Impressive performances from Gleyber Torres, Chad Green, Jonathan Loaisiga could be sign of more Yankee success in May

TORONTO — The Yankees may have started slow, but they couldn’t have ended the month of April better. They finished the first calendar month of the season with the best record in baseball, their pitching on point and their offense rolling.

And very early in May it looks like they could be getting even stronger. Monday night’s 3-2 win over the Blue Jays showed good signs.

Advertisement

“Obviously a big night for Gleyber (Torres), the homer and the clutch hit with two outs,” manager Aaron Boone said summing up the big divisional win. “Big steal off the bench for (Tim) Locastro. The pitching did their thing to limit them enough. The defense once again was there. That’s a good win against a really good team.”

The Yankees extended their major league-leading win streak to 10 straight games behind a strong night from Torres and their pitchers. Both were good signs for the Yankees going forward, because it showed that it’s not just the big boys in the lineup, like Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo, or in the bullpen, like Michael King and Aroldis Chapman, that can win games.

Advertisement

Gleyber Torres has a big night in Toronto Monday. (Charlie Riedel/AP)

They got another strong start from Jordan Montgomery, who kicked off a pitching effort that held off a lineup that included George Springer, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette.

But the way Jonathan Loaisiga and Chad Green picked up the ball and shut down the Blue Jays was very encouraging.

The Yankees bullpen has been the star of the first part of the season, but Loaisiga and Green haven’t been a part of that. They have struggled.

Loaisiga went into the sixth inning with an ugly 6.00 ERA and concerns about his stuff. He blew up in an April 17 loss to the Orioles in which he allowed four earned runs in an inning’s work.

Monday night, Loaisiga, who had his first five career saves in 2021, came in with Bichette on first and no outs. He walked Guerrero before coaxing a double-play ground ball from Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and struck out Matt Chapman to strand Bichette on third.

Loaisiga, whose average velocity was slightly down across his repertoire to start the season, came into 2022 as a potential heir to Aroldis Chapman’s spot as closer. His Monday night appearance made that seem more possible.

And Green, who was also mentioned as a candidate to close some games this year, has also struggled to start the season. He come in to close Monday night’s game with one of the worst hard hit percentages in the majors and having issued four walks in 9.1 innings pitched.

He struck out the first two batters he faced, catcher Alejandro Kirk and second baseman Santiago Espinal. He got a weak fly ball from right fielder Raimel Tapia.

Advertisement

“I feel like I’m finally getting into a little bit of a rhythm,” Green said after the game. “I just felt like it was coming out good and hopefully the more I run out there just the better it will be.”

Daily

The latest sports news locally and nationally, and what’s happening in sports this afternoon and tonight.

Torres has had two years of struggles. Defensively, the Yankees had to move him from shortstop to second base. Offensively — an All-Star his first two years in the league because of his bat, hitting 62 homers in 2018-19 — Torres also had issues.

In the last two years, Torres hit 12 homers. In 127 games last season, Torres had nine homers and 51 RBI. He slashed  .259/.331/.366 with a .697 OPS.

In 21 games this season (18 starts), Torres already hit three homers — including the two-run shot that powered the Yankees win Monday night. More impressive, he has three doubles, a triple and 12 RBI.

Monday night, Torres hit a laser of an opposite field home run to score the Yankees first two runs. After Stanton singled to get the ninth-inning rally started, Torres finished it with a line drive single.

“Last year I pulled the ball too much and this year I just tried to be more focused on the ball,‘’ Torres said. “I just try and stay within myself this year and help my team when I can.”

Advertisement

The ability to get big performances up and down the roster on any given night makes this streak even more important for the Yankees, Green said.

“It’s impressive because guys one through 26 are contributing. I’m just glad I’m able to be a part of it,” Green said. “It’s a different guy every night. When you’re able to do that, you’re going to continue to have success. Guys are showing up every day with a purpose and I think we’ll continue to do that.”