Gleyber Torres lands on DL, muting day that Sabathia, Yankees sparkle
CC Sabathia delivered another solid outing, Giancarlo Stanton went deep for a second straight game and the Yankees won another series — but the good vibes in The Bronx were dampened Wednesday when Gleyber Torres was lifted from a 6-2 victory over Atlanta and later landed on the 10-day DL with a mild hip strain.
Sabathia gave up two runs in six innings — and threw more pitches than he had in an appearance since 2016 — on a sultry July 4th at Yankee Stadium, and Stanton’s three-run shot into the right field bleachers off Julio Teheran gave the Yankees some breathing room in the third.
But Torres — who suffered a tight right hip flexor Monday and was not in Tuesday’s lineup — left Wednesday’s game with more tightness and was replaced by Brandon Drury. Torres underwent an MRI.
The Yankees didn’t miss him Wednesday, but the rookie has been a critical part of the team’s terrific first half. With Wednesday’s win, they stayed a game behind Boston in the AL East and have infield depth thanks to the recent arrival of Drury.
Still, an extended absence for Torres — who has exceeded expectations — would no doubt be felt in the lineup.
The Yankees are off Thursday before beginning an 11-game road trip Friday in Toronto.
They ended the homestand with a third straight series win backed by Sabathia and an offense that has scored 28 runs in the last four games.
In the first, Sabathia hit Nick Markakis with an 0-2 sinker and then walked the red-hot Kurt Suzuki to load the bases with two out before striking out rookie phenom Ronald Acuna Jr. with a cutter. He needed 19 pitches to finish the inning.
Teheran was dominant in the bottom of the inning, striking out Brett Gardner, Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks on 10 pitches.
The right-hander continued to get ahead in the bottom of the second, but Didi Gregorius served an 0-2 fastball just inside the left field foul line for a one-out double. Teheran then fell behind Torres 3-0, but came back to strike him out.
Greg Bird, in a lengthy slump, then delivered a run-scoring single to right to make it 1-0.
Stanton’s blast gave Sabathia a four-run lead and Kyle Higashioka added to it by becoming the first Yankee since Alfonso Soriano in 2000 to have his first three MLB hits go for home runs. Aaron Judge added a solo shot in the seventh.
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The Braves had runners on the corners with one out in the fifth. Sabathia faced Danny Santana, who replaced Freddie Freeman after Freeman left following a hit by pitch in the third. Santana’s slow grounder to second scored a run to make it 5-1.
Sabathia allowed a homer to Johan Camargo with two outs in the sixth, followed by a double by Culberson, but got Dansby Swanson to ground out. He left after six innings and 103 pitches — the most he’d thrown in a game since September 29, 2016, when he threw 105.
It was his sixth straight solid outing.
Chad Green entered in the seventh and immediately gave up singles to Ender Inciarte and Ozzie Alibies. Santana then flied to left, Markakis lined to left and Suzuki hit one hard to right, but Judge tracked it down.