October 3, 2024

Is better he should go: yankees head coach Aaron judge

TAMPA — This, more or less, is what it’s supposed to look like.

Juan Soto put on a laser show batting in front of Aaron Judge. Giancarlo Stanton legged out a double. DJ LeMahieu, Gleyber Torres and Anthony Rizzo made solid contact and found holes.

In what amounted to roughly a dress rehearsal for the Opening Day lineup, the Yankees’ offense looked ready for the bright lights. Perhaps to smash them, in Soto’s case.

A facsimile of the Yankees’ starting lineup — with the exception of Anthony Volpe, who had played a day earlier — took the stage and mashed eight runs in the first five innings of an eventual 9-8 win over the Braves.

Manager Aaron Boone said Sunday’s 1-through-8 “could be” the same when the regular season begins March 28 in Houston.

RBIsbounced a single in three at-bats. Soto-Judge-Rizzo-Torres-Stanton represents a top and middle of the lineup that has as high a ceiling as any in basebal

“It just keeps going,” Judge said of a lineup that normally will include Volpe, though Oswaldo Cabrera batted ninth and played shortstop. “I think that’s the thing that I’m noticing now with this lineup is it just doesn’t stop after the first inning, the first couple hitters. It’s six, seven, eight — even Trevy.”

The depth might be a strength, but the meat of the order definitely is — a fact reinforced by Soto continuing what has been a surreal spring.

 

More encouragement was found at the six-hole. After Stanton had not been able to turn his noticeably new physique into noticeably different results in the first few weeks of camp, he broke through with a 110 mph double to right-center — Stanton reached second despite the ball not reaching the wall — and a bullet single into left field.

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