DJ LeMahieu hasn’t missed a beat in his return to Coors Field after making himself at home at the ballpark for seven seasons early in his career.
LeMahieu had two singles in the New York Yankees’ 7-2 setback to the Colorado Rockies on Friday and recorded his second three-hit performance of the season in a 6-3 victory on Saturday.
LeMahieu carries a five-game hitting streak into the rubber match of the three-game series on Sunday afternoon in Denver. He is 8-for-20 with three doubles during that stretch.
“It’s a special place for me,” LeMahieu told The Denver Post of playing at Coors Field. “I feel like I learned a lot as a player. (I was) part of great teams. I had some unbelievable teammates, so it’s a special place for sure.”
New York, which has won just two of its past seven games, is bidding for its first series win since taking two of three games from the Oakland Athletics on June 27-29.
Giancarlo Stanton homered and drove in four runs on Saturday to boost his career RBI total to 1,000. He has gone deep four times in his past four games.
“I’m putting good at-bats together,” Stanton told the YES Network of his recent stretch at the plate. “So as long as I stay on time and keep my rhythm, I can keep this going.”
Stanton is batting .345 (69-for-200) with 22 home runs in 53 career games against the Rockies.
Gleyber Torres recorded his fourth consecutive multi-hit performance. Overall, he is 11-for-25 during his six-game hitting streak and has reached base in 28 of his past 31 contests.
New York will turn to All-Star Game starter Gerrit Cole (9-2, 2.85 ERA) on Sunday against Colorado’s Chase Anderson (0-4, 6.89) in a battle of right-handers.
Cole, 32, pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the Mid-Summer Classic on Tuesday. He went significantly longer in his previous start three days earlier, allowing three runs on five hits in 7 1/3 innings of a 6-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs on July 8.
Cole is 5-1 with a 2.47 ERA in seven career starts against the Rockies.
Anderson, 35, has been shelled in each of his past four starts, permitting 27 runs on 30 hits — including eight homers — in 13 1/3 innings during that stretch.
He allowed five runs on seven hits — including three homers — in four innings of a 6-4 setback at the Houston Astros on July 5.
Anderson is 0-1 with a bloated 16.88 ERA in two career relief appearances against the Yankees.
Anderson’s issues are part of a brutal set of events for Colorado’s starting pitching staff. Antonio Senzatela joined Opening Day starter German Marquez in preparing to undergo Tommy John surgery, while Kyle Freeland (dislocated shoulder) and Ryan Feltner (fractured skull) are also out with injuries.
“On football when they call it, you get 15 yards — it’s called piling on,” Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt said.
Speaking of injuries, New York’s Josh Donaldson sustained a right calf injury during the seventh inning on Saturday and was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday. Infielder Oswald Peraza was recalled from Triple-A.
–Field Level Media
