TAMPA – Prior to Sunday’s theatrical 10-6 Mother’s Day win at Tropicana Field, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that Jahmai Jones’ minimal playing time had nothing to do with what his swing is capable of.
“This guy can hit,” Boone insisted of a player who found himself starting for just the second time this season. “He can pop the ball. I haven’t really given him a lot opportunities yet, but I like the way he swings the bat.”
Naturally, Jones, batting ninth and playing left field, homered on the second pitch he saw from Rays starter Tyler Alexander. The solo shot, the first of Jones’ career, just cleared the left field wall at 383 feet. But the ball’s 109.5-mph exit velocity certainly qualified as popping the ball and spearheaded a homer-happy afternoon for the Yankees.
“I thought I hit it well, and I wasn’t sure [it got out],” Jones said. “I looked up at [Jonny] DeLuca in left field, and I saw his back turn, so I was like, ‘Oh man, maybe it’s getting over his head.’ I was trying to bust out of the box a little bit, and then when I saw him stop, there’s always that subtle moment where you look up and you’re like… and then it went.”
1st Big League homer for Jahmai Jones 👏
We see you, dawg! pic.twitter.com/awQdcIWC7A
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) May 12, 2024
Jose Trevino, who played a pivotal part in Friday’s win, took the baton in the fourth inning when he clobbered a 409-foot homer off of Alexander. The two-run blast traveled at 106.1 mph, a lofty exit velo for a catcher who is hitting .293 while controlling the strike zone better.
Alexander then surrendered another two-run homer in the fifth when Aaron Judge hit his team-leading 10th longball of the season. Judge has had some struggles this season, but he’s hit four homers in his last seven games and has quickly raised his average to .235 after being below The Mendoza Line on May 2.
That he’s started to correct course is only “inevitable,” Boone said.
The Yankees scored their first run when Juan Soto lifted a sac fly in the opening frame. The play scored Anthony Volpe, who started the game with a leadoff triple.
While the Yankees were busy bopping, the Rays failed to score against Luis Gil.
The right-hander, continuing his recent run of success, blanked Tampa Bay for six innings while allowing just three hits. The gas-pumping Gil only struck out three batters, a season-low, but he also limited himself to two walks after another week of tinkering with his mechanics.
“I was able to get a lot of outs today,” Gil said, proud of himself. “When you look back, being able to get through the sixth, that’s a really important part for me.”
Gil, 25, now has a 2.51 ERA, which leads the Yankees’ rotation in his first season back from Tommy John surgery.
While Gil looked sharp for the third consecutive start, the Yankees’ bullpen nearly blew a 6-0 lead following his departure.
Momentum shifted in the Rays’ favor in the seventh when Jose Siri crushed a grand slam off of Caleb Ferguson. His replacement, Nick Burdi, then loaded the bases by hitting Randy Arozarena before leaving the game with one out and the Yankees up, 6-4.
Luke Weaver followed up by hitting Isaac Paredes, which brought another run home. Fortunately for the Yankees, Weaver stopped the bleeding there with the lead still intact.
Better yet for the Bombers, Gleyber Torres enjoyed his biggest moment of the season in the eighth when he drilled a three-run homer to get a few runs back. The struggling second baseman had been hitting just .203 with one home run before the dinger, which came against Shawn Armstrong.
“When you’re grinding in this game, even with the success you’ve had as a hitter like Gleyber, it’s tough,” Boone said. “It can be a grind. You just gotta keep working and going with it. And that was a big, big blow to kind of allow us to exhale a little bit after they pressured us.”
To his credit, Torres has been working hard. With a focus on being more consistent and striking out less, he and assistant hitting coach Pat Roessler spent time in the cage prior to Sunday’s game.
That effort preceded a blast that helped Torres regain some confidence.
“I don’t know what’s gonna [happen in] the next game,” Torres said. “But for tonight, especially, hitting in that moment, feels good. The homer, I feel like I did something for the team.”
Gleyber Torres with a 3-run blast to extend the @Yankees' lead! pic.twitter.com/ZDtEbAOMFh
— MLB (@MLB) May 12, 2024
Trevino then added his second jack of the day, a solo homer to left.
Yandy Díaz added a run for the Rays in the ninth with a solo homer off of Ian Hamilton. However, the righty ultimately secured a win that ended up being more dramatic than it should have been.
“It’s good,” Trevino said when asked about his performance. “I mean, at the end, the letter W is what’s most important. So whatever happens, happens, but as long as we win, that’s the most important thing.”
With a divisional series victory in the books, the Yankees are off on Monday. They’ll start a three-game series with the Twins in Minnesota on Tuesday, when Carlos Rodón is lined up to pitching against Chris Paddack.
