'That's Rizz right there': Rizzo delivers for second straight game

May 4th, 2024

NEW YORK -- Sometimes, it only takes one big swing to break a lineup out of a funk.

The Yankees have now gotten two from in a span of 24 hours, and they hope it means things start clicking again for their scuffling offense.

Only a few hours after connecting for the walk-off single in Friday’s series opener, Rizzo had the biggest swing again for the Yankees in their 5-3 victory over the Tigers on Saturday at Yankee Stadium. Rizzo’s third-inning three-run homer off Casey Mize banked off the side facing of the second deck in right field and into Judge’s Chambers, setting the tone for a team win and setting New York up for a potential sweep on a day that also featured Aaron Judge’s first career ejection.

“Today was excellent,” manager Aaron Boone said. “That’s Rizz right there. Getting to that pitch -- it looked like Mize got it in there -- and he just put a better swing on it, and really got into it. That was the difference in the game, right there. But a lot of good at-bats had set that up, and we were able to cash in.”

It had been a quiet week for the Yankees’ lineup. After bursting out for 30 runs in two games against the Brewers last weekend, it managed just six runs in the next four games combined against the Orioles. The Yankees were then very much held in check for most of Friday by Detroit pitching until Rizzo’s single capped a two-run rally in the ninth.

Even more encouraging, Saturday’s damage came from the heart of the order, which had been hard to come by for the past few days. Rizzo entered play 2-for-his-last-17 without an extra-base hit over his past five games. Judge entered play 2-for-his-last-16. Giancarlo Stanton: 6-for-his-last 30 with 13 strikeouts.

Saturday was a different story. The Yankees also got a run-scoring double from Judge ahead of Rizzo’s homer in the third, and a run-scoring laser of a single from Stanton off the right field wall in the first. Judge scored twice as part of a two-hit day before his surprising ejection by home plate umpire Ryan Blakney in the seventh.

In the end, the Yankees’ largest offensive output in almost a week was enough support for Clarke Schmidt and three relievers, who kept Detroit in check after Riley Greene’s leadoff homer. Schmidt struck out seven across five innings of three-run ball, and Luke Weaver got seven big outs behind him before Clay Holmes shut the door for his 11th save.

For Schmidt, it marked his 32nd start of allowing three runs or fewer since the 2023 season, second most in the Majors behind only Sonny Gray in that span. After Caleb Ferguson retired only one batter to open the sixth, Weaver retired seven of the eight batters he faced, further asserting himself as an important high-leverage option. Weaver, who has not allowed a run over his past 11 1/3 innings, is pitching to a 2.86 ERA and 0.73 WHIP in his first 12 appearances of 2024.

“Everybody likes zeros; so as long as you do it, you’re going to be in their good graces,” Weaver said. “I feel like I’ve come into my own … getting comfortable and feeling confident, and I think those two are merging.”

Asked why he thinks he’s thriving in this new role, Weaver shrugged and said, “Just being better at baseball, I guess.”

The Yankees were better in every aspect of the game Saturday, and even though Judge’s ejection turned heads, nothing is keeping him out of Sunday’s lineup. If the Yankees’ clutch rally Friday allowed them to breathe a sigh of relief, Saturday’s performance felt like a full exhale.