With Kyle Higashioka on the COVID-19 list, Gary Sanchez started a game behind the plate with Gerrit Cole on the mound for the first time since Opening Day, and the results were a brilliant one-run outing over six innings with 11 strikeouts.
Cole’s performance came against a potent Red Sox lineup in a must-win game over the weekend, and with Sanchez set to catch Cole again on Friday against that same Boston lineup, has Aaron Boone considered moving away from Higashioka as Cole’s personal catcher?
“These last 10 days/two weeks have been such a whirlwind…of everything possible happening to our team,” Boone told Carton and Roberts on Thursday. “I still love the Higgy/Gerrit pairing and like that it cycles through with usually lining up with a good day to get Gary a day off. I still see Higgy catching him a lot, but I’m absolutely comfortable with Gary going back there with him as well.”
Higashioka could return to the Yankees by the Rays series on Tuesday, and could slot right back into his usual role of Cole’s catcher, but Sanchez proved over the weekend that he can catch Cole and have success, and his 17 home runs (second best on the team) is hard to keep out of the lineup, even while in a recent slump. But Sanchez is the clear superior hitter over Higashioka, and the Yankees need production on offense, so Boone will at least consider getting Sanchez more reps with the Yankee ace.
“We’ll see how the schedule lays out moving forward and when the right day is to give them a day,” Boone said.
Sanchez is getting a day in Thursday’s series opener, with Rob Brantly catching Jordan Montgomery in the series opener, with Boone wanting to rest Sanchez after two demanding nights behind the plate.
“Coming off basically two four-hour games, and he was kind of limping on the plane last night and we got to the hotel around three in the morning,” Boone said. “I thought about DHing him today, but today was the right day to have him down. A tough righty going for them, it was probably the best day to have Brantly in there. He’s doing good today and will be a factor off the bench from the middle of the game on.”
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