Anthony Rizzo returned to the Yankee lineup Sunday after missing more than two months with a fractured right forearm and provided some reason for optimism that he can be productive down the stretch.
The first baseman hit two balls hard — including an RBI double to the opposite field in the fifth in an otherwise miserable 14-7 loss to St. Louis in The Bronx.
Rizzo also made a nice play on a Victor Scott bunt in the second, getting to the ball quickly and making a strong throw to get a force-out at third.
“I felt good,’’ Rizzo said. “I definitely felt comfortable in the batter’s box.”
Aaron Boone was impressed with both parts of Rizzo’s game.
“I really liked the play on the bunt to get the lead runner,’’ Boone said.
But this was just one game and Rizzo struggled for most of the first two-plus months of the season, as well as in his final 46 games last season.
When he went down with the fractured arm on June 16, Rizzo had an OPS of just .630.
And last season, after he injured his neck and head in a collision at first base in San Diego, Rizzo put up an OPS of .496 OPS.
He said before the game he believes he can return to being the force he was prior to the 2023 head injury.
“That’s the mentality, always,” Rizzo said. “Whenever things aren’t going well, it’s easy to look at the negative if you want, but it’s getting back to getting right. There’s no shying away from it. As a baseball player, this is what you go through. Hopefully today I’ll get on the right track.”
The Yankees are counting on him to provide some length to the lineup after watching DJ LeMahieu and Ben Rice struggle through much of his absence.
Boone knows the only way to find out is to see him play over the next few weeks.
“We’ll see,’’ Boone said before the game. “I still think it’s in there for him to be productive. I feel like he’s walking in here with some confidence. He has an amazing track record, a proven money kind of player — especially this time of year.”