Inside The Pinstripes

Why Yankees' Joey Gallo Is On Verge Of Breakout

Gallo returned to the starting lineup with a bang on Wednesday and has been producing over his last six games.

Pat Ragazzo

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Although the Yankees saw their 11-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday night, one of their key bats appears to be on the verge of breaking out at the plate.

Joey Gallo, who returned to the lineup against the Blue Jays after missing three straight games with groin tightness, picked up right where he left off before injuring himself.

Gallo slugged a solo home run off Toronto’s lefty starter Yusei Kikuchi for his third long ball of the year, which proved to be his team’s lone run of the evening. In the top of the ninth, he drew a two-out walk to load the bases, helping the Yankees continue their rally against Jordan Romano.

“He had a really good swing to start things off and a good [at-bat] there that set the stage off Romano, who’s tough on lefties,’’ manager Aaron Boone told reporters afterward. “He gave us a chance. I like that he was aggressive on 3-0 [against Romano]. It was good to have him back in the mix.”

While the Yankees were unable to complete the comeback, a silver lining in this loss, as well as one of the many positives during their winning streak, is Gallo’s bat, which seems to finally be coming around.

In his last seven games, Gallo is 6-for-20 with three homers, four RBIs and a triple slash of .300/.364/.800 to go along with a 1.164 OPS. This is the Joey Gallo that the Yankees thought they were getting when they acquired him from the Texas Rangers ahead of the July 2021 trade deadline.

If the Yankees can receive this type of production from Gallo, who has still struck out 11 times in his last 20 at-bats, the middle of their order will be a forced to be reckoned with in the American League with: Gallo, Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton.

The Bronx Bombers will get a much-needed off day on Thursday, before they look to start a new winning streak at home against Gallo’s old team: the Rangers. 

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Pat Ragazzo
PAT RAGAZZO

Pat Ragazzo is the reporter, publisher, site manager and executive editor for Sports Illustrated's Mets and Yankees On SI websites. Pat was selected as The Top Reporter & Publisher of the Year 2024 by the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) for outstanding leadership, dedication, and commitment to the industry. He has been seen on several major TV Network stations including: NBC4, CBS2, FOX5, PIX11 and NY1; and is frequently heard on ESPN New York FM 880 AM and WFAN Sports Radio 101.9 FM as a guest. Pat also serves as the Mets insider for the "Allow Me 2 Be Frank" podcast hosted by Frank "The Tank" Fleming of Barstool Sports. You can follow him on Twitter/X: @ragazzoreport.

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