With new tune and same gloves, Rizzo breaks out for 4 hits
NEW YORK — Anthony Rizzo knew what to anticipate as soon as he accomplished a sluggish trot across the basepaths, having snapped a 45-game homerless streak that represented the second-longest drought of his profession. The silent therapy was coming, and he was having none of it.
Rizzo exuberantly bounded by means of the dugout, slapping nonetheless backs with abandon till his teammates belatedly got here to life, showering the primary baseman with hugs and sunflower seeds within the Yankees’ 8-5 victory over the Royals on Sunday afternoon.
“It’s easy to look out and say, ‘I’m drowning and in the water,’” Rizzo mentioned. “I just kept saying, ‘I’m on the boat and waiting for the winds to pick up.’ You’ve got to have fun with it. I think the reaction from the dugout and the guys shows that you’ve got to try to find highs, keep yourself up, stay positive.”
The third-inning homer off Jordan Lyles was Rizzo’s first since May 20 at Cincinnati, serving to the Bombers full a three-game sweep of Kansas City. Rizzo loved his first four-hit recreation since Aug. 4, 2019, when he was with the Cubs. The Yankees have received every of their final 15 collection in opposition to the Royals since May 2015, going 36-11 in that span.
Even a possible wet-blanket second – Gleyber Torres exiting with left hip tightness – appeared to be a lot ado about nothing, as Torres had no exams scheduled and shortly appeared on the Yankee Stadium diamond for the staff’s annual picnic.
“We were struggling the last couple of days, but we have a team that can fight back,” mentioned Luis Severino.
The finest vibes surrounded Rizzo, who has been looking for solutions to snap his skid. He even eschewed batting gloves on Saturday, although he wore them for Sunday’s homer. The extra notable change was in Rizzo’s walk-up tune: the collection of Taylor Swift’s “…Ready For It?” yielded immediate outcomes.
“Taylor Swift, it’s her summer, really,” Rizzo mentioned. “She’s helping the economy in every city.”
The matchup with Lyles seemingly felt snug for Rizzo; no batter has confronted Lyles greater than Rizzo’s 43 plate appearances in opposition to the veteran.
“I know he is not swinging it as well as he wants to right now, but he is a really good hitter and pitchers don’t love seeing him in lineups,” Lyles mentioned.
Rizzo’s homerless streak ended one shy of his career-high of 46 video games, which got here throughout two seasons: June 12, 2011 by means of June 29, 2012, with the Padres and Cubs.
“To see him get going the way he did today, it means a lot to us,” Harrison Bader mentioned. “We pull for each other. We support him; we support everybody. It’s a big day. More important than the results are how he’s been battling through it, staying positive, staying focused. It’s awesome to see him pop one.”
Rizzo, who singled in his ultimate two at-bats of the sport, additionally stroked an RBI double within the Yankees’ four-run first inning, powered by Torres’ sixteenth homer of the season and Bader’s run-scoring single.
“When you’re going through it, it’s not easy; it’s not fun,” supervisor Aaron Boone mentioned of Rizzo. “But he’s got a lot of support in that room. Everything points to, we should be able to get that out with the physical attributes he still possesses. It was a good day for him.”
Severino navigated 5 2/3 innings to select up his second victory, allowing three runs and eight hits. Salvador Pérez and Michael Massey homered off Severino, who walked none and struck out 5.
Ian Hamilton (1 1/3 innings), Michael King (one inning) and Ron Marinaccio (one inning) completed off the sweep, the Yanks’ first in a three-game collection since May 19-21 at Cincinnati — coincidentally, the identical set through which Rizzo belted his most up-to-date homer.
“I’ve learned through the ebbs and flows of this game, going through ups and downs,” Rizzo mentioned. “It comes and goes. No matter how good you think it’s going, or how bad you think it is, it usually evens out if you just stay the course.”
