A relative unknown, Tauchman hits first homer

NEW YORK -- Mike Tauchman said that his mind went blank as he rounded the bases for his first career home run on Tuesday evening, though he did have the presence to permit himself a few extra beats, tracking the ball's flight into the second deck of the right-field seats at Yankee Stadium.

Tauchman received a healthy serving of high fives following his three-run sixth-inning blast off Red Sox reliever Erasmo Ramirez, part of an 8-0 Yankees rout, then plopped onto the bench alongside outfielder Clint Frazier.

"Hey, that's my first career home run," Tauchman told a stunned Frazier, who added an extra fist bump to congratulate his teammate, who was acquired from the Rockies in late March and made the Opening Day roster without playing a single Grapefruit League game in pinstripes.

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"It was a bomb," Frazier said. "He knew it right off the bat. Everyone was really happy for him. He caught us by surprise, because we didn’t know it was his first home run. Everyone was in there congratulating him. He’s a real good guy. Everyone wants to see him succeed, so I'm happy for him."

On the star-studded Yankees roster, Tauchman may be a relative unknown, but his name has been circulating among front-office staff for some time. The Yanks acquired the 28-year-old in large part because of his defensive versatility, but they believe his bat will be valuable at the big league level as well.

"I’ve heard his name talked about for a better part of the last year," manager Aaron Boone said. "He has that kind of ability to get better in the outfield, and we saw a little glimpse of the power at the plate. With opportunities, hopefully he can get a little more settled in, because he can really help us."

Tauchman had two hits in 16 at-bats (.125) entering play on Tuesday, but he delivered a fourth-inning RBI double off Chris Sale, which Tauchman was surprised to learn had not been scored a triple.

With New York leading, 4-0, at the time, Tauchman then tagged the three-run blast in the sixth, calculated by Statcast to have traveled 399 feet.

"Any homer is great, but for one with some guys on base and come up in a spot, execute and score some runs, it's awesome," Tauchman said. "It was a surreal experience, being here at Yankee Stadium to get the first one."

Tauchman said that the ball was caught by a father and son, who were happy to swap the keepsake for an assortment of autographed baseballs and photographs.

"They were really nice about it," Tauchman said. "It was cool. It's a memory I'm going to have forever."