Kyle Higashioka hits three of Yankees' seven HRs in second straight rout of Blue Jays
Kyle Higashioka of the Yankees celebrates his third-inning two-run home run against the Blue Jays with teammate Tyler Wade at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Ruth . . . Gehrig . . . DiMaggio . . . Mantle .
Higashioka?
Backup catcher Kyle Higashioka joined the list of Yankees luminaries when he hit three of the Yankees’ seven home runs in a 13-2 victory over the Blue Jays on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.
Higashioka, a career .169 hitter with seven home runs going into the game, hit a two-run homer to center in the third, a solo shot to left in the sixth and another two-run homer, this one to right, in the seventh.
He also hit a ball to the warning track in left in the fourth inning. "I got it pretty good," Higashioka said. "But I knew at least at our park, it’s a little deeper out where I hit it. It was slightly off the end [of the bat]."
The 30-year-old could barely contain his ear-to-ear grin as he rounded the bases after his third home run.
Higashioka became the 24th Yankee to hit at least three home runs in a game (including postseason), joining Hall of Famers such as Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio and Babe Ruth. Gehrig is the only Yankee to hit four in one game. Ruth (twice) and Reggie Jackson each hit three home runs in a World Series game.
"It’s just kind of crazy how baseball works sometimes," Higashioka said. "One minute you can’t hit the ball to save your life and the next game you play you pop three over the fence."
Higashioka did not get another plate appearance after hitting his third homer. He became the first Yankee to hit three in a game since Gary Sanchez did it on April 7, 2019.
"Man, what a performance," manager Aaron Boone said. "He has that kind of power. He put a charge into all three of those and just missed a fourth, now that I think about it. Great job behind the plate tonight and, obviously, a night at the plate that he’ll remember forever."
One night after scoring 20 runs and hitting six home runs, the Yankees easily won their seventh in a row. They have outscored opponents 61-13 in that span.
Aaron Judge went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in his first game since Aug. 26, one night after Giancarlo Stanton went 0-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts in his first game since Aug. 8.
Luke Voit hit his major league-leading 19th home run. DJ LeMahieu went deep twice. Clint Frazier, seemingly an everyday player even with the returns of Stanton and Judge, hammered a solo shot.
All the mashing was in support of Gerrit Cole, who didn’t allow a hit until the first pitch of the sixth inning. Cole (6-3, 3.00 ERA) pitched to one batter over the minimum over the first five innings, giving up only a walk to No. 9 hitter Danny Jansen in the third.
Jonathan Villar lined the first pitch of the sixth into the rightfield corner for a double, ending any thoughts of Cole’s 100th career victory also being a no-hitter. Cole went seven innings, allowing one run and three hits. He struck out eight.
Cole sidestepped a question about Higashioka becoming his personal catcher by pointing out that the two played together as kids and trying to make a joke about Higashioka’s power prowess. "It's "It’s fun to throw to Kyle," Cole said. "I was throwing to Kyle when I was 13 and 14, too. It’s kind of a trip. I think at this point, with the way he’s swinging, I might be his personal pitcher so that if he catches me he can really rake, I think."
Cole’s ERA in three starts with Higashioka behind the plate (his last three) is 0.90. In eight starts with Sanchez catching, it’s 3.91. Sanchez, who went 1-for-5 as the designated hitter on Wednesday, is batting .134.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.