Juan Soto Returns And Gerrit Cole gets closer to Cy Young Caliber

 Juan Soto and the New York Yankees responded yesterday afternoon in Toronto with an 8-1 drubbing against the last place Toronto Blue Jays.

After being inserted into the lineup at the very last minute, Juan Soto got the Bomber bats going with a single in his first at-bat, followed up by Aaron Judge’s 31st home run of the season off the batter’s eye in center field. Soto returned after missing just his 5th game all season and was his usual MVP candidate self. “[My hand] was a little swollen, but I think it was in a spot that I could help my team. I was feeling good warming up, and I know I had a pretty good chance to win a ball game today, so I went for it.” Soto had that first inning single, and two walks in his unexpected return.

Even though the dynamic duo got the scoring started, they weren’t the stars of the afternoon.

That came from two bench players that because of the recent injury troubles have gotten the chance to play. The first, in his best game in his young career was Ben Rice. The rookie first baseman had two walks, two runs scored, and a ringing RBI double. Rice showed incredible pose for a player who has played in 11 games and has 36 career plate appearances. Anything Rice can give the Bombers offensively will be a gigantic plus given how the position of 1st base has been a proverbial sinkhole in the lineup so far this season.

With Giancarlo Stanton sidelined for much of the next month, the designated hitter slot for the Bronx Bombers will have a rotating cast. Today, it was Aaron Judge, who given the historical pace he’s on, will likely see a ton more at-bats in the DH role to keep his hot bat in the lineup while essentially giving the leading vote getter in this years’ All-Star Game, a half day at the office. Without Judge in the field, Trent Grisham will get most of the responsibility to cover centerfield. While Grisham is mostly known for his glove, he has two Defensive Runs Saved, and two Outs Above Average this season; his bat has come alive recently. In the last five starts for Grisham, he has raised his batting average 45 points, hit two home runs, and has driven in six runs. This afternoon north of the border, Grisham collected three RBI’s, missed a three-run home run by a matter of feet, resulting in a two RBI double instead, and served as the Yankees de facto leadoff hitter with Anthony Volpe going 0-5 with three strikeouts. If Grisham can continue to provide some thunder at the bottom of the order—flipping over the lineup card to Soto and Judge, not having Stanton won’t feel as much of a drain in power while also providing an additional cushion for the guys in the order who are slumping.

Speaking of slumping, Gleyber Torres has been on a tear since returning to the lineup following a two-day benching after the Yankee second baseman failed to run out a ground ball last week. “It’s not that easy [to be benched], I’ve never gone to the bench before, but whatever [Boone] decides to do with me, I think it’s working right now.” It is in fact working, Torres has six hits, a double, a home run, and only two strikeouts in 13 plate appearances since the benching in three games. Before the back-to-back-to-back multi-hit games for Torres, the Bomber second baseman had two hits in his last 36 at-bats. Perhaps the benching was exactly what Gleyber Torres needed to jump start his contract year and produce like he, and the Yankees in turn were counting on at the beginning of Spring Training.

On the mound was the reigning AL Cy Young Winner, Gerrit Cole, returning closer to form following his elbow injury to begin the year. Cole went five innings strong, throwing 90 pitches, striking out six, walking one, allowing one run to cross the plate, and scattering three Blue Jay hits. The first three innings for the Yankee Ace were a choir as the game lacked rhythm and pace. However, Cole returned the closest we’ve seen to 2023 Gerrit Cole in his last two innings, including a one-two-three 5th inning with two strikeouts to end his afternoon. “I thought it was a nice cruising speed, '' the veteran ace said about his velocity on his fastball, which has increased about a mile per hour over the course of his first three starts to his 2024 campaign. Cole also seemed optimistic that this start would be a jumping off point for him for the remainder of the season. “I feel pretty good, pretty close…six or seven starts in, so this would be about April 1st, so I feel really good.”

For an afternoon, the Yankees responded. They got off the mat and split a four-game set they couldn’t drop against the last place team in their own division. At 54-32, the Bronx Bombers will wake up in first place, or at least they will have a share of it, tied a top of the AL East with the Baltimore Orioles. The Bombers head into the last homestand of the first half looking to close out on a positive note against Cincinnati and Boston—and try to fend off completely the first real adversity point this team has faced yet this season.