TORONTO — On the day Anthony Volpe’s red-hot bat cooled, he turned the spotlight on his glove.
The Yankees shortstop had a great play on Wednesday to end a 6-4 victory over the Blue Jays. He came up to center field on a hard grounder from Vladimir Guerrero Jr., made a sliding stop, and hit a single for the final out. game.
“There’s a reason he’s a Gold Glover,” catcher Jose Trevino said. “That was a strong hit. It was a really good play to go to the left side and make that play.”
At that point, the Blue Jays had a runner on second base, and if Volpe hadn’t made a highlight-reel play, he would have scored and the game would have been a one-run game.
“It was impressive,” said Aaron Judge, who watched closely from center field. “As soon as he hit it, I knew it was probably going to come to me. Just put the ball in. He makes an unbelievable hook. You have to stop doubting him on plays like that. He did it all last year and he’s going to start doing it this year. It was a very impressive way to finish the game there.”
Volpe went to bat on Wednesday, a day after going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts, going 0-for-5.
But he found a way to influence the game anyway.
“It was a great play,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I mean, he’s special.”
Gerrit Cole is making progress, but he still has a ways to go before he’s close to returning to the Yankees.
The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner threw from 75 feet for the second consecutive day Wednesday, the first time he has pitched from 75 feet for the second consecutive day since mid-March, when he was sidelined with nerve inflammation and swelling in his elbow. was.
“I think he’s hoping to finish fourth.” [throwing sessions] We hope to build from there this week,” Boone said.
Cole is not eligible to come off the 60-day injured list until May 27, but there are still standards to meet before he can take the mound.
“I know he’s going to have to continue playing catch all next week, but hopefully he can get some more yardage in five days or four or five days,” Boone said. “Then the graduation to the mound begins.”
Tommy Kahnle, who stopped progressing in pitching in late March, held a bullpen session in Tampa on Tuesday. He has one or two more innings until he faces batters in batting practice.
Austin Wells had 39 stolen bases in 40 at-bats in the minor leagues, but is now 1-for-1 in the major leagues.
With two outs in the second inning on Wednesday, the catcher stole second base and Volpe came to the plate.
