MINNEAPOLIS — DJ LeMahieu collected his 1,five hundredth profession hit Tuesday night time within the Yankees’ win over the Twins and entered Wednesday only one homer away from his a hundredth.
These numbers are “fairly cool” LeMahieu stated Wednesday, however he’s bought extra essential targets in thoughts.
“The actual fact we’re successful like we're means extra,’’ LeMahieu stated, a day after the Yankees grew to become the primary MLB workforce to earn its fortieth win this season. “I’ll look again on this stuff after my profession.”
Within the meantime, he’s hoping so as to add constructive stats to this yr’s line.
What has been a considerably up-and-down season on the plate for LeMahieu has seen a latest uptick. He entered Wednesday 8-for-22 with two doubles, a homer, seven RBIs, seven walks and simply three strikeouts in his earlier six video games.
“I really feel good and need to hold it going,’’ LeMahieu stated. “I really feel like I’ve had some influence on video games and hope to string a pair collectively right here. I really feel actually good on the plate.”
The left hand, which had bothered him, is now positive and on Tuesday, he tied a profession excessive by reaching base 5 occasions.
It was his third hit of the night time that bought him to 1,500.
“I knew I used to be shut,’’ LeMahieu stated of the milestone.
However he acknowledged it didn’t make as a lot of an impression as his first hit, which got here after he made his debut with the Cubs in 2011.
“My first thought after that hit was I believed I had it made,’’ LeMahieu stated. “I had a lot adrenaline, I might have hit left-handed.”
He had put loads of stress on himself previous to that preliminary single, telling himself, “I’ve bought to get at the very least one [hit] whereas I’m up right here.”
Then, throughout a recreation June 3, 2011 at St. Louis, LeMahieu reached on an infield single in opposition to Jaime Garcia — particulars he remembers with out hesitation greater than a decade later.
What made the second much more particular was the very fact Albert Pujols was taking part in first base for the Cardinals that night time and was the primary to congratulate LeMahieu.
“He stated ‘Congrats. Hopefully that is the primary of many,’ ” LeMahieu stated of the interplay. “I’ll always remember it.”
Now, LeMahieu is getting again to being an integral a part of the Yankees’ lineup.
He entered Wednesday with an OPS of .756, higher than the .711 mark he put up a yr in the past, when LeMahieu was hindered by a sports activities hernia, however nonetheless far off his breakout seasons in 2019 and 2020, when he had years of .893 and 1.011, respectively.
However supervisor Aaron Boone believes LeMahieu is hitting higher than among the numbers would point out.
“I really feel like he’s been actually constant,’’ Boone stated. “I don’t need to say he’s been completely unfortunate, however in June he’s been swinging properly. I really feel his at-bats have been actually constant. He’s been in that good DJ stretch the place he will get a few hits in just a few video games in a row. He’s scratching the floor of that. … I hope he goes on a kind of stretches [now].”
He was again on the high of the lineup on Wednesday, in entrance of Aaron Decide, an evening after he began off the sport Tuesday with successful that was adopted by a Decide two-run homer.
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