Friday marked the first time Domingo German faced major-league hitters in a game setting since September of 2019, and his reintroduction couldn’t have gone much better from a pitching standpoint.
German, making his spring training debut and taking the mound for the Yankees for the first time since he was put on the restricted list for a domestic violence incident, tossed two scoreless innings against the Tigers, striking out four and allowing just one hit.
"It was exciting to be back on the field, be back with my teammates," German said through his interpreter. "I felt relaxed and I felt confident. That’s exactly what my pitching coach told me, to go out there and have fun and relax, and that’s exactly what I do."
The 28-year-old made a strong early case to be the Yankees’ fifth starter for 2021 by recording a three-pitch strikeout to begin the game, then picked up another punchout on a changeup to end the first inning. His fastball hovered around 93-94 mph, topping out at 94.6 in the first inning before striking out Willi Castro.
German ran into some trouble to start the second when Wilson Ramos yanked a hard grounder down the third base line for a ground rule double, but German settled in to retire the next three batters, two via strikeout. He struck out Spencer Torkelson looking, forced Harold Castro to foul out, then struck out Akil Baddoo on another changeup to finish his day with 31 pitches, throwing 21 of them for strikes.
German struggled in winter ball after completing an 81-game suspension in 2020 for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy. German spoke to Yankees ownership and the team upon his arrival to spring training, and the team decided German would be given another chance to prove himself. He has a long way to go in proving himself a changed person, but physically, his performance on Friday was encouraging for the Yanks.
"I don’t think it was hard," German said on making his return to the mound for the first time after his suspension. "That’s why I asked the team to allow me to play in winter ball in the Dominican Republic, to get back on track. As far as the fans, I thought they were spectacular. I thought I was welcomed."
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