The Martian blasts off in the Space City with HR in first AB
In 'best game that I've been part of,' Dom¨ªnguez hits 1 of 4 Yankees homers off Verlander
Bryan Hoch
@BryanHochHOUSTON -- Jasson Dom¨ªnguez arrived in the big leagues sporting a boyish grin and tailed by impossible hype, already compared to some of the sport¡¯s greatest outfielders before setting foot in the batter¡¯s box. It took all of one swing to show why expectations are so high.
¡°The Martian¡± homered on his first swing in a Major League game, blasting an opposite-field two-run homer off likely future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander. Dom¨ªnguez¡¯s first-inning blast was one of four dingers that the Yankees hit off Verlander, powering a 6-2 victory over the Astros on Friday night at Minute Maid Park.
¡°I knew it was going to be a lot of different feelings, finally stepping on the field and my dream coming true right in front of me,¡± Dom¨ªnguez said through an interpreter. ¡°I was able to connect there for that hit, and it ended up being a homer. It¡¯s probably the best game that I¡¯ve been part of in my career.¡±
One of the most celebrated international prospects in recent memory, compared to Bo Jackson, Mickey Mantle and Mike Trout before signing his first pro contract, the 20-year-old Dom¨ªnguez will now have an extended opportunity to forge his path as the Yanks¡¯ starting center fielder.
¡°You can¡¯t help but notice his skills anytime you get to see him in person,¡± Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. ¡°Look, it¡¯s one game, but you get a peek tonight why a lot of us are excited about him.¡±
Dom¨ªnguez looked at a curveball for a called strike from Verlander, then was challenged with a 94.3 mph fastball across the heart of home plate. Dom¨ªnguez stroked the ball into the Crawford Boxes in left field, a blast that came off his bat at 100.2 mph with a 26-degree launch angle, traveling a Statcast-projected 360 feet.
¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting a curveball first pitch, for sure,¡± Dom¨ªnguez said. ¡°He caught me off guard there, first pitch. But we go to meetings and we prepare. I stuck to my plan there.¡±
Said Verlander: ¡°First time facing him, he was cat and mouse, trying to figure him out and he¡¯s trying to figure me out. I think the first thing you¡¯ve got to figure out is, 'Where does he like to hit the ball?' Apparently, right where I threw it.¡±
Dom¨ªnguez said he had ¡°a lot of family¡± in the stands for Friday¡¯s game, including his parents, aunts and uncles. They cheered wildly as Dom¨ªnguez rounded the bases, as did Dom¨ªnguez¡¯s teammates in the dugout.
¡°We were jumping up and down like little kids,¡± Aaron Judge said. ¡°It¡¯s just impressive. I¡¯m excited for him. We just felt a different energy on the bus coming to the field today. Just a little bit of excitement, a little bit of jitters. It was, all in all, a good day.¡±
At 20 years and 206 days, Dom¨ªnguez is the youngest Yankee to homer in his first big league at-bat, and the first to do so since Tyler Austin and Judge went back-to-back on Aug. 13, 2016. He is also the fifth-youngest player in AL/NL history to homer in his first at-bat.
¡°He¡¯s going to remember that for the rest of his life,¡± Giancarlo Stanton said. ¡°He just seems comfortable. Nothing seems to faze him. He knows he deserves to be here, and should be here.¡±
Yankees security retrieved the ball for Dom¨ªnguez, who said that he would give the keepsake to his mom. It was the second homer surrendered in the inning by Verlander, who also allowed a leadoff drive to DJ LeMahieu.
Stanton rattled the glass windows with a two-run homer in the third inning, and Judge struck the train above the left-field wall for his 250th career home run in the fifth. Judge is the fastest player ever to reach that plateau in terms of games played (810).
¡°It¡¯s great; I really don¡¯t think about it too much,¡± Judge said. ¡°Doing it in a win means more.¡±
Yankees catcher Austin Wells also notched his first Major League hit, a second-inning single off Verlander.
¡°I had to make sure I looked up,¡± Wells said. ¡°I saw my family and saw them going crazy. That was pretty cool.¡±
Carlos Rod¨®n navigated five innings of two-run ball, earning his second win as a Yankee. Boone said that the lefty, guided by Wells¡¯ game-calling, showed the best stuff he has had through nine starts with the club, a statement that Rod¨®n agreed with.
But this night belonged to the kids, with the Yankees starting four players age 23 and under (Dom¨ªnguez, Everson Pereira, Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe) for the first time since September 1969.
¡°You¡¯re always looking for the right mixture of youth and veterans, and when you get that blend right, it can be special,¡± Boone said.