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So it wasn’t exactly Shohei Ohtani who Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton were facing to open Saturday night’s game.
The rehabbing New York Yankees stars instead went up against the much less-heralded Triple-A version in Durham’s Jake Cronenworth.
Typically the Bulls starting shortstop — and the International League’s top hitter — Cronenworth had been a two-way player earlier in his career and began appearing out of the bullpen last month.
On Saturday, he served as an opener for Durham against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The first two batters he faced? Judge and Stanton.
Cronenworth got Judge to ground out and then he struck out Stanton swinging. It was a sign of things to come, as the rest of the Bulls pitching staff finished off a two-hitter in a 2-0 win over the RailRiders, who had just four baserunners on the night.
Both Major Leaguers went 0-for-4 on the night and led off the ninth looking to rally the team. Judge popped out to first on the first pitch he saw, and Stanton grounded out to first after he had struck out in each of his first three at-bats.
Breyvic Valera then flied out to end the game, as the RailRiders didn’t record a hit in the final seven innings. Logan Morrison singled in the first and Trey Amburgey doubled to lead off the second. Valera and Thairo Estrada each drew a walk for the team’s only other hints of offense.
It was the second straight night Judge and Stanton hit one-two in the order. Judge was the designated hitter with Stanton starting in left field after playing in right on Friday.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (38-28) had been mashing the ball over the past month to surge into first place in the IL North. But even the brief additions of Judge and Stanton haven’t helped against the league-leading Bulls (42-26), who won Friday’s series opener 16-3.
The RailRiders’ only runs in the series so far came on a three-run homer by Stanton on Friday. He is 1-for-7 with the team, while Judge is 0-for-8.
Stanton is expected to leave the RailRiders after Sunday’s game with hopes of returning to the Yankees’ lineup for the first time since the first week of the season on Tuesday.
“Trying to be pretty disciplined with the plan, making sure, because now we feel the fact he feels good is a good thing,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters in Chicago before Saturday night’s game against the White Sox. “Now it’s just building him up and the back-to-back rigors, how the body responds to that. And obviously coming back from soft-tissue issues, we’re making sure he’s running a lot and getting his defensive work in.
“No real temptation (to bring him back sooner), knowing, especially, that it’s around the corner now.”
Boone said earlier in the week that Judge could start in the outfield for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday and is likely to stick around in Triple-A a little longer than Stanton. The RailRiders return home for a Tuesday game against Norfolk at PNC Field.
It was Cronenworth who upstaged the Yankees duo, however. The previous success of Ohtani on the mound and at the plate for the Los Angeles Angels has more teams considering their prospects’ versatility.
Ohtani was a starter for the Angels before undergoing Tommy John surgery. He has since returned to focus on offense for the time being, even hitting for the cycle earlier in the week.
Cronenworth has only been used as a reliever while hitting an IL-best .357. He led off Friday’s game with a first-inning home run, finishing with three hits and three RBI. His only appearance Saturday was his first inning on the mound.
Four other pitchers took over for there, with Brendan McKay going the next five innings for the win, striking out seven.
The work of Durham’s staff overshadowed a strong night by the RailRiders’ Raynel Espinal and Stephen Tarpley. One night after Daniel Camarena and Danny Farquhar got rocked early by the Bulls, Espinal struck out nine in six innings, scattering four hits while allowing one run and one walk.
Kean Wong hit an RBI single in the bottom of the third and Stanton throw back to the infield led to Wong being tagged out by Morrison in between first and second.
Michael Perez added a solo home run against Tarpley in the seventh. It was the only hit Tarpley allowed in two innings, and he struck out three.
Sunday’s series finale is set for 5:05 p.m. with Chance Adams scheduled to get the start.