Yankees’ Franchy Cordero Homers Four Times on Road Trip

Yankees' Franchy Cordero’s fourth homer on Wednesday was the biggest of them all.

Newly acquired outfielder Franchy Cordero is quickly becoming a fan favorite in the Bronx.

During the New York Yankees’ six-game road trip in Baltimore and Cleveland, Cordero went on a tear that reminded many of Matt Carpenter’s heroics from the previous season.

Cordero, who was scooped up by the Bronx Bombers after the Baltimore Orioles released him at the end of Spring Training, hit four home runs on the trip. The Yankees won three of the four games where he homered, and ultimately won four of the six games, winning two in each series.

The outfielder needed only 26 plate appearances this year to hit four homers. He needed 199 plate appearances to reach that mark last year. His 11 RBI leads the team, while the four homers is tied with none other than Aaron Judge for the club lead. In just seven games played, Cordero already has a 0.5 FanGraphs WAR and a 217 wRC+.

Although all of his homers were impactful, his solo shot on Wednesday in the rubber game against Cleveland was the biggest of them all.

With the Yankees trailing 3-2 in the seventh inning, Cordero led off against Guardians reliever Trevor Stephan. With a 2-1 count, Cordero got a pitch right down the middle and absolutely crushed it into the bullpen area in right-center field. The ball traveled 439 feet with a 112.7 MPH exit velocity. Most importantly, it tied the game at three.

The Yankees went on to score the eventual game-winning run in the top of the ninth inning, and held on for a 4-3 victory. This was only the fourth time in the Yankees’ storied history where they won their first four series to start a season. Cordero was a major factor behind that.

Even more noteworthy is that all of Cordero’s homers have come on the road so far; he has yet to hit one into Yankee Stadium’s short porch in right field. With the Yankees returning home to play the Minnesota Twins on Thursday, perhaps Cordero can continue his hot streak and delight the Bronx faithful. 

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