Jasson Dominguez had never before been to Yankee Stadium, a long-envisioned destination that only existed as a theory and a dream until Tuesday.
In his Bronx debut, the exciting top prospect watched as his team’s veterans guided the way.
On a night earmarked for the youth, it was the aged who came through in a 5-1 victory over the Tigers in front of 31,553 who watched a quartet of veterans produce another victory during a surprise September spurt.
The Yankees (69-69) moved back to .500 with a fourth straight win and their seventh in their past eight games.
They are suddenly seven games back of an AL wild card.
“This game’s filled with crazy stories and crazy finishes,” manager Aaron Boone said. “And you never know.”
The Yankees allegedly waved a white flag for the season in calling up the kids and parting ways with veterans such as Harrison Bader and Josh Donaldson.
New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) throws against the Detroit Tigers during the first inning. Noah K. Murray-NY Post
But the team’s clubhouse — powered by the retained veterans and the exciting prospects — has not written itself off.
“We’re not out of it until we’re out of it,” said Giancarlo Stanton, whose milestone, 400th home run put the club ahead to stay and who mentioned that the Yankees still have two series with the Blue Jays and a series in Boston, both wild-card contenders. “That [wild-card spot is] ours to take.”
The clubhouse has been energized by the presences of Dominguez, Everson Pereira and Oswald Peraza, who were all in the lineup, as well as Austin Wells, who received his first day off.
But it was the Cy Young front-runner in Gerrit Cole; a generational slugger in Stanton; a bouncing-back, three-time All-Star in DJ LeMahieu; and the rolling Gleyber Torres who powered the Yankees on another encouraging day.
Cole was effective if not perfect over six, one-run innings in which he scattered eight hits, walked no one and struck out seven.
New York Yankees DJ LeMahieu and Giancarlo Stanton (27) celebrate after defeating the Detroit Tigers. Noah K. Murray-NY Post“No matter the situation, we knew what we needed to do to get through it,” said Cole, who continually escaped because he limited damage, seven of the eight hits singles.
After another good effort combined with a middling day from Minnesota’s Sonny Gray, Cole owns the lowest ERA among qualified American League starters. Cole’s dropped to 2.90, while Gray’s rose to 2.98.
Cole allowed an RBI single to Miguel Cabrera in the top of the sixth before Stanton emerged for the bottom of the inning to ensure Cole would win his 13th game of the season.
In a tie game, the heavyweight blasted a go-ahead, two-run home run to become the fourth-fastest in MLB history, in terms of games played, to reach No. 400.
Stanton stepped into a slider from José Cisnero and rocketed it an estimated 451 feet to left-center to give the Yankees a 3-1 lead and give himself a significant piece of baseball history.
New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton (27) acknowledges fans after hitting his 400th home run against the Detroit Tigers. Noah K. Murray-NY Post“A very G-esque ball,” Boone said of the 116.8 mph smash. “No one really hits like that.
“An absolute missile over the bullpen.”
It took Stanton 1,520 games to reach No. 400, only beaten by Mark McGwire (1,412), Babe Ruth (1,475) and Alex Rodriguez (1,489).
Stanton joined a party that LeMahieu had started with a leadoff home run in the first inning, the seventh blast in his past 13 games for a player who has come alive in the second half.
The party was finished by Torres, whose eighth-inning double added the final two runs of the night.
“What’s been cool about [this run] is everyone’s chipping in. Everyone’s playing a role,” Boone said of his club, which is “going out and expecting to kick your ass. That’s the way we look at it.”
New York Yankees center fielder Jasson Dominguez (89) follows through on a swing in during the third inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers. Noah K. Murray-NY PostThe veterans performed outside of the spotlight, which shined on a 20-year-old wunderkind.
Dominguez finished 1-for-4 with his first Bronx hit — an eighth-inning double into the right-center-field gap — and a couple of fielder’s choices that might not have shown off his bat, but did give fans a glimpse at his speed.
All eyes followed him wherever he went in his first foray into a ballpark he might call home for a long time. But in his home debut, the future took a backseat for the present.
“There’s a lot of pride in that room to make sure we’re putting our best foot forward,” Boone said. “We’ll look up at the end and see where we are.”
