On a day when nothing worked, the New York Yankees at least had their young shortstop Anthony Volpe’s performance as a silver lining. From the beginning, the Tampa Bay Rays dominated the proceedings. Neither the Yankees’ bats nor pitchers could do much to change that. However, during this tough situation, Volpe’s three-hit game Aaron Boone a reason to smile. 

The young star hasn’t been able to match his early season form for a long time now. Though there have been flickers here and there, Volpe’s performances have cooled down quite a lot. But this game could prove to be a massive confidence booster for the star, especially because the skipper still has complete faith in his abilities.

When asked whether he was impressed by Volpe’s performance, Aaron Boone noted he never stopped liking the shortstop’s plays. “Frankly I’ve liked it the whole time,” Boone said in his postgame interview. “whether he’s taken some 0s, hit the ball on the screws, he’s taken good at-bats. Obviously a real strong day today.” 

However, while Volpe had a phenomenal day, the same couldn’t be said about the rest of the Yankees. Apart from Volpe’s three hits, the other Bronx batters could muster up only two hits. Though for a moment in the 7th inning, it did look like Juan Soto had moved the Yankees ahead with a three-run homer. But then, his fly ball felt just a little short of the center-field wall. 

The hitters failing was a big blow but Nestor Cortes Jr’s ineffectual pitching also didn’t help either. The pitcher took a long time to settle but when he did it was already too late.

Anthony Volpe the sole light for the New York Yankees 

Cortes gave away 5 hits and 4 Earned runs. Add to that his 3 walks and the star pitcher had a tough day at the job. “Just struggled with his fastball command and really getting it to that top rail early on,” Boone said about Nestor Cortes via New York Post. “I thought he righted the ship a little bit and got it going in the middle of the game.” Cortes improved after the third inning but by then he had already given 4 runs.

With both the batters and pitchers failing, Anthony Volpe’s performance was the only shining light. The New York Yankees hope that this game could prove to be the catalyst that enables the rise of their young shortstop. With competition rising swiftly across the AL East, the Pinstripes need more runs. A well-performing Volpe might just provide them with it.