Yankees' DJ LeMahieu Reaches Career Milestone Amid Vintage Performance
MINNEAPOLIS — DJ LeMahieu delivered a vintage performance atop the Yankees' starting lineup on Tuesday night in Minnesota, mixing in some history in the process.
The second baseman reached base five times in a 10-4 win over the Twins at Target Field, picking up hit No. 1,500 with his third knock of the game.
LeMahieu's special night began on the very first pitch of the game.
Twins right-hander Cole Sands was welcomed by LeMahieu with a blistering base hit back up the middle on a first-pitch fastball. The single flew back up the box at 106.6 mph.
A few pitches later, Aaron Judge drove LeMahieu in with a booming two-run shot off the shrubbery in center field, one of two runs scored for the second baseman in the win.
Later, after another single and a walk in his second and third trips to the plate, LeMahieu came up with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth. Instead of chasing with two strikes, LeMahieu took two close pitches from Juan Minaya, driving in a run with his second walk of the game.
Finally, in the seventh, LeMahieu poked a single through the right side for the 1,500th hit of his MLB career.
"That was cool to get [1,500 hits], but just really good at-bats by him," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said in his office after the game. "Setting a great tone for us up at the top. Feels like he's been swinging the bat really well lately. Hit into some tough luck the other day. Good to see him just continuing to have quality at-bats."
LeMahieu didn't reach in his sixth plate appearance of the night, but he still hit it hard. The second baseman flew out to right fielder Max Kepler with two men on.
On the season, LeMahieu is now hitting .264/.354/.402 (46-for-174) with four home runs, 27 runs scored and 24 RBI.
As of Wednesday morning, LeMahieu is the 16th active player to reach the 1,500-hit mark. His former teammate Charlie Blackmon is two hits away from the same number—they entered play on Tuesday tied with 1,497 hits.
Much of LeMahieu's production came from his days with Blackmon in Colorado. In fact, 1,011 of his knocks happened while he wore a Rockies uniform. He's had 474 hits (and counting) with the Yankees over the last four seasons.
Two of LeMahieu's current teammates aren't too far behind that number either. Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo both had one hit on Tuesday night, raising their career totals to 1,414 and 1,344, respectively.
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