The Yankees, in desperate need of a win after a disastrous homestand, looked to be on their way to another frustrating night against Cleveland on Thursday night, with more of the same struggles at the forefront.
One of the issues for the Yanks this year has been the lack of depth from their starters outside of Gerrit Cole, and on Thursday, Domingo German showed no signs of changing that narrative when he allowed three runs in the first inning.
But German, just back from the alternate site, settled down and turned what appeared to be a disastrous start into his best performance of the season, giving the Yanks hope that German could get back to what he was in spring training and in 2019 before his suspension for violating the league’s domestic violence policy.
“Just a remarkable performance considering how that first inning unfolded,” Aaron Boone said after Thursday’s 6-3 victory. “To have the pitch count where it was, it was one of those ‘are you going to have to get someone up in the first?’ and he just settled in and got incredibly pitch-efficient and gave us a huge outing.”
After allowing those three runs in the first, which included an error by German to extend the inning, the righty tossed five scoreless innings, walking just one batter and striking out six. By the end of the first, it looked like another short outing for a Yankee starter, and for German, who had allowed seven runs in his first seven innings of the season, it looked like another step towards a change in the rotation with Deivi Garcia as another option. Instead, he turned in one of the best starts by a Yankee this season not named Cole.
“Very satisfied with the fastball command and the results tonight,” German said through his interpreter. “It was something I worked on at the alternate site and I think I was able to command my fastball, use it to set up my pitches…just want to keep the focus and keep the rhythm going the rest of the season.”
German’s time at the alternate site seemed to pay off on Thursday night, though at first, it looked like he might wind up right back there after a disastrous first inning. But German, and the Yankees as a whole, rebounded to get a big win.
For German, he hopes his clutch start is something he can build off of, and avoid another trip to the alternate site.
“The alternate site gave me time to work on some minor things I needed to work on, find myself and I just came here and felt a little more confident to execute the pitches,” German said. “Now I think it opens the doors for me to find that rhythm and keep doing the things I’d like to.”
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