From Bryan Hoch:
Anthony Volpe was signing autographs down the third-base line at Truist Park during batting practice on Saturday afternoon, and the Yankees’ shortstop was hearing words of encouragement spilling from the grandstands. One voice advised: “Keep your head up. Good things are about to come.”
Those words proved prescient. Hours later, Volpe was rounding the bases for the first multi-home run game of his career, having slugged a game-tying solo blast in the eighth inning. Trent Grisham hit a go-ahead grand slam off Raisel Iglesias in the ninth, lifting the Yankees to a 12-9 victory over the Braves.
Volpe’s frustration has been evident over the past month-plus, entering Saturday’s action with just nine hits in his last 99 at-bats (.121) dating back to June 15. But the third-year shortstop began to change the narrative in the fifth inning, belting a two-run shot to left field off Wander Suero.
As I noted before the game, I expected the Braves to hit Warren, but the Yankees really needed to hit the shitty Braves pitching, and, well, hey, it ended up that way, at least!
But yes, lots of very annoying things in this game. Will Warren did his typical headcase performance, where he’s lights out, then has one hiccup, and suddenly he’s given up five runs. That dude truly has to work on his mental fortitude. He’s obviously a very talented pitcher, but you can’t CONSTANTLY collapse like that, dude!
Scott Effross was bad, and honestly, what the fuck even IS Scott Effross now? He clearly doesn’t have the same stuff he had before his many injuries, so what are they even doing with that guy? He’s a smarter pitcher than some of their other relievers, and he definitely seems to know how to pitch (he did throw a wild pitch, but that’s not that big of a deal). His stuff just isn’t good anymore.
Lo is a whole other thing, as his stuff is still pretty good, he just SUCKS. There’s no good reason for it. The stuff is still there, he just SUCKS.
Weaver, thank goodness, is back to his old self. I guess it was just WWWLWM.
Devin Williams also gave up a run, but I didn’t mind that. Four-run lead, hadn’t pitched in a long time, there was a little rust. I was more impressed by how he reacted once it was second and third. He really buckled down and tore through the Braves hitters. So I’m not worried about him.
I AM worried about Will Warren having a terrible inning out of nowhere at any given moment. What a fucking HEADCASE.
Anyhow, the offense was great. Anthony Volpe, holy shit, right? Grisham, too. It’s so hard to pick which guy to bench on this team every game, which is a pretty good problem to have. It’d be amazing if Spencer Jones made it an even HARDER problem next season!
Featured image is the granny.