TAMPA — Aroldis Chapman made his exhibition debut Friday night in the Yankees’ 5-1 loss to the Orioles at Steinbrenner Field when he followed prospect Deivi Garcia at the start of the third inning.
Chapman’s first pitch since the Astros’ Jose Altuve ended the Yankees’ season with a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to win Game 6 of the ALCS last year was clocked at 97 mph. He reached 99 mph on his third pitch and struck out Andrew Velazquez.
Austin Hays stroked 98-mph fastball to left for a first-pitch double before Chapman shattered Dwight Smith Jr.’s bat with a 98-mph pitch that was dribbled to the right side. Chapman ended the inning by getting Anthony Santander to pop up on an 86-mph off-speed pitch.
“I was a little excited, a little out of my rhythm but at the end it is all good,’’ said Chapman, who threw 10 pitches, seven of which were strikes.
In his second outing of the spring the 20-year-old Garcia gave up two runs (one earned), two hits and struck out two in a pair of innings.
Aroldis ChapmanAPThis past Sunday the Yankees brought shortstop Anthony Volpe, their first-round pick a year ago from Delbarton High School, to Lakeland, Fla., for a game against the Tigers. He went 0-for-1.
Anthony Siegler, a catcher taken in the first round of the 2018 draft out of Cartersville (Ga.) High School, will be going Saturday to Bradenton, where the Yankees play the Pirates.
Looking to increase the workload as the exhibition season moves toward the end of the second week, Zack Britton threw a simulated game Friday afternoon at Steinbrenner Field.
“It’s getting to be that time of the spring,’’ Britton said.
Britton threw an inning on Tuesday against the Red Sox ahead of Friday’s session. He is expected to pitch again Sunday against the Braves at home. The Yankees will send a squad to Sarasota to face the Orioles, but Britton isn’t expected to visit his former team.
Masahiro Tanaka threw a 26-pitch bullpen session on Friday. He is slated to start against the Orioles on Sunday in Sarasota, which would be his regular turn to pitch.
Garcia and first baseman Chris Gittens were named as the 2019 Kevin Lawn “Pitcher of the Year and “Player of the Year’’ for their 2019 minor league season.
The annual awards are dedicated to Kevin O’Brien Lawn — the son of Jack Lawn, the longtime Yankees vice president and chief of operations —who died in 1999.




