BALTIMORE — Josh Donaldson has a team-high 13 strikeouts and an ugly OPS of .454, not exactly what the Yankees expected when they made him the centerpiece of the trade that sent Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela to Minnesota last month.
“I think he’s on the verge,’’ Aaron Boone said of Donaldson before the Yankees opened a series against the Orioles on Friday at Camden Yards with a 2-1 loss in 11 innings.
“I’m not worried about him,’’ the manager said. “If we keep him healthy, he’ll have a big year for us.”
Donaldson went 1-for-5 with a single and two more strikeouts.
In an effort to try to keep Donaldson on the field, he has been used as the DH — something he did again on Friday, with DJ LeMahieu at third base and Giancarlo Stanton in right field for a second straight game.
“He’ll be rotating through there [at DH],’’ Boone said. “We value and want him in the field, but I think if we can possibly get him days at DH day, it hopefully serves him well.”
Last season in Minnesota, Donaldson started 34 games at DH — the highest number of his career — with 91 starts at third base. And Donaldson hit better when playing third, with an OPS of .871 there and a .708 OPS as a DH.
Boone said Stanton likely would DH on Saturday.
Jordan Montgomery looked just fine after suffering a bruise on his left knee when he was struck by a 102-mph comebacker off the bat of Boston’s Xander Bogaerts in his first start of the season.
The left-hander pitched five shutout innings on Friday, limiting the Orioles to three hits in his 71-pitch performance that was wasted because of the offense’s struggles.
“I thought he was really good,’’ Boone said. “He got into a good rhythm and finished really strong. He got into trouble in the fifth inning, but made pitches when he had to. We were fortunate he didn’t miss any time.”
Aaron Judge wasn’t in the lineup for the first time of the young season on Friday.
Boone said it was a planned day off, something he had targeted since Opening Day and the fact the Yankees were stuck in a rain delay on Thursday, which caused them to not get to their hotel in Baltimore until after 3 a.m., only reinforced that.
Judge pinch-hit for Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the top of the 10th and grounded out. He entered Friday with extra-base hits in his previous three games and had reached base in all seven games.
Gleyber Torres had a one word reply when asked about the new left field wall at Camden Yards: “Huge.”
It might as well be named after the Yankees second baseman, who has eight career homers in Baltimore — the most of any road stadium.
And his 1.132 OPS at Camden Yards is his highest at any ballpark in which he has played more than five games. Torres went 0-for-3 with a walk in Friday’s loss.
Friday night was the Yankees’ first visit to the Orioles since they pushed the left field wall back 26 ½ feet and raised it nearly six feet to a height of 13 feet in an effort to reduce the number of home runs hit by opposing hitters.
Of course, it’s also robbing Baltimore hitters of homers, but it was easier to mess around with the dimensions of the iconic ballpark than to get better pitchers.
Boone said he was “still getting used to” the wall in left, which includes a severe angle in left-center that figures to be difficult for left fielder to navigate.
“It seems a little weird,’’ Boone said of the new dimension. “It’s a little bit odd.”
Boone likened it to the hill that used to be in the outfield at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
Torres’ dominance at Camden Yards is due in no small part to Baltimore’s hapless pitching and his most successful season there came in his breakout 2019 season, when he hit seven homers in 36 plate appearances.
Boone said Luis Severino had “good soreness” coming out of Thursday’s start, another bit of encouraging news after the right-hander tossed five scoreless innings on Thursday. Severino hasn’t had any physical issues since his entire arm was sore following his second Grapefruit League start of the spring.
He has pitched eight innings this season after being limited to 7 ¹/₃ innings last year following Tommy John surgery and a slew of setbacks.
Aaron Hicks was among players around the majors to donate some or all of their salary for Friday’s game to The Players Alliance in recognition of Jackie Robinson Day. The Players Alliance is a partnership between MLB and the Players Association to increase the number of black players.
BALTIMORE — Josh Donaldson has a team-high 13 strikeouts and an ugly OPS of .454, not exactly what the Yankees expected when they made him the centerpiece of the trade that sent Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela to Minnesota last month. “I think he’s on the verge,’’ Aaron Boone said of Donaldson before the Yankees opened a series against the Orioles on Friday at Camden Yards with a 2-1 loss in 11 innings. “I’m not worried about him,’’ the manager said. “If we keep him healthy, he’ll have a big year for us.” Donaldson went 1-for-5 with a single and two more strikeouts. In an effort to try to keep Donaldson on the field, he has been used as the DH — something he did again on Friday, with DJ LeMahieu at third base and Giancarlo Stanton in right field for a second straight game. “He’ll be rotating through there [at DH],’’ Boone said. “We value and want him in the field, but I think if we can possibly get him days at DH day, it hopefully serves him well.” Last season in Minnesota, Donaldson started 34 games at DH — the highest number of his career — with 91 starts at third base. And Donaldson hit better when playing third, with an OPS of .871 there and a .708 OPS as a DH. Josh DonaldsonAP Boone said Stanton likely would DH on Saturday. Jordan Montgomery looked just fine after suffering a bruise on his left knee when he was struck by a 102-mph comebacker off the bat of Boston’s Xander Bogaerts in his first start of the season. The left-hander pitched five shutout innings on Friday, limiting the Orioles to three hits in his 71-pitch performance that was wasted because of the offense’s struggles. “I thought he was really good,’’ Boone said. “He got into a good rhythm and finished really strong. He got into trouble in the fifth inning, but made pitches when he had to. We were fortunate he didn’t miss any time.” Aaron Judge wasn’t in the lineup for the first time of the young season on Friday. Boone said it was a planned day off, something he had targeted since Opening Day and the fact the Yankees were stuck in a rain delay on Thursday, which caused them to not get to their hotel in Baltimore until after 3 a.m., only reinforced that. Judge pinch-hit for Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the top of the 10th and grounded out. He entered Friday with extra-base hits in his previous three games and had reached base in all seven games. Gleyber Torres had a one word reply when asked about the new left field wall at Camden Yards: “Huge.” It might as well be named after the Yankees second baseman, who has eight career homers in Baltimore — the most of any road stadium. And his 1.132 OPS at Camden Yards is his highest at any ballpark in which he has played more than five games. Torres went 0-for-3 with a walk in Friday’s loss. Friday night was the Yankees’ first visit to the Orioles since they pushed the left field wall back 26 ½ feet and raised it nearly six feet to a height of 13 feet in an effort to reduce the number of home runs hit by opposing hitters. Of course, it’s also robbing Baltimore hitters of homers, but it was easier to mess around with the dimensions of the iconic ballpark than to get better pitchers. Boone said he was “still getting used to” the wall in left, which includes a severe angle in left-center that figures to be difficult for left fielder to navigate. “It seems a little weird,’’ Boone said of the new dimension. “It’s a little bit odd.” Boone likened it to the hill that used to be in the outfield at Minute Maid Park in Houston. Torres’ dominance at Camden Yards is due in no small part to Baltimore’s hapless pitching and his most successful season there came in his breakout 2019 season, when he hit seven homers in 36 plate appearances. Boone said Luis Severino had “good soreness” coming out of Thursday’s start, another bit of encouraging news after the right-hander tossed five scoreless innings on Thursday. Severino hasn’t had any physical issues since his entire arm was sore following his second Grapefruit League start of the spring. He has pitched eight innings this season after being limited to 7 ¹/₃ innings last year following Tommy John surgery and a slew of setbacks. Aaron Hicks was among players around the majors to donate some or all of their salary for Friday’s game to The Players Alliance in recognition of Jackie Robinson Day. The Players Alliance is a partnership between MLB and the Players Association to increase the number of black players.