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NEW YORK – Sure, manager Aaron Boone said he considered writing the red-hot Giancarlo Stanton into the Yankees’ lineup Wednesday.
But this was designed as a day of rest for Stanton, who spent a relaxing afternoon watching teammates trot around the bases at Yankee Stadium.
In a nine-run third inning, the Yankees sent up 15 batters, launched four of their six home runs on the day and cruised to an 11-2 victory against the woeful Washington Nationals.
“Just to kind of get back on track, it was good,” said Ben Rice, as the Yankees head into the September stretch.
On the heels of losing three of four games to the Boston Red Sox, in a mistake-filled and generally forgettable series, the Yanks achieved the necessary reset by sweeping the Nats in three games.
Yankees’ offensive reset vs. Nationals pitching
Handcuffed by Boston starters Brayan Bello and Garrett Crochet last weekend, the Yanks (73-60) did what they usually do against clubs like the Nats (53-80) which is to pulverize mediocre pitching.
In tallying 26 total runs against Washington pitching, the Yankees saw six different players hit homers Wednesday – starting with Trent Grisham’s leadoff shot and concluding with Austin Wells’ fourth-inning blast.
And in a 41-minute third inning, “we were all locked in,” said Aaron Judge, who started the Yanks’ Home Run Derby with a two-run shot, followed by Cody Bellinger’s solo blast on the next pitch.
Ryan McMahon’s three-run homer knocked out starter Cade Cavalli, and Rice would also homer during an awful inning for Washington, made worse catcher Drew Millas fractured a finger on a catcher’s interference play.
Max Fried starting to find his rhythm
As the Yankees’ carousel of hitters lengthened the third inning, Yanks starter Max Fried made some light tosses in the tunnel to stay loose.
File that wait under “good problems to have,” said Fried, who had already set down the first nine Nationals he faced and maintained a steady rhythm through seven innings (one run).
Fried still had a no-hitter going when No. 9 batter Jacob Young led off the sixth with the first of three straight Nats singles.
This was Fried’s second straight positive start after an eight-start stretch where he posted a 6.80 ERA, and the veteran lefty said he’s just gone back to basics.
“Just pitching, trying not to do too much. Trust the defense – a lot of the cliche things,” Fried said. “I’m not trying to strike everyone out (he had 6 Ks and 2 walks). Just change speeds and keep them off balance.”
Fried’s next start lines up Tuesday at Houston, when the Yankees open a three-game set versus the current AL West leaders – starting another stretch against tough opponents.
Beginning Thursday, the Yankees play a four-game set at the Chicago White Sox, another last-place club just playing out the string.
So, here’s another golden chance for the Yanks to strengthen their AL wild card standing and potentially gain ground in the AL East before facing Astros, Blue Jays, Tigers and Red Sox in consecutive series.
Aaron Judge bounces back, Anthony Volpe still searching
After being plunked in the left shoulder during his first time up Wednesday, Judge followed with his two-run homer off an 0-2 Cavalli curveball and a single in the same inning.
Entering Wednesday, Judge was batting .200 in 19 games (13-for-65, 3 HR, 8 RBI) since returning from the injury list due to a right flexor strain.
The flexor issue has made Judge exclusively a DH in that period, with the scorching Stanton as a more-than-occasional right fielder lately.
There’s still no public timetable on when Judge might return as a right fielder, giving Stanton back his regular DH spot. And there’s no hotter hitter on the Yanks than Stanton, batting .351 with a 1.231 OPS and 16 homers in his last 36 games.
On the other side, Volpe (0-for-5) is currently in a 1-for-37 stretch and hearing the boos with two more strikeouts Wednesday – after lining out to third at 104-mph off the bat in the first inning.
Boone sees that as partly the product of tough luck lately, but Volpe’s playing time has already been impacted during this stretch, with the sparkplug Jose Caballero as a shortstop option.
“We’ve got to get (Volpe) to that good space where he’s repeating his mechanics (at the plate) and controlling the strike zone at a better level,” Boone said.