Yankees win Game 1 of doubleheader with 5-2 victory over Angels

O Yankees continued their winning ways Wednesday afternoon in Game 1 of their doubleheader against the Los Angeles Angels with a 5-2 victory.

Here are the conclusions…

-With a long day of baseball ahead, the Yankees could have used some time out of Game 1 as a starter Luis Gil. However, a high pitch count early on, from which he was never able to recover, forced the right-hander to go just five innings.

In those five innings, however, Gil kept the Angels off the scoreboard despite throwing five hits that contributed to his 107-pitch effort on Wednesday. Overall, the 26-year-old managed to have a solid outing and allowed no runs on two hits while also striking out six.

Since the All-Star break, Gil has made three starts and allowed four earned runs in 15.1 innings while striking out 20, but has failed to get out of the sixth inning in any of those starts.

-It didn’t matter on Wednesday, as New York scored two goals in the first, giving the starter a quick lead that he would never relinquish. After Alex Verdugo started with a double rule of thumb to break a personal slide from 0 to 10, Austin Wells burned Los Angeles, which had walked Aaron Judge in front of him, driving in the first run of the game with an out single.

Wells finished 2-for-4 with a double and a walk as he continues to produce out of the cleanup spot this season. In just 13 games spanning 53 at-bats at fourth, the catcher is batting .358 with two home runs and nine RBI.

The 25-year-old rookie increased his average to .249 after hitting .200 or below for much of the season. In fact, in the last 30 games in which he has spent most of his time playing with José Trevino injured, Wells is slashing .304/.416/.554 with six home runs and 18 RBI.

-In addition to Wells’ multi-hit game, Verdugo and Judge also had two hits each to go along with an RBI. Verdugo finished 2-for-5 with two doubles and scored two runs, while Judge went 2-for-3 with a run scored and two walks, one intentional with two outs, the bases empty and the Angels trailing by three runs.

–Antonio Volpe stayed hot with an RBI double in the first for his only hit of the game. In his last 15 games, the 23-year-old is batting .344 with five home runs, 10 RBI and a .995 OPS, although he has failed to walk with runners on second and third, with one out in the third.

-Batting ninth, Oswaldo Cabrera added a solo shot in the second round for his seventh of the season. He finished 1-for-3 with a walk.

-The Yankees used four relievers to get the final 12 strikeouts: Enyel De Los Santos (1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB), Jake cousins (1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER), Lucas Weaver (1 IP, 2 K) and clay holmes (1IP, 2K). Holmes collected his 24th save of the season in the 5-2 victory.

Game MVP: Austin Wells

The catcher made the Angels pay by hitting behind Judge and started the scoring for New York.

Highlights

What is the next

The Yanks and Angels will play Game 2 of their doubleheader with first pitch set for 7:35 p.m.

RHP Will Warren (0-0, 6.75 ERA) begins his second career in New York and will be opposed by RHP Carson Fulmer (0-2, 3.69 ERA).