Luke Voit Provides The Offense As New York Continues Up Swing On The West Coast Against Los Angeles
Just who is Luke Voit?
Before arriving in the Big Apple the first baseman was a member of the Saint Louis Cardinals during the 2017 as well as part of the 2018 season before heading to the Bronx that same year. Now he is in his first full season in pinstripes and doing quite well I might add for a team that has a lot of players on the injured list and despite all of that New York is still winning games.
Voit homered twice on Tuesday, powering his club to a 7-5 victory over the Angels. Mike Ford also belted his first Major League homer, supporting Domingo German’s terrific start as New York won its fifth straight contest. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/luke-voit-leads-yankees-to-5th-straight-win
“A lot of the guys are out of the lineup and I’m not getting as many pitches to hit,” Voit said. “I’ve just got to stay in my zone and not swing at bad stuff, try to put myself in good counts and get pitches to hit. Sometimes that happens, sometimes it doesn’t, but I’ve got to find a way, grind out at-bats and get on base for the guys -- or hit home runs.” “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/luke-voit-leads-yankees-to-5th-straight-win
“A lot of the guys are out of the lineup and I’m not getting as many pitches to hit,” Voit said. “I’ve just got to stay in my zone and not swing at bad stuff, try to put myself in good counts and get pitches to hit. Sometimes that happens, sometimes it doesn’t, but I’ve got to find a way, grind out at-bats and get on base for the guys -- or hit home runs.” “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/luke-voit-leads-yankees-to-5th-straight-win
Voit claimed the team lead with seven homers and extended his on-base streak to 34 games, the longest active mark in the Majors, as his third career multi-homer game helped to build a 7-1 lead behind German. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/luke-voit-leads-yankees-to-5th-straight-win
Pitching has been the driving force as the Yankees have won seven of their last eight games, with their starters going 4-1 with a 1.56 ERA over that span. A 26-year-old righty with electric stuff, German in particular has been excellent, prompting Voit to summarize his teammate’s night as “disgusting.” “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/luke-voit-leads-yankees-to-5th-straight-win
Commanding all three of his pitches, German limited the Angels to an unearned run on four hits over 6 2/3 innings, picking up his fourth victory in five starts. He walked one and struck out five in a 99-pitch effort. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/luke-voit-leads-yankees-to-5th-straight-win
"I've been working really hard toward this,” German said through an interpreter. “This is a great opportunity that I have now. I can't let it go. I can't lose my focus. I've got to believe in myself, believe in what I can do out there and believe in my talent as a player and a pitcher to keep working." “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/luke-voit-leads-yankees-to-5th-straight-win
That efficient outing was especially welcome after the Yankees played back-to-back extra-inning games on both coasts, leaving most of manager Aaron Boone's frontline bullpen options on ice. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/luke-voit-leads-yankees-to-5th-straight-win
"It wasn’t real easy for him the first couple of innings," Boone said. "It wasn’t the sharpest breaking balls he’s had, but he pitched. He keeps showing us that when he’s not necessarily at his best, he’s still able to go out and have a performance like he did." “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/luke-voit-leads-yankees-to-5th-straight-win
With the victory, German improved to 4-1 with a 1.75 ERA through five games (four starts). “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/luke-voit-leads-yankees-to-5th-straight-win
"His numbers right now, he’s like a top five pitcher in baseball," Voit said. "He’s getting the job done, stepping up in big situations for us. In the time we’ve needed him to step up, he’s been there for us." “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/luke-voit-leads-yankees-to-5th-straight-win
The six-run cushion prompted the Yanks to insert Chad Green into what appeared to be a low-leverage eighth-inning situation, but that backfired as the struggling reliever loaded the bases on two hits and a walk, then served up a grand slam on a fat changeup to Justin Bour. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/luke-voit-leads-yankees-to-5th-straight-win
"It seems like it's been a common theme right now," said Green, whose ERA bloated from 12.27 to 16.43. "I'm just not executing pitches when I need to. Bottom line, it's been really bad so far." “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/luke-voit-leads-yankees-to-5th-straight-win
Luis Cessa relieved and induced an inning-ending double play from Kevan Smith, and Zack Britton pitched the ninth for his first save. Boone said that the Yankees will continue to work on addressing the mechanical flaws that are affecting Green's performance. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/luke-voit-leads-yankees-to-5th-straight-win
"He’s fine physically; just struggling to finish hitters," Boone said. "He just doesn’t quite have that finish on pitches we’re used to seeing." “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/luke-voit-leads-yankees-to-5th-straight-win
Tyler Wade and Gleyber Torres also drove in runs, while Brett Gardner finished a home run shy of the cycle in a four-hit performance as the Yankees improved to a season-high three games over .500 at 13-10, sending the Angels to their ninth loss in 11 games. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/luke-voit-leads-yankees-to-5th-straight-win
"Right now, we’re getting it done in all facets of the game," Voit said. "Obviously the home runs are nice, but we’re getting guys over, getting sacrifice flies, huge hits. Guys are stepping up in bigger roles and it’s fun to watch." “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/news/luke-voit-leads-yankees-to-5th-straight-win
With the win, New York who is a member of the American League East improves to 13-10 while Los Angeles who is a member of the American League West drops to 9-15 on the season. “according to https://www.mlb.com/yankees/standings
New York and Los Angeles will return to the diamond to play game three of their four game series Wednesday night in Anaheim California.