NEW YORK (AP) – Gary Sanchez’s at-bats are becoming must-see events.
The 23-year old rookie homered for the eighth time in nine games and drove in four runs as the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 14-4 Friday night in the opener of their weekend series.
“Guys are excited to watch,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “It’s as good as I’ve seen to start a career.”
Mark Teixeira and Chase Headley also went deep for the surging Yankees, who moved five games over .500 for the first time this season and are 3 1/2 games behind Baltimore for the second AL wild card.
Sanchez, who had three hits, singled with two outs in the bottom of the first. Teixeira followed with a towering shot into the right-field bleachers off Yovani Gallardo to give New York a 2-1 lead.