Yankees get a trio of home runs from star DH, crush the Pirates in 12-0 win
The New York Yankees would welcome Aaron Judge back into the lineup against the Pittsburgh Pirates for a nighttime contest at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Despite the return of the captain, it would be fellow right-handed power hitter Giancarlo Stanton who would steal the show, putting on an incredible performance where he collected three home runs in his first
three trips to the plate. He guided a dominant Yankee offense that put up 12 runs on the night, with eight of those RBIs coming off the bat for the 2017 NL MVP.
In a game that showed the Yankees that there could still be some life in Giancarlo Stanton’s bat, they would bludgeon the Pirates in a lopsided 12-0 win.
Giancarlo Stanton Powers Yankees’ Offense to A Win
Luke Weaver would take the mound of the Yankees, and he’d fire in a scoreless first inning that would set the tone for his night, throwing 3.1 scoreless innings with two strikeouts to just one walk allowed. His four-seamer averaged about 19 inches of Induced Vertical Break, getting the Pirates to generate mostly harmless contact and some swings and misses when the situation called for it. While not considered a frontrunner for the fifth starter job, he’s still in that conversation, and if he doesn’t win it he’ll remain in the Yankees’ bullpen as a long-reliever.
If the Yankees wanted positive signs from Weaver, they certainly got them, but he got plenty of run support to help the cause. Facing off against Marco Gonzalez, the Yankees jumped on him as Aaron Judge opened the scoring with an RBI double to right center field. Giancarlo Stanton would hit one of three home runs he’d collect on the night, launching a ball over the batter’s eye in centerfield for a two-run blast and making it a 3-0 game in a hurry. Anthony Volpe, who has also had a nice Spring Training, smacked a ball to right field for his first homer.
