There were still enough kids in the stands that when the ball flew off Alex Verdugo’s bat into the gray late-afternoon sky, an expectant scream could be heard as it made its way to the outfield wall. I did.
They then listen to their parents and learn the golden rules of flyballing in a baseball game. Look at the outfielders. He will tell you how far he was attacked. Then I looked over to the right field seats and saw George Springer slowly making his way back toward the cordon. I saw the ball die maybe 15 feet short of the fence. I saw the ball land in Springer’s glove.
So the Yankees weren’t going to follow a sports movie script, and they weren’t going to tie the game and send the rest of the Opening Day crowd of 47,812 into a frothy frenzy. They would lose 3-0 to the Blue Jays, wasting Marcus Stroman’s great start. Here’s a rundown of the Yankees’ eight games of the season so far:
They score, they win.
However, neither in the 9th inning nor against Yusei Kikuchi did he score. Yusei Kikuchi pitched against Stroman for 5 1/3 innings, not all day long. They have lost two games so far this year, both shutouts. It’s too early to read too much into it. But it’s worth noting and keeping on file.
“The crowd was primed and ready to explode,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “But we weren’t able to launch an attack that would actually blow the roof off.”
“It wasn’t the result we wanted,” Aaron Judge added. “We couldn’t give them much energy.”
Mr. Boone would avoid the Christmas rush and some Yankees fans would want him fired, even if he handed out free hot dogs and ice cream to all fans heading to the Yard. This immediately aroused second speculation. In the seventh inning, Verdugo drew a two-out walk from left-hander Genesis Cabrera.
In what felt like an odd move, Toronto manager John Schneider called up right-hander Trevor Richards, told Boone to bring in pinch-hitter Oswaldo Cabrera in place of Jon Barty, and to replace Jose Trevino. He also hinted at the possibility of appointing Austin Wells in his place. However, Boone held on to Berti, who jumped out, and also held on to Trevino, who struck out the first batter in the eighth inning. Boone said he’s not considering using a left-handed swinger as a sub.
“No,” he said. “None other than Richards.”
There will be many days when you worry about the coach’s decisions and balls that don’t fly the right distance. In fact, the main takeaway from Opening Day was that Yankee Stadium once again felt and sounded like the very center of the baseball world.
It was a relief that the Yankees were 6-1 when they entered the game. But the crowd was going wild long before the first pitch. They greeted Strowman loudly as he headed to the bullpen before the game, and Strowman responded with a full meal.
And even that pales in comparison to the greeting Juan Soto received as roll call began to sound from the bleachers in the top of the first inning, with Soto waving his arms, taking off his hat, and bowing in a grand manner. I complied. He had a quiet day at the plate, going 0-for-4 and showing obvious anger after fanning to end the eighth inning.
But like Stroman, he savored every moment of this home debut. They’ve jumped in with both feet at a time when so many New York imports seem to be slowly adapting, or not at all, to the city and its insane rush of sports-obsessed citizens. Good to see.
“I didn’t eat anything last night or this morning. I was so looking forward to coming to the park and so grateful for the home crowd,” Stroman said. “The energy when I left 35 or 40 minutes before the game was just incredible. Feeling the love from the crowd meant everything to me.”
Soto said, “It’s really cool, it’s really nice and it’s really exciting to see the fans coming to the games and cheering. It was really good. Once they get going, it really helps the team moving forward.”
We didn’t have enough people this time, but there will be another time next time. There may be other games as well. It feels like Yankee Stadium is the epicenter of baseball again. Even if the day ends in a loss, it still feels like a win.
