Daily dose of Yordan (Game 122)

Today's statline: 2-5, HR, 2B, 4 RBIs, 2 R

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At bat 1 (Bottom of first): 1 pitch groundout to first, RBI

Yordan swung at the first pitch and got off a lazy swing on a slider low in the zone, hitting a weak grounder to the right side for the easy unassisted groundout for the first baseman. Correa would score on the out though, so despite the substandard approach he managed to produce a good result. Hopefully he gets some good swings off on his next at bats (EDIT: looking at this later, he did indeed get some good at bats later on).

At bat 2 (Bottom of third): 1 pitch home run to center, 2 RBIs, R

Yordan once again swung at the first pitch, but this time Kikuchi threw him a lazy slider right down the middle. He was a bit early on it but he still crushed it, launching it 429 feet to center field for a no-doubt two-run home run that drove in Correa once again. After last at bat, it was great to see him get a great swing off on a pitch he eats for breakfast and capitalizing on an extremely hittable pitch. The replay all but confirms it, just a great, easy swing and a terrible pitch by Kikuchi.

At bat 3 (Bottom of fourth): 5 pitch double to left, RBI (later R)

The at bat started with 2 straight low sliders inside for Yordan, both of them taken for balls to work him into a 2-0 count. He then watched a fastball right down the middle for a called strike, before watching another fastball, this time inside near his hands though, to make the count 3-1. He then once again crushed a lazy pitch right down the middle, launching it hard to right field. Originally it looked like a home run (and then a fan interference out when the replay revealed it was the Jeffrey Maier special), but replay showed that the left fielder had no chance of grabbing it, effectively ruling it a RBI ground rule double. Again, a great at bat here resulting in a good swing against a hittable fastball, and this time he had the good plate discipline to back it up. He would also later score on a McCormick sac fly that effectively sealed the game (in the fourth inning lol).

At bat 4 (Bottom of fifth): 6 pitch groundout to first

Similarly to the previous at bat, Yordan watched consecutive fastballs outside of the zone high for a 2-0 count. He then pulled a splitter foul, before watching a splitter low to put him ahead 3-1. Then the pitcher came back with the same pitch that Yordan swung and whiffed on pretty badly to work the count full. Have to commend the pitcher here, not many would throw the same pitch again after a stone cold take the pitch before. Finally, he got a great swing off on a low pitch he craves, and he hit a scorching grounder down the right field line. Unfortunately, it was right at the shifted first baseman, who similarly to the first at bat, stepped on first for the unassisted out again. A disappointing end to the at bat, but that shouldn't take away from his great approach and swing he got off here.

At bat 5 (Bottom of seventh): 1 pitch groundout to shortstop

Again, Yordan was extremely aggressive on the first pitch, a slider low in the zone near his sweet spot. He probably could have gotten a better swing off on the pitch, as instead of the deep fly ball he normally hits on those pitches, he hit a bouncing ground ball that the shifted shortstop fielded easily for the routine out.

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Pitch data:

Slider – 5

3 put in play (2 groundouts and home run), 2 out of zone

Fastball – 5

2 put in play (double and groundout), 2 out of zone, 1 strike looking

Splitter – 4

2 out of zone, 1 foul ball, 1 strike swinging

Yordan did a great job as always today, particularly on the slider, where he hit his home run and two hard hit groundouts. He also was extremely good against the fastball, which is customary for him but good to see nonetheless. While his latter 2 at bats weren't good from the box score view, he didn't swing at any bad pitches that he shouldn't have today (with the lone exception of the 3-1 slider detailed in at bat 4) and overall his zone discipline was masterful. His second straight multihit game, hopefully it's the start of a nice hot streak.