The Yankees lineup Thursday hardly made it seem like they were going for the kill against the Orioles.
They had Tim Locastro starting in center, in part due to Aaron Hicks being out on the paternity list. And Marwin Gonzalez filled in at shortstop for Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
Yet on the first play of a 10-5 win over Baltimore, there was Gonzalez making a fine running play near the left-field line on a Cedric Mullins pop-up.
And although Locastro had to deal with a strong wind in center, he made a difference on the base paths throughout the game — starting a four-run fifth inning by reaching on an error by third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez and then scoring on Gonzalez’s double to left in the next at-bat.
“As soon as I saw the ball hit, I was thinking [I would score,]’’ Locastro said. “No doubt about it.”
Tim Locastro scores on Marwin Gonzalez’s RBI double in the 5th inning. Robert Sabo for the NY POST
Marwin Gonzalez hits a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning. Charles Wenzelberg/New York PostThe Yankees have talked often about their deeper, more complete roster this season and perhaps Thursday was an example — although Baltimore’s five errors played a pretty big part in the win, as well.
Locastro’s speed contributed to another run in the sixth.
After Joey Gallo led off with a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch, he was able to get to third when Mike Baumann made a poor throw from the mound on a Locastro comebacker, which Locastro beat out for a hit.
Gallo then scored on a Gonzalez sacrifice fly.
Locastro also walked and scored in the eighth on a wild pitch, which provided more insurance for the Yankees — who needed it when Ron Marinaccio struggled in the ninth and gave up three runs before Lucas Luetge ended it.
“Marwin running down the foul line was not an easy play and then he got us going with the [RBI] double,’’ Boone said. “Locastro wreaked havoc on the bases. Scoring from first was pretty special. To have guys that are not in there every day impacting the game is a good thing.”
