Yankee Pitching Strikes Out 18 Tigers in Grapefruit League Game

With nine days before Opening Day, the Yankees hope their major league-level pitchers are built up.

If Tuesday’s Spring Training game is any indication, their pitching staff looks ready for the big day.

In a 6-3 win over the Detroit Tigers, five Yankees pitchers combined for 18 strikeouts. Four of the pitchers (Luis Severino, Clay Holmes, Jonathan Loaisiga, and Wandy Peralta) are key contributors to the team, and look Opening Day ready.

Severino actually got off to a rocky start, allowing two runs in the top of the first inning. The first batter of the game, Kerry Carpenter, went deep to make it 1-0 Detroit. Another run scored when Jonathan Schoop singled, stole second, and came home on an Austin Meadows' double.

However, Severino settled in afterward, with all three outs recorded in the first being strikeouts. After that inning, Severino allowed only two more baserunners (both in the fourth inning) and struck out six more batters. He finished the day with four innings pitched, four hits, two runs (both earned, and both scored in the first inning), one walk, and nine strikeouts.

After striking out four of six batters in the second and third innings, Severino struck out Eric Haase before walking Meadows and allowing a single to Ryan Kreidler. But he got out of the jam by retiring Cesar Hernandez on a force play and striking out Zack Short. The strikeout of Short concluded Severino’s day, after throwing 74 pitches and 50 strikes.

Holmes, the presumed closer this year, took the ball in the fifth inning and needed just eight pitches, all strikes, to get three outs. He struck out two batters, both on three pitches and with the breaking ball. The other at-bat was two pitches, with Holmes’ renowned sinker inducing an easy groundout.

Loaisiga, who missed part of Spring Training to participate in the World Baseball Classic, came in to pitch the sixth. Although he threw 20 pitches in the inning, Loaisiga struck out all three batters he faced. The first at-bat against Riley Greene took nine pitches, but Loaisiga blew a 99 mph heater by Greene for the first out. After striking out Haase for the second out, Loaisiga battled pinch-hitter Nick Maton for eight pitches, winning the battle when a nasty 98 mph sinker was whiffed. Loaisiga’s one inning of work pushed the team’s strikeout total to 14.

After the Yankees scored five runs in the bottom half of the sixth, Peralta took the ball for the top of the seventh. He allowed a leadoff single to Kreidler before striking out Hernandez, the Yankees’ 15th strikeout of the day. Peralta then walked Short to put runners on first and second, but he got out of the jam two pitches later by getting Jonathan Davis to ground into a double play. Peralta threw 18 pitches in the inning.

With a 6-2 lead, the Yankees chose to send in non-roster invitee James Norwood to get six outs. Although he had to get out of a bases loaded jam in the ninth inning (while also giving up a run), he did just that by striking out Andy Ibanez and Andrew Knapp to end the game. Norwood’s three strikeouts resulted in the final total of 18.

The game had several highlights on offense as well, most notably a pair of homers by Josh Donaldson and a decisive five-run sixth inning bolstered by Donaldson’s three-run shot.

But with Spring Training nearing its end, the most important thing for the Yankees is to use their key players at the plate, in the field, and on the mound. With strong pitching from four players who are guaranteed to be on the regular season roster, the Yankees look like they’re ready for the season to begin.

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