Yankees' Domingo Germán Finishes Impressive Month With 'Terrific' Performance in Oakland
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OAKLAND — Domingo Germán raised his hands high above his head, pounding his fist into his glove as he moseyed across the foul line toward the first-base dugout on Saturday night in Oakland.
Batches of Yankees fans in attendance at RingCentral Coliseum were already on their feet, serenading the starter with a standing ovation.
Germán had thrown 7.2 scoreless frames against the Athletics on Saturday night, the longest outing of his entire big-league career. He struck out five and took a no-hitter into the sixth, cruising through Oakland's lineup with maximum efficiency, throwing a total of just 79 pitches.
"Domingo was terrific," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said in his office after the game, a 3-2 loss to the Athletics in extra innings. "I looked up there, he was 16 batters in and had thrown nine balls. Just ahead in the count, using everything, breaking ball was really good, both fastballs, the changeup. He was really sharp, really efficient, awesome pace to him. Really good once again."
As Boone alluded to, this wasn't the first time Germán has shoved in a Yankees uniform this year. Remarkably, the right-hander has been this team's best starting pitcher in the month of August, posting a 2.08 ERA across eight outings. His 34.2 innings pitched in August rank third among all MLB pitchers.
"From the get-go, warming up in the bullpen, I felt like my pitches were there," Germán said through the Yankees' interpreter.
Germán made his 2022 debut in late July, getting rocked by the Astros in the nightcap of a doubleheader to open the second half. That start in Houston came after several months on the 60-day injured list as Germán worked back from right shoulder impingement syndrome.
"When you're coming back from an injury and you've been out for quite some time, you have doubt because you don't know how you're going to come back," Germán said. "Am I going to feel strong? Am I going to have the stamina there? But the work that I've been able to do in between starts, the work on the sharpness of my pitches, being able to mature as a pitcher, I think has allowed me to get the results."
Considering starting pitchers Luis Severino (lat strain) and Nestor Cortes (groin strain) are both on the injured list—and starters Jordan Montgomery and JP Sears were both dealt at the trade deadline—Germán has meant a great deal to this club's rotation of late. Sure, it's unclear if Germán will factor into the Yankees' plans for their postseason roster and if this hurler can sustain this success. It's impossible to ignore just how effective and reliable Germán has been over the last four-plus weeks, though.
Germán added that he's not thinking at all about what will happen when Severino, or any other injured hurler, is ready to rejoin the big-league pitching staff. He's focused on his routine and responsibilities each day. In this case, that meant studying Gerrit Cole's masterpiece from the night before, coming up with a solid game plan with catcher Kyle Higashioka and the coaching staff and then sticking to it between the lines, executing with the baseball in his hand.
"Decisions like that belong to the front office," Germán said, asked about his future in the rotation. "For me, it's important that I just go out and do my job."
MORE:
- Yankees' Aroldis Chapman Lands on Injured List With Infection From Tattoo
- Yankees' Lou Trivino Nearly Entered Game Wearing Wrong Jersey
- Yankees' Gerrit Cole Owns Oakland, Reaching Strikeout Milestone
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