankees shortstop, Didi Gregorius, continues to make the case that the trade made by Brian Cashman bringing him over from the Arizona Diamondbacks was his best deal ever.

Arriving in New York in the days following the retirement of Yankees icon, Derek Jeter, Gregorius, then 25, immediately was saddled with the task of replacing the irreplaceable Jeter. Now in his third season, Gregorius continues to one-up himself in all the offensive numbers that matter from one season to the next.

And much like Jeter, who was never defined as a fielding virtuoso, Gregorius plays a steady shortstop, making all the plays the Yankees need him to make, and then some.

Gregorius put on a show last night in his typical understated manner before 40,060 fans at Yankees Stadium, propelling his team to an 8-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

Squeezing in a walk in the ten pitches he saw, Gregorius hit two sacrifice flies and a home run, scoring Aaron Judge and breaking a 2-2 tie. From there, the Yankees never looked back as Luis Severino earned his 13th win of the season, needing only 94 pitches to stymie the Orioles over his eight innings of work.

For Gregorius, his 418 ft. blast was his 22nd this year, his highest total in one season, and the four runs he drove in also mark a new personal high (73). Shrewdly hidden in the Yankees lineup by Joe Girardi, Gregorius continues to surprise pitchers with one-third of his 139 hits going for extra bases.

For Severino, who is pitching to a 2.07 ERA since the All-Star break, his start last night was yet another case of dominating hitters by pitching, not throwing. Chase Headley summed it up for the New York Daily News:

“He’s pitching. He’s got the plus-plus stuff, but he’s not afraid to throw a changeup in a hitter’s count. Obviously got a wipeout slider, but he can throw that for a strike when he needs to,”

Put together with Sonny Gray and Masahiro Tanaka, Severino gives Girardi a wealth of choices in deciding the Yankees rotation for the playoffs, which by now are a foregone conclusion. The loss by the Minnesota Twins last night to the Blue Jays leaves them a full four games behind the Yankees, virtually ensuring the one-game playoff will be at Yankee Stadium.

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Conveniently, the Yankees will play the Twins for three games beginning on Monday at the Stadium, with a chance of burying them for good by winning at least two of those contests.

Waiting for the Red Sox to stumble is not likely in the cards this season. Although Chris Sale suddenly looks very beatable (5 2/3 innings, four earned runs, three walks last night) and David Price continues to create distractions with his hissy fits. His latest one occurred last night after he accidentally “got wet” during the team’s celebration of a 13-6 win over the Rays.

Still, the Red Sox continue to win and keep pace with the Yankees. You never say die, of course, but if the Pinstripes can bust the Twins bubble next week, they might consider turning on the auto-pilot switch, resting regulars and lining up the rotation for the playoffs.

This afternoon, the Yankees send Jordan Montgomery to the mound while the Orioles counter with Jeremy Hellickson, who was recovered from the trash heap by the Orioles and has been pitching decently for them.

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Montgomery seemingly hit a wall some time ago and has been unable to register five or more innings in his last three starts. If he falters again in giving the Yankees some length, the bullpen is almost entirely rested and ready to take on some innings.

Today’s game at Yankee Stadium will begin at 4:05 ET.

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