New York Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo will never forget the game he had Friday night. While Boston Red Sox fans booed him in his first return to Fenway Park, all he did was go 3-for-5 with a homer and four RBI in an 8-1 victory.
Verdugo basked in the glory post-game, via YES Network.
“I felt like I had a controlled focus all day today,” Verdugo said. “I woke up feeling alert, feeling ready to go. Obviously the adrenaline, this is one of the days I had circled. You know, big to come back against your former team. To come out there the first inning and put a swing out there that helps the team get ahead and helps [Luis] Gil up there, it was big, man. Kinda let the emotions fly on the bases, my guys were cheering me on. It was a good day and the boys came out to play.”
Verdugo blasted a two-run shot in the first inning, immediately setting the tone for New York's blowout victory in his first at-bat in Boston since being traded by the club in December, via MLB.
“If you've been traded, you kinda wanna get that team back,” Verdugo continued. “I had a lot of fun with those guys, the teammates and the staff over there. You know, just competing against them, you wanna do your best. I felt like the boys had my back from pitch one. Before we even got here, they were all talking me up and really had my back in this series. So for them to get on base, make my job a little bit easier, it's huge.”
However, the homer wasn't the only special part about “Dugie's” day.
Verdugo is doing for the Yankees what he was supposed to do for the Red Sox
The 28-year-old also smacked an RBI double to left in the fifth inning, further asserting his dominance over his former club.
“It was 2-0, I got out ahead and got a fastball out over,” Verdugo explained. “Playing here so long, you don't mind getting beat by the heater with the monster being so close. That's kinda what happened, it was a good day. We gotta come out here tomorrow and do it again, but I'm just happy to help the team win.”
New York has won the Verdugo trade thus far, as he's slashing .266/.319/.438 with nine homers and 41 RBI thus far. He's also been perfect with the glove, posting a 1.000 fielding percentage with two assists and no errors.
The Red Sox dealt Verdugo to the Yankees for right-handed pitchers Greg Weissert, Richard Fitts, and Nicholas Judice. The latter two are minor-leaguers, while Weissert is 2-1 with a 2.83 ERA across 28.2 innings.
While Friday night was special for Verdugo, he's not distracted from the real mission.
“It was big man, it was big,” Verdugo concluded. “It was a big night for sure. But at the end of the day, we're a long way from our ultimate goal, so we just gotta take it day by day and trying to be as level as we can.”
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