Anthony Volpe a late lineup scratch, Yankees sub Jon Berti comes through
HOUSTON – On an otherwise upbeat afternoon for the Yankees, Anthony Volpe was a late scratch from Sunday’s lineup, suffering from a gastrointestinal issue.
"He was in the handshake line with a smile on, but it’s been a rough day,'' manager Aaron Boone said of his sophomore shortstop, after the Yankees' 4-3 win completed a four-game sweep of the Astros at Minute Maid Park.
Shuffling his lineup due to Volpe's illness, Boone finally gave Jon Berti his first Yankees start, and the veteran came through with a key defensive play at third base.
After Juan Soto's latest big base hit had provided the Yanks with a one-run lead in the ninth, the Astros put runners at first and second against Clay Holmes to open the bottom half.
Next, Jose Altuve's grounder toward the third base line was snared by Berti, who saved a potential run-scoring hit and tagged the bag for the force out.
Yordan Alvarez followed by narrowly missing a run-scoring double to left, which landed just foul, before making the second out. Alex Verdugo's sliding catch in left on Kyle Tucker's sinking liner was the final out.
Afterward, Berti - a former National Leaguer - had nothing but praise for Soto.
"I’m glad we’re on the same side this time,'' Berti said of Soto's series-long heroics. "He was always doing that stuff to us when I was with Miami.''
Anthony Volpe required a rare day off
This was a rare rest day for Volpe, but one that was required.
Volpe has been dealing with the effects of an upset stomach this opening week, as evidenced by the Pedialyte and Saltine crackers at his locker, but it hasn’t impacted his on-field performance.
Volpe, 22, is 4-for-10 with four walks and a homer through his first three games.
It’s been an extension of Volpe’s solid exhibition season; he batted .314 with an .834 OPS in 18 Grapefruit League games, coming off an extensive winter of work on a flatter bat path.
“First day at Himes,’’ manager Aaron Boone said Sunday of when he first noticed Volpe’s improved hitting approach, at the Yankees’ Tampa, Fla., minor league complex before MLB camp opened.
“You saw the adjustments he worked on all winter right away,’’ said Boone, which has led Volpe to dramatically improve his contact compared to his rookie year of 2023.
Jon Berti's Yankees debut start
For Sunday’s series finale at Houston, Volpe was replaced at shortstop by hot-hitting Oswaldo Cabrera, who was switched over from third base.
Berti's first Yankees start at third base had been delayed due to Cabrera’s scorching start, with two homers, six RBI and a .538 batting average over his first three games.
Cabrera has been subbing for DJ LeMahieu, diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture of his right foot, finally diagnosed two weeks after he fouled a ball off his foot on March 16.
Boone had suggested Berti would start Saturday, but he couldn’t take Cabrera out of the lineup after a four-hit game Friday. On Saturday, Cabrera belted his second game-tying homer of the series.
“Nobody wanted (Berti) here more than me,’’ Boone said before Volpe became a late lineup scratch. “(Berti) is going to play a huge role for us this year’’ as a versatile defender, and a base stealing threat.
Berti was acquired hours before Thursday's season opener, in a three-way trade with the Marlins and Rays that sent catcher Ben Rortvedt to Tampa Bay and minor league outfielder John Cruz to Miami.
Since the trade, "everyone's been so welcoming to me,'' said Berti, who fit right into the winning scheme on Sunday afternoon.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Anthony Volpe a late lineup scratch, Yankees sub Jon Berti comes through
