Like it or not, New York Yankee fans, he’s back.
Struggling shortstop Anthony Volpe will return to the lineup Tuesday night when New York tries to secure a series win against the visiting Washington Nationals.
“I view Anthony as our shortstop,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Monday night before his team started the series with a 10-5 victory. “Hitting at this level is really tough and it doesn’t always go like this because a guy rockets through the system and comes with high expectations.
“Sometimes it does, but sometimes it takes longer than that. (He) has shown all the signs that he can be a really good offensive player. Consistency is that next wave, and that’s what he’s working really hard to do.”
Volpe is batting .208 with 18 homers, 65 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. He is in the midst of an 8-for-66 (.121) stretch that inspired Boone to give Volpe what he called a “reset,” inserting Jose Caballero for the team’s 7-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night and for the Monday night victory.
Not only has Volpe, a third-year starter, failed to find consistent footing with the bat, but he also has taken steps backward on defense. A 2023 Gold Glove winner, Volpe has 17 errors this year, the second-highest total in the majors, trailing only Cincinnati’s Elly De La Cruz. Volpe also is 31st of 34 qualified shortstops in outs above average at minus-7, per Baseball Savant.
Caballero went 1-for-7 with an RBI in his two games as the starting shortstop but didn’t commit an error.
The Yankees will give the ball to right-hander Luis Gil (1-1, 4.26 ERA) on Tuesday. He last worked on Thursday during New York’s 6-3 loss to Boston, allowing four hits and two runs (one earned) over five innings with five walks and three strikeouts. Gil will face Washington for the first time.
Opposing him will be left-hander MacKenzie Gore (5-11, 4.12 ERA), who has been disappointing since the All-Star break. Gore last pitched Thursday in Washington’s 9-3 rout of the New York Mets but lasted just 4 1/3 innings, permitting six hits and three runs while walking four and fanning five.
Gore’s ERA was 3.02 prior to his All-Star Game appearance, but that mark has risen by more than a full run since then. In his past seven starts, he is 1-4 with a 7.88 ERA. Gore is 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA in two career starts against the Yankees.
The Nationals have dropped three straight but were playing a decent brand of baseball before the Monday loss, when they pitched, defended and hit poorly. They ran into two outs on the bases before the Yankees’ five-run fifth took them out of contention.
A five-run ninth inning at least allowed Washington to take one positive out of its 78th loss this year. Nationals batters drew a pair of two-out walks in spots where some teams might have eagerly hacked at pitches just off the plate to get a one-sided loss over with.
“Every night, they fight,” interim manager Miguel Cairo said. “They don’t give up at-bats. That’s what you’re looking for.”
–Field Level Media
