Anthony Rizzo tried to enjoy the game. After playing in the first rain-delayed game of the split doubleheader at Yankee Stadium Thursday, the Bombers’ first baseman just wanted to be a fan for an hour or two. He settled in and watched as Jameson Taillon flirted with history, pitching a perfect game into the eighth inning. As Taillon and the Angels pitchers continued to post zeroes, however, Rizzo began to get ready mentally and physically.
He knew what he would be asked to do.
The veteran slugger came through in a big way. With the bases loaded and two outs, Rizzo hit the pinch-hit single that gave the Yankees a come-from-behind 2-1 win to sweep the Angels.
“When you get in big situations like that, it’s fun. It’s just you out there, compete and try to just do your best,” Rizzo said. “Today, it worked out and definitely feels good, especially with the crowd into it.”
That’s Rizzo’s signature as a hitter and what the Yankees wanted when they signed him.
“He knows how to hit in the situation,” one of his former coaches said. “He will get you the hit you need in the game situation most of the time. He will swing for home runs, but in those big situations, he knows what needs to get done.” That was a big moment for Rizzo, who has been struggling for the last month.
The 32-year-old, whom the Yankees signed as a free agent in spring training, came out of the gates red hot in April. He slashed .273/.391/.675 with nine home runs, 21 RBI and 210 OPS+ in 21 games played that month, though his numbers were certainly helped by a three-home run game against the Orioles at the Stadium.
Since the calendar turned to May, Rizzo’s numbers have been quite different. In the 27 games he played in May, Rizzo hit .167/.268/.313 with two homers, eight RBI and an OPS+ of 67.
Last summer, when the Yankees traded to get him to diversify their lineup, the most common refrain was that Rizzo’s powerful lefty swing was built for Yankee Stadium. Lefty power hitters can ideally take better advantage of the short porch in the right field of the stadium in the Bronx. Rizzo has certainly lived up to that so far this season.
If you look at his splits, Rizzo is dominant in the Bronx. He is slashing .258/.375./.581 with eight home runs, 22 RBI and a 166 OPS+ in Yankee Stadium. Away from the lefty-friendly confines on River Avenue, Rizzo is hitting .165/.258/.341 with three homers, nine RBI and an OPS+ of 75.
It’s kind of a mini-reflection of the half a year that Rizzo had with the Yankees after being traded here from the Cubs at the deadline last year. He got off to a hot start and then contracted COVID and the Bombers felt the illness, which he admitted hit him hard for a few days, sapped Rizzo of his power. And the Yankees can hope that Rizzo’s rollercoaster of a start to 2022 does mirror last season, because he did recover his power a bit in September and October. The World Series champion, who helped the Cubs snap the curse in 2016, hammered a home run in the American League Wild Card Game against the Red Sox, one of only two runs the Bombers managed to score in that devastating loss.
The veteran presence, the professional, clutch, situational at-bats during his brief time as a Yankees in 2021, however, were enough for the Yankees to re-sign him to a one-year deal with a player option for 2023. So far, the Yankees may not have seen consistency with Rizzo, but they’ve gotten the clutch hit when they needed to like Thursday night.
There are some other hopeful signs now that May is over. Rizzo is not striking out at a much higher rate than normal (16.7%) from the rest of his career, and he is still hitting the ball extremely hard with his max exit velocity of 133.3 miles per hour in line with the rest of his years in the big leagues. Finally, Rizzo’s batting average on balls in play stands out. It’s a brutal .197, which means he’s gotten unlucky so far this season.
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