Yankees: Anthony Rizzo destroys home run in first game since trade

The jolt general manager Brian Cashman was hoping for has arrived. It may have taken nearly six full innings, but it’s surely better late than never.

The New York Yankees acquired both Anthony Rizzo and Joey Gallo in trades before the deadline this week ahead of their series against the Miami Marlins. The addition of the two lefty sluggers was orchestrated to balance the lineup and provide a sort of cultural change in arguably the most boring clubhouse in all of sports. Sorry to sounds harsh … but have you been watching?

On Friday, the new acquisitions made their Yankee debuts, and Rizzo burst onto the scene with a mighty first impression.

In the top of the sixth inning and the game tied 0-0, the Yankees had only registered two hits for Jameson Taillon, who was putting forth another quality performance.

Great, just what we needed! Another silent outing from the offense, which put up zero runs in their last game and has averaged 3.75 since the All-Star break.

But then came Rizzo, whose thunderous bat demolished a 449-foot home run to give the Bombers a 1-0 lead. A homer and a walk in his first three at-bats! Somebody’s gotta do it, right?

Anthony Rizzo homered in his first game as a New York Yankee.

Juuust what we were hoping for. The Yankees needed one of these two guys to ignite the lineup in some capacity. Whether it came in the form of sterling defensive efforts, clutch hits, or moonshots like these, this is surely what Cashman was envisioning when he shocked everyone at the deadline with his uncharacteristic aggression.

On paper, Rizzo seems like the ultimate fit, but we’ll let the next few months play out to fully determine that rather than getting ahead of ourselves. Nonetheless, his personality, veteran voice and relentless play on the field (he worked a six-pitch walk earlier) is necessary to alter the rotten dynamic currently characterizing the Yankees’ lackluster season.

Sorry, Cubs fans, we know it’s a tough watch, but we’ll appreciate every moment we have with Rizzo, too. Yankees fans are very much aware what he brings to the table and couldn’t be more excited to have him in pinstripes for the remainder of 2021.

… and hopefully beyond.

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