Luis

García Jr.

García now has at least three hits in three of his last four games. He’s also hit five home runs in 21 games since coming over to the Yankees at the trade deadline. García is hitting .288 with an .877 OPS and 88 RBI this year.

No surprises here with rookie lefty Jake Bennett toeing the rubber for the opening contest of Saturday’s twin bill at Yankee Stadium. It’ll be Paul Goldschmidt and Amed Rosario getting a look at first and second base, respectively, with Heliot Ramos getting into the lineup in right field.

Whether it’s been with the Nationals or Yankees, García Jr. has not stopped raking all season long. In this game, he was part of rallies in each the first and seventh innings before putting the finishing touches on this victory with a two-run shot in the eighth. It was his fourth home run in his last six games and he now has a .306/.354/.569 slash line since being acquired at the trade deadline.

García’s home run was his 27th of the season. He hit a two-run shot off Ethan Pecko in the fifth inning. García now has three home runs in his last five games. He’s hitting .283 with an .871 OPS and 85 RBI.

García got New York back within a single run by taking Blue Jays side-winding reliever Tyler Rogers deep in the eighth inning. It was his second big fly in his last three games and third time leaving the yard in 16 games since coming over from the Nationals at the trade deadline.

With left-hander Mason Fluharty starting on the mound for the Blue Jays, García will at least open this one on the bench for the Bombers. Expect him to make an appearance off the bench at some point though. Paul Goldschmidt will start at first base and bat leadoff for the Yankees on Friday evening at Yankee Stadium.

The 26-year-old infielder ambushed the first pitch of the sixth inning from Kyle Bradish for a 413-foot (107.1-mph EV) solo shot that increased the Bombers’ lead to 4-1. He also singled in the eighth inning and scored on Jazz Chisholm’s RBI triple. With his three-hit attack, García is now slashing .279/.309/.541 with 25 homers, 80 RBI and four stolen bases in what has been an impressive breakout campaign.

As a team, the Yankees were only able to muster four total hits against Logan Gilbert and company, with García accounting for half of them — and the lone extra-base hit — himself. The 26-year-old infielder has seen his production slow a bit since the move to the Yankees, hitting .258/.303/.452 with one homer and two RBI over 33 plate appearances in his first eight games with the Bombers.

García’s doubles were 111- and 106-mph line drives to the outfield, and both of his outs were hit hard, as well. He’s 6-for-23 with a homer and only one strikeout in six games for his new team.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. grabs a seat on the bench as well with veteran southpaw Chris Sale toeing the rubber for Atlanta in this one. García went deep in his Yankees debut earlier this week and has gone 4-for-17 with a pair of RBI in four contests since being acquired from the Nationals last weekend. He’s He’ll continue playing everyday against right-handed starters with Paul Goldschmidt seeing opportunities against lefties for the final two months. His left-handed swing feels perfectly suited for Yankee Stadium and he has a realistic shot at reaching the 30-homer plateau for the first time in his career.