NEW YORK — Randy Vasquez allowed a few extra hits Friday evening as he took a long swing in the outfield at Yankee Stadium. This was his first Major League game. D has ever been found, and starts when he steps on the mound.
The 24-year-old Vasquez, promoted from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre as Domingo German finished his suspension, was effective in his first start in a stacked Padres lineup, with little support as the Yankees’ bats held up. 5-1 loss.
“I went out there and warmed up, I took a little bit and looked around, getting ready for the starter,” Vasquez said through an interpreter. “You can see how majestic Yankee Stadium is. There were many thoughts that came to my mind at that time. I thank God for this opportunity and my family who have helped me so much to get here.
Juan Soto, rated the No. 12 prospect in the Yankees organization by MLB Pipeline, hailed a long fifth-inning two-run homer from Vásquez’s second deck to right field.
“I felt good going up against those guys,” Vasquez said. “You understand the players, and at the same time you’re competing against those guys.”
Arriving at the gates of summer to greet the start of the holidays with his grandfather, uncles and aunts amid a crowd of 46,724, Vasquez scattered four hits over 4 2/3 innings, walking three and striking out six in an 84-pitch effort. .
“I said to him after the game, ‘It’s like an offense against us, you don’t get two runs against a lineup like that,'” Yankees captain Aaron Judge said. “He held them scoreless for a while, then Soto did his thing and got two. I was excited to see; we’ve got a lot of young prospects to see in the next couple of years.
Vazquez, who was optioned to Triple-A after the game, made his 12th appearance as a starting pitcher in the last 16 seasons (since 2008). Prior to Johnny Brito on April 2 this season, the most recent examples were Luis Gil (2021) and Davey Garcia (2020).
“We’ve been watching this kid since last year when he was in Double-A,” said Yankees hitting coach Carlos Mendoza, who served as interim manager on Friday. “We saw him a little bit in spring training. It’s not easy coming in here for the first time in a big league game and facing a good lineup. Overall, I thought he was well established.
“I found out about an hour before the match. “After we finished batting practice, Bunnie called me into the office and told me about it,” Mendoza said.
The Yanks were limited to six hits over 6 1/3 innings by Padres starter Joe Musgrove, with the right-hander allowing the only run on a sixth-inning Anthony Rizzo groundout. The Bombers have scored at least six runs in four of their last five games and have scored one run each of the last two nights.
“Not trying to spread it too much, it’s just us capitalizing when we get pitches at the plate,” Judge said in a sixth-inning doubleheader that extended his streak to 13 games. “Staying in our zone, staying in our lanes. When we do that, we’re going to be a good offense. When we get a little bit spread out and miss our mistakes, it’s tough to beat.” [teams]Especially with the pitching staff that got there.”
Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a two-run homer in left field into the second deck off Ron Marinaccio in the sixth inning.
After returning to the position with tailbones and flexors, Tatis Jr. received running commentary from fans in the right-field seats, many of whom cited the 80-game performance-enhancing drug he received last August.
“I think he was locked in; he was ready to go,” Judge said. That’s the difference there.
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