Luke Voit returned from his first IL stint on May 11, and after two weeks of struggles at the plate, the righty slugger declared that the start of a series against the Blue Jays in late May was his Opening Day.
That series opener against Toronto was on May 25. It was the last game Voit would play until Tuesday night.
Voit suffered an oblique strain on his self-declared Opening Day, and now, last year’s home run leader is running it back again, declaring Tuesday night his Opening Day, and it looked like the third Opening Day was the charm. Voit went 2-for-3 with a triple and a home run, the latter coming in his first at-bat off the IL.
“I flushed the first half and I’m finally healthy,” Voit said. This is the first game since the beginning of spring that I’ve been healthy. Getting hit in the hand my second at-bat, I think I changed my mechanics in my swing, which is why I think I hurt my oblique. There’s nothing wrong with me now, I feel great.”
The hit by pitch against the Rays when Voit first came back from knee surgery played a part in his slow start, and has still played just 13 games so far this season. But he showed the Yanks what they’ve been missing, coming up big right away after going hitless in his first 10 at-bats the last time he came off the IL.
“You obviously want to felt that first hit out of the way when you get back, and I was able to do that,” Voit said. “I was ready to go from pitch one, and it felt amazing, especially after having really good at-bats in Somerset. To draw a couple 3-2 counts and hit a bit triple, which I never hit, it felt really good [Tuesday night]. I’m happy with my at-bats.”
Voit even flashed some speed with a triple that missed his second home run of the night by a matter of feet. It was just Voit’s third triple of his career, counting the postseason, as the big first baseman showed off his power and mobility to hopefully quiet any concerns of his health this time around.
“I knew it was gonna be close since it was in the gap and it’s a little deeper part, but after looking at the video, it looked like the dude reached over,” Voit said of his triple, which was upheld after video review showed a fan reach over the wall. “Obviously I wanted it to be a homer, but honestly I didn’t even think I was gonna get third because of the rules with fan interference. I thought it might be a double. Interesting play, but hey, I’ve got a 1 in that box now. Probably my last one of the year, but who knows.”
Voit and the Yanks hope that type of production from Voit was far from the last one of this season. The team has been starved for production at first base, and a healthy Voit has the ability to thrust a long-struggling offense into some consistency. Voit finally feels like he’s physically able to shoulder that load and help the Bombers play to their nickname again.
“I got my legs under me and everything’s rocking and rolling,” Voit said. “I’m ready to get this team rolling into the All-Star break and go from there. it’s been good so far.”
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