by Derek McADam
July 7, 2022
After back-to-back losses, the Yankees dominated the Pirates last night in a 16-0 win. Luis Severino had one of his best outings of 2022 and Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks both launched grand slams in route to victory.
Quick Stats:
Luis Severino: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 3 K
Bullpen: 3 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 4 K
The Yankees had 22 hits on 46 at bats. Every player in the lineup, including substitutes, recorded a hit.
The Big Story: The Pirates threatened in the 2nd inning with runners on second and third with no outs, but Luis Severino dialed in to keep the Pirates scoreless. The scoring began in the 5th when DJ LeMahieu singled up the middle to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. In the 6th, Josh Donaldson and Joey Gallo each hit solo home runs to give the Yankees a 4-0 lead. In the next inning, Kyle Higashioka launched his 5th home run of the season to increase the Yankees’ lead to 5-0. The Yankees were nowhere close to finished. Aaron Judge later hit his 30th home run of the season in the 8th, a grand slam, to increase the lead to 9-0, while Donaldson followed up with a sacrifice fly to give the Yankees a double-digit lead. In the 9th, Aaron Hicks hit the Yankees’ second grand slam of the night to increase the lead to 14 runs, while Giancarlo Stanton followed up with his own 21st home run of the season. Kyle Higashioka added a single to give the Yankees their 16th run of the game.
Player of the Game: The entire Yankee offense deserves credit for the victory. Seven Yankees had multi-hit games, but everyone contributed one way or another.
Notable Performances: The pitching staff was overlooked due to the offense, but you can’t ask of much more from the four pitchers who pitched last night.
Better to Forget: In a rare occurrence, no one from the Yankees makes this list today.
My Take: WOW! This was a game that started off slow, and it seemed as if the Yankees were going to have a third straight game where they struggled to produce offensively. But they turned it around midway through the game and never looked back. This game was important for several reasons. The Yankees avoided a three-game losing streak, but also managed to get quality at-bats from several players who were struggling, including Joey Gallo, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Kyle Higashioka, the bottom third of the order.
But Luis Severino also delivered for the Yankees. He’s recorded three quality starts in a row and seems to be getting closer and closer to his former self. He may not get back to that point, but it’s good to see that he’s still an effective starter. Not a single Yankee could walk away from last night’s game upset with their individual performance. Everyone contributed, which just makes the entire night that much better. Let’s keep this up!
What’s Next: The Yankees travel to Boston for a four game set against the Red Sox. Gerrit Cole is expected to take the mound for the Yankees tonight while Josh Winckowski is expected to start for the Red Sox. The game begins at 7:10 pm EST on MLB Network from Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts.
Sixteen runs and whaddaya get?