NEW YORK (AP) – Greg Bird shrugged his shoulders a few times, gave a bashful smile or two and talked about how he’s just honored to be helping his Yankees teammates. Nothing seemed to faze this 22-year-old rookie.
Not even those two soaring homers he hit in his fourth big league start.
Bird hit a pair two-out, two-run drives Wednesday, supporting an overpowering effort by Nathan Eovaldi and leading the New York Yankees to a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins for a three-game sweep.
“His composure. You feel like he’s been here already six months,” teammate Chase Headley said. “He’s very calm.”
Eovaldi (13-2) did not allow a baserunner until Chris Hermann singled with one out in the sixth. Topping 100 mph on the scoreboard radar a handful of times, Eovaldi was touched for three runs in the inning when he lost command of his secondary pitches.