Yanks Look For Their First Series W Of 2021 On Easter Sunday

  Game 2 of the Yankees' 2021 baseball season went much better than how their Opening Day turned out. In Corey Kluber's debut as a Yankees, he caught a glimpse of what is setup to be a well oiled machine. As the veteran righty made his Yankee debut wearing the pinstripes in the Bronx, Kluber a.k.a "Klubot", held Toronto to two runs (one earned) and five hits over four-plus innings. The two-time Cy Young Award winner navigated around three walks, a hit batsman and a wild pitch. At the end of his 74-pitch effort, Kluber managed to out pitch five batters.

   “It was fun to get back out there and have a chance to compete with the boys,” Kluber said. “All and all, I made pitches when I needed to. There were a couple situations where I fell behind some guys and wasn't able to work my way back in the count. For the most part, when there was traffic out there, I was able to make pitches....”

  Kluber wasn't the only newest member of the team to shine in the Saturday matinee. Entering the gates of Yankee Stadium and making his way into the clubhouse to prepare for the game, to his surprise Jay Bruce found his name penciled into the lineup. Filling in for Luke Voit, Bruce made the most of his opportunity and it was extra special because he impacted the game on his birthday.

  Who could have written it up any other way, Bruce managed to be a bit of a reckoning force on both sides of the baseball. The veteran first baseman got his first RBI in pinstripes that helped push the club to their first victory of the very early season in a 5-3 win over the Blue Jays.

  According to the newly acquired 1st baseman, Bruce said the following:

  "I don't take any of this for granted. This is another special one for me....I've been able to essentially spend every birthday since I was 21 or 22 years old on a Major League field. To be on a team of this caliber and the storied franchise that it is, I'm enjoying it. It was a great birthday....”

  Bruce connected for a two-run single off Tim Mayza in the sixth inning, a flare that found grass in left field. As Bruce put it,  “...it wasn’t the prettiest or hardest hit of all-time, but I’ll take every one I can get.”

  Bruce wasn't finish his attack on the Jays, to also ensure that he help the Yanks edge out Toronto, he also put together a bit of a stellar defensive play in the sixth inning, which robbed a hit from Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

  In a response to his contributions to the media, he said, "I'm here to help. I'm here to win a World Series....In my opinion, we definitely have the team to do that, and to contribute like that is great. I’m always looking forward to getting the first [hit] out of the way. Now we go....”

  Considering the shorten season of 2020, the injured players and everyone that was struggling, it was great to see that Game 2 worked in the Yankees offensive favor. There was no hiding the fact that Gary Sanchez was struggling last season and he really wasn't showing that much impressive work ethic in spring training, but since starting the regular season, The Kraken has been unstoppable on both sides of the baseball.

  Gary Sánchez homered for the second time in as many games on Saturday, joining Elston Howard (1963) as the only Yankees catchers to homer in their first two games of a season.

  In the fourth inning, Sánchez connected his bat with a line drive over the left-field wall against Toronto starter Ross Stripling, who permitted three runs and seven hits over 3 1/3 innings. Sánchez’s 365-foot drive came off the bat at 102.5 mph, according to Statcast.

  Yankee fans can only hope that the Yankee catcher stay on track for the entire 162-game stretch of the 2021 season.

  “It’s a confidence boost,” Sánchez said through an interpreter. “I’ve always trusted myself. I just want to go out there and give the best I have. I give 100 percent and try to help my team any way possible. Like I’ve said before, I’m looking for consistency.”

Only two Yankees have ever homered in each of the team’s first three games: Dave Winfield in 1983 and Mark Teixeira in 2011.

“I feel like he’s winning pitches up there, which is good to see,” manager Aaron Boone said of Sánchez. “Every at-bat, he’s been in the fight.”

  Locking It All Down

Unlike the first game of the 2021 season, the Yanks actually had all their ducks-in-a-row for the most part in the second game of the season. 

The Yankees' bullpen combined for five innings of one-run, three-hit relief behind Kluber, highlighted by right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga, who tossed two perfect innings and has retired all nine batters faced this season.

“I'm excited about where he's at,” Boone said. “He threw the ball really well in spring, and he's obviously a very important guy down there, especially as we have some guys down.”

  Left-hander Lucas Luetge permitted a run in the seventh inning, marking his first Major League appearance since April 25, 2015, with the Mariners. He allowed one hit and threw two wild pitches.

With closer Aroldis Chapman serving the last day of a two-game suspension, Chad Green relieved Darren O’Day in the eighth, sealing the final four outs for his fifth career save.

“It’s nice that fans are in the stands, so you get a little cheer and stuff like that,” Green said. “The adrenaline is definitely starting to come back. It was definitely nice to get that extra boost.”

  Now as the Yankees go for their first series win of 2021 on Easter Sunday, it will be a battle of righties on the mound in the Bronx. 

  Yankees' RHP Domingo German returns to the rotation after missing last year due to having to serve a suspension for domestic violence. The Yankee organization was pleased to see that there is as lack of rust from the righty, who led the staff with 18 wins in 2019 but was unavailable in the postseason.

  German will toe the rubber against the Jays' righty T.J. Zeuch. Zeuch earned praise throughout the organization during spring training. In turn, his spring efforts lead to him getting a shot against the Yanks. The Jays' righty is a ground ball pitching machine, which in turn produces weak contact instead of chasing swings and misses.

  Can the Yankees stand their ground behind German and lockdown their first series win of the season and defend their home turf on their Opening Weekend ?