The New York Yankees beat the Washington Nationals 5-1 on Tuesday to secure a series win. Giancarlo Stanton picked up all five RBI to continue his historic run since returning from injury. But the rest of the offense was sluggish against a bad Nationals team. Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe had another hitless game, but manager Aaron Boone is not giving up yet.
“He hits one 106 to the wrong part that last at-bat,” Aaron Boone said, per the Associated Press. “I thought (he) got some good swings off. Out in front of the breaking balls from Gore.”
Boone continued, “He’s very capable. I think the biggest thing for him here in the first few seasons of the career is the ups and downs, the peaks and valleys offensively. So it’s just continuing to work really hard at being more consistent. I do feel like he’s hit into some tough luck this season, but it starts with the strike zone and making sure you’re swinging at quality pitches, and when you do that, you give yourself a chance to be successful.”
Volpe has a .206 batting average and a .669 OPS, which are not outliers in his disappointing offensive career. He did hit a flyout 106 MPH in the eighth inning that would have been a homer in 10 parks, per Baseball Savant. While that is bad luck, Savant had the out with an expected batting average of .810; luck is not the only factor.
Volpe has thrived throughout his career when he gets significant time off his feet. His career April OPS is .742, significantly better than his career mark of .663. In each of his three seasons, the first few weeks after the All-Star Break have been his best of the second half. But two games on the bench this week did not have the same impact. Can he turn it around on Wednesday afternoon?
