Every time Gleyber Torres gets to first base, he talks to first base coach Reggie Willits about what to look for. It paid off Thursday, as Torres scored from first on an incredible scamper around the bases on Aaron Hicks’ infield single in the bottom of the eighth against the Astros.
After leading off with a single through the shift on the right side, Torres saw that with third baseman Alex Bregman at second base, no one was covering third on Hicks’ hit. He took off for third and when catcher Martin Maldonado ran down the line to get to third, it allowed Torres to run home, as pitcher Ryan Pressly watched from the mound.
Torres’ hustle got the Yankees to within a run, but they wound up losing, 7-4.
“It was an incredibly heads-up play,’’ Aaron Boone said.
The key, Torres said, was noticing that Pressly didn’t move on the play, although Houston manager Dusty Baker said first baseman Yuli Gurriel should have covered home after Maldonado left for third.
“I knew nobody was at home plate,” Torres said. “I just kept running and believed Maldonado [couldn’t] run back to home plate. I wanted to take advantage of that opportunity.”
He didn’t notice third base coach Phil Nevin trying to hold him at third.
It’s a scenario Torres said the Yankees practice often and they frequently remind pitchers to cover third base.
Giancarlo Stanton continued to be the hottest hitter on the planet, belting his ninth homer of the season — and his third in as many games.
The third-inning blast off Lance McCullers Jr. was estimated at 437 feet and put the Yankees ahead. It also extended his hitting streak to 12 games — all while in the two-spot in the lineup.
After flipping Stanton and Aaron Judge in the lineup on April 23 in Cleveland, Boone said the move was made to mix things up, but added the two sluggers are “somewhat interchangeable.”
Stanton hit two homers in that first game and hasn’t looked back, hitting .500 (24-for-48) with five homers, four doubles, 10 RBIs, two walks and eight strikeouts with an OPS of 1.416 going into Thursday.
“He went into the two-hole and started really raking,’’ Boone said with a smile. “I look at it more as a really good hitter getting it rolling. Had he been hitting two, four, three, whatever, I feel like we’d be in the same position.
“With that being said, there’s no denying what he’s meant in that two-hole and I think I’m gonna keep him there for a little bit.”
And the manager insisted there was no grand plan behind the switch, saying it was “a little bit for the heck of it.”
“Honestly, we got off to a tough start offensively for the first two weeks of the season as a group, so it was a little bit changing things up,” Boone said.
After the homer, Stanton struck out twice and hit into a game-ending double play. It’s the first time he struck out more than once in a game since April 20, when he’d done it in four straight games.
Aaron Hicks had three hits. He pulled up on his eighth-inning single and remained in the game after being checked by the training staff. Boone said the center fielder cramped in both legs. Boone said he had a conversation with Clint Frazier after Wednesday’s game about keeping his bat in the zone longer. Frazier responded Thursday by snapping a 5-for-59 slump with a homer to right in the fourth.
With Luke Voit still rehabbing from left knee surgery, Mike Ford continued to struggle, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. He’s now 0-for-15 with seven strikeouts since a homer on April 28. Asked if he was being too selective at the plate, Boone said he thought Ford’s approach was fine because his plate discipline is “what gives him a chance of being an impactful hitter here,’’ along with his power to right field.
Luis Severino is scheduled to face live hitters next week for the first time in his comeback from last year’s Tommy John surgery. The Yankees have said he’s expected back at some point “this summer,” and Boone declined to narrow that down, but said the right-hander is “progressing like we’d hoped.”