TORONTO — Despite all the turbulence of the first quarter of the season — largely caused by injuries — the Yankees still entered Monday four games above .500.
From a rotation perspective, they have Gerrit Cole to thank.
In terms of the lineup? Anthony Rizzo has been their rock.
The veteran first baseman entered Monday riding a 13-game on-base streak to continue what has been a steady and strong start to the season despite a number of moving pieces around him.
Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Josh Donaldson and Harrison Bader have all spent time on the injured list, and yet the 33-year-old Rizzo was starting Monday night against the Blue Jays for the 41st time in the Yankees’ 43rd game.
“He’s just a great player, man,” Cole said Monday at Rogers Centre before the series opener. “He does all the little things right. Even if he’s not contributing in the box score, he finds a way to impact the game in some respect. Just his presence in general complements a team, gives it a steady, consistent voice that they’re hearing every day, that’s in the field, that’s seeing the way the game is being played and has an opinion on it. Obviously, a very wise player. I could talk about him for a long time.”
Rizzo’s production — batting .312 with nine home runs and a .921 OPS through Sunday — would have been important in any 43-game stretch for the Yankees, especially as a left-handed bat near the top of their lineup.
But coming in this stretch, delivering big hits and consistently impactful at-bats for an often battered and bruised lineup, has been even more significant.
“The fact that Rizz has been so consistent for us and just come up so big for us in winning games [has been big],” manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s been a stabilizing force for us through it all.”
While plenty of the Yankees’ injuries this season have struck players who have a history of them, Rizzo has so far been spared from that group.
After the Yankees brought him back on a two-year, $40 million deal, he said in February that he would have to continue to manage his balky back that has caused him to miss time in the past.
But his daily presence has been key for the Yankees surviving the early going.
During the past week alone, Rizzo hit .444 (12-for-27) with a 1.315 OPS, earning him American League Player of the Week honors.
That hot stretch included three home runs in his last three games against the Rays — two on Friday, with the second serving as the game-winning blast in the eighth inning, and one on Sunday that at the time gave the Yankees a lead.
“What makes him such a tough at-bat is his ability to go the other way, his ability to launch, to spoil pitches,” Cole said. “He can damage you, he can batting average you, he can run your pitch count up, he can walk. And his ability to adapt and change his plan from pitch to pitch like great hitters do. There’s just so many different tools in his tool belt. He’s just such a complete player.”
Rizzo entered Monday tied for third in the AL in hits (48), sixth in OPS and seventh in batting average. Just about the only place that Rizzo has hurt the Yankees is on the bases, where he was 0-for-2 in stolen base attempts.
But Rizzo has not just been feasting on right-handers, either. In a reverse from his career splits — albeit a small sample size — Rizzo has actually fared better against left-handers this season with a .385/.467/.513 slash line in 45 plate appearances against them versus a .287/.371/.530 slash line in 45 plate appearances against right-handers.