Amed Rosario delivered a pivotal solo home run against Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga, fueling the New York Yankees to a 2-0 victory Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field. The veteran hitter, acquired for his ability to perform against left-handed pitching, provided a much-needed jolt for a Yankees lineup that has been missing key hitters.
Manager Aaron Boone acknowledged Rosario's importance, stating, "We need his presence against these lefties." Rosario's performance on Friday contrasted with a recent slump against southpaws. In his first 50 plate appearances against lefties this season, he hit .273 with an .888 OPS. However, in the 66 plate appearances that followed, his average dropped to .161 with a .454 OPS. This dip was particularly concerning given that Rosario has often batted first or third against left-handed pitchers while the Yankees manage the absences of Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, and Giancarlo Stanton.
Rosario's 450-foot blast in the fourth inning marked the second-longest home run by a Yankee this season. It was also the team's first baserunner against Imanaga, who had retired the first 11 batters consecutively. The home run followed an 11-pitch at-bat in the first inning where Rosario fouled off six pitches before striking out, an effort that seemingly paid dividends later in the game.
"I definitely think it helped, not just me but also my teammates," Rosario said through an interpreter. "Being able to have a good at-bat, long at-bat allowed me to see all the pitches."
This home run was part of a second-time-through-the-order surge for the Yankees, as Spencer Jones also homered after Imanaga had cruised early in the game. Boone commented on the significance of extended at-bats, noting, "It’s hard to score. It’s hard, on given nights, to keep putting crooked numbers up. But those are the kind of at-bats that can pay off for you as the game unfolds."
The Yankees are slated to face another left-handed pitcher, David Peterson, on Saturday, continuing a stretch of facing seven left-handed starters in nine games. This matchup presents Rosario an opportunity to build on his recent success.
"It was good to see us really lean on one," Boone added. "Imanaga the first time through the order kind of cut through us pretty easily. I thought the second time, we barreled a lot of balls up. We didn’t have a ton to show for it, but we did have the two big homers, and overall throughout that lineup, guys were taking better at-bats and hitting some balls on the screws. So that was good to see. But obviously the two big homers carried the load today."