New York Yankees lineup is proving to be scary deep
By Sean Dyer
The New York Yankees have some superstars in the middle of their order but it’s the depth of their lineup that makes it so scary.
When you take the only two players who hit 50+ home runs in 2017 and put them in the same lineup in 2018, that’s certainly going to get a ton of press. Pairing Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton has certainly done just that for the New York Yankees. However, the overall depth of the Yankees lineup is the scariest part for opposing pitching staffs. Chris Archer and the Tampa Bay Rays can vouch for that after Tuesday’s game.
This offseason’s big acquisition, Giancarlo Stanton, made his Yankee Stadium debut on Tuesday. Unfortunately, things did not go as he would have hoped. Stanton went 0-5 with five strikeouts. Things really couldn’t have gone any worse for Giancarlo.
Gary Sanchez? Well, he went 0-5 as well. New York’s other offseason acquisition, Brandon Drury? He went 0-4. Did any of that stop the Yankees from scoring 11 runs? Absolutely not.
With Stanton, Sanchez, and Drury having off days, the rest of the lineup picked up the slack.
At the top of the order, Brett Gardner went 2-4 and scored three runs. The other big bopper Aaron Judge went 2-3 with a pair of walks, one RBI, and two runs scored. Neil Walker reached base twice with a single and a walk. Tyler Wade singled, walked, scored a run, and drove in a run. Tyler Austin doubled, walked, and scored twice.
However, Tuesday’s hero was undoubtedly Didi Gregorius. Gregorius went 4-4 with a walk, a double, two home runs, three runs scored, and eight RBI. Yes, eight RBI! I’ve campaigned for Didi to be the Yankees’ cleanup hitter in the past and I think more fans will agree after his historic performance against Tampa Bay.
The Rays had no problem punching Stanton out Tuesday but could not get Gregorius out when he came up after. That’s what’s so scary about this Yankees lineup. It’s relentless! Opposing pitchers never get an at-bat off. Giancarlo had one of the worst games of his life and the Yankees scored 11 runs! That’s not something the Miami Marlins could get away with if Stanton wasn’t hitting.
Next: How do Yanks stack up against top AL contenders?
There are plenty of great individual hitters in the New York Yankees lineup, but it’s the overall depth that makes it so scary for opposing pitching staffs.