slugged his first home run in more than two months Sunday afternoon against the Royals, helping the Yankees complete their first series sweep in just about as long.
The first baseman took a moment to admire his solo blast as it soared over the Yankee Stadium right field wall, then pointed with excitement toward the home dugout as he rounded the bases. The third-inning homer ended a 45-game drought for Rizzo, who went 4-for-4 in the Yankees’ 8-5 win.
“Today before the game, a lot of us [were] talking,” Rizzo said. “We have so many good baseball minds in here, and just talking through feel and mechanics, sometimes something clicks.”
The Yankees led from start to finish, scoring four first-inning runs on a two-run homer by Gleyber Torres, an RBI double by Rizzo and an RBI single by Harrison Bader. They received , who struck out five and allowed three runs over 5.2 innings to improve to 2-4.
Rizzo, who tied a career-high with 32 home runs last season, hadn’t hit one since May 20, leaving the veteran searching for adjustments. He took swings off a tee Friday as and special advisor Nick Swisher watched on, shed his batting gloves Saturday and changed his walk-up song Sunday to Taylor Swift’s “…Ready For It?”
“Taylor Swift, it’s her summer, really,” said Rizzo, who attended the pop star’s Eras Tour in New Jersey in May. “She’s helping the economy in every city she goes.”
The long-awaited blast was the 12th home run of the season for Rizzo, who batted .173 in June and entered Sunday’s game with a .131 average in July. His four-hit performance Sunday boosted his season average from .244 to .253.
Rizzo suffered a neck injury on May 28 during a first-base collision with the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr., causing him to leave that game Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Saturday that Rizzo looked fine physically.
Sunday marked the first series win of July for the Yankees (53-47), who had lost four games in a row before facing the Royals. It was their first sweep since winning three straight on the road against the Reds from May 19-21. The Yankees also swept the A’s earlier that month.
Severino entered Sunday’s start with a 6.66 ERA but pitched well in his previous outing, surrendering one run over six innings against the Angels. The two-time All-Star gave up a solo home run to Kansas City’s Salvador Perez and a two-run shot to Michael Massey but considered Sunday’s outing another positive step.
“Just getting in my lanes, throwing the pitches that I want, not trying to overthink a lot, just pitch,” Severino said of what worked for him in his last two outings. “[Catcher Kyle Higoshioka] out there, he does a good job, so hopefully we can continue to do that.”
Royals starter Jordan Lyles fell to 1-12 after serving up five runs over five innings. A bases-loaded infield single by Oswald Peraza and subsequent throwing error by Royals first baseman Nick Pratto, followed by a Higoshioka sacrifice fly, fueled a three-run Yankees rally in the eighth inning.
The Royals’ Freddy Fermin and Kyle Isbel added ninth-inning solo homers against reliever Ron Marinaccio.
Torres left in the seventh inning with left hip tightness but is not scheduled to undergo further testing.
“I just saw him after the game in there and he said it feels better already, but I haven’t gotten the trainer’s report,” Boone said.
The weekend series against the lowly Royals (28-73) followed a 1-5 road trip in which the Yankees dropped two of three to the NL-worst Rockies and .
The Yankees scored at least five runs in all three games against Kansas City.
“A lot of great at-bats, a lot of tough outs, and that’s what builds games like this,” said Giancarlo Stanton, who had two hits Sunday. “That’s what builds three, four, five, six-run games. … We’ve got to keep it going.”
Up next on the home stand is a two-game set against the crosstown Mets, who . The final Subway Series of the season kicks off Tuesday with Domingo German scheduled to start against the Mets’ Justin Verlander.
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