This has not been a great time for the New York Yankees. But the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders are doing well in Operation Save the Season.
Jake Bauers and Billy McKinney continue to deliver the kind of at-bats that Josh Donaldson, DJ LeMahieu and Giancarlo Stanton could only dream about. Jhony Brito was promoted to make a start Wednesday night against Seattle’s Luis Castillo that had Buster Douglas-Mike Tyson vibes in both how it was previewed and how it played out.
The Yankees have followed a miserable weekend in which they were swept in three games at Fenway by the Red Sox by producing two victories over a Mariners team even more offensively challenged than them.
They managed just seven runs on 13 hits over the last two games, but they held Seattle to three runs on eight hits. There is no shock when the Yankees limit an opponent with Gerrit Cole on the mound, as was the case Tuesday. He is an elite pitcher performing near his peak.
But Brito? He had an 8.28 ERA in his final seven major league starts before being sent to Triple-A, where in four starts he had a 7.08 ERA. Meanwhile, opposing Brito was Castillo, who dominated the Yankees before and after a trade deadline last year at which they tried and failed to obtain the righty. In three 2022 starts versus Castillo, the Yankees managed to hit .139 with one homer in 82 plate appearances, while he pitched to a 1.66 ERA.
This season, Castillo had the second-best strikeout percentage (33.7) among qualified starters and a 1.76 ERA in his last five starts. He also was facing a Yankees offense, minus Aaron Judge, that among its many problems had simply stopped making opposing pitchers work hard. They had walked just 15 times in their last 10 games, including none against Seattle on Tuesday. Heck, they generated just three three-ball counts in that game.
So, of course, Brito was efficient while Castillo struggled to put hitters away. Brito said he worked on his breaking ball and on keeping his pitches down in the zone during this bad stretch for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. And he looked polished and poised with his full repertoire in throwing 5 ²/₃ shutout innings Wednesday. He needed just 44 pitches to complete four innings. He struck out three and his only walk came against Julio Rodriguez, his final batter with two outs in the sixth.
“You couldn’t ask for much more than that,” manager Aaron Boone said.
Conversely, the Yankees were having long at-bats versus Castillo, who threw 103 pitches in five innings. In the third inning, Anthony Volpe battled from 1-2 down to draw a walk. Bauers followed by clocking a full-count fastball for his sixth homer and a 2-0 lead. Bauers has 15 extra-base hits in 109 at-bats.
McKinney homered in the following inning. His two-run homer off George Kirby was the key blow against Seattle on Tuesday. McKinney has reached safely in all 12 games with the Yankees, with hits in 11 of them and extra-base hits in seven.
“Billy has been consistent at-bats day in and day out,” Boone said. Of Bauers, the manager added: “Jake has done a really good job of impacting the ball. From the leadoff spot, I feel like he has had competitive at-bats and there has been a lot of presence about him.”
McKinney, Bauers and Willie Calhoun were journeymen lefty-swingers the Yankees brought to spring training for Triple-A depth, particularly from that side of the plate. All three started Wednesday as Boone sat LeMahieu and Stanton while playing Donaldson, who was all but booed out of the stadium during another listless 0-for-4. Calhoun injured his quad and almost certainly is headed to the injured list.
That will lead to further at-bats for McKinney and Bauers, who initially received their playing time through desperation and necessity. But now there is curiosity, too. Are these helpful spurts at the right time or something more than that? Can one or both keep the Yankees out of the trade market for a left fielder?
Mike Tauchman in 2019 and Matt Carpenter last season had those kind of out-of-nowhere lefty impacts for sustained periods before incurring injuries. With Judge out for 14 games already and with no clear return in sight and so many Yankees veterans struggling, McKinney and Bauers are needed to be not just a momentary burst turning into a pumpkin, as Franchy Cordero did earlier this season.
Bauers said in previous seasons he “has been in my own way,” basically overthinking his swing, in particular, but now he is just trusting the preparation and letting what happens, happen. McKinney, a first-round pick in 2013 — eight spots ahead of some guy named Judge — said he has never lost belief in himself.
Both are going to keep getting at-bats. Until Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes or both return from the IL, Brito might keep getting the ball. On the second most expensive roster in the majors, the Yankees are going to keep needing minor achievements.
