Keeping focus on 'process,' surging Grisham knocks in all 3 Yankees runs

BALTIMORE – Trent Grisham would be the first to admit his season hasn’t measured up to expectations. The Yankees outfielder also knows it’s not too late to change the story.

Grisham continued his recent offensive surge on Tuesday night, homering and driving in three runs in the Yankees’ 3-1 victory over the Orioles at Camden Yards.

“Having him at the top, I feel like he gives us that impact bat from the start,” said catcher Austin Wells. “I feel like that’s what we need, and he’s been doing a great job of that, so it’s been awesome.”

Though hits were sparse through the season’s first several months, Grisham has begun to produce – a welcome sign for a lineup desperately in search of thump, with big bats Cody Bellinger, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton all working their way back from the injured list.

“I would say I’m more consistently getting into my process, not really caring about the results, really making that my number one priority,” Grisham said.

That may sound odd at first, but Grisham said it stems from a belief system he has adopted over the previous three seasons, attempting to wash away “a lot of consistently bad thinking” that led to “not playing up to the level that I think I’m capable of.”

Grisham stuck with it, even when the numbers didn’t look pretty.

“Maybe I wasn’t getting the results in hits, but that’s not necessarily what I’m chasing,” Grisham said. “I feel like I was hitting the ball well the first month, just hitting it right at people and getting out, which is baseball. It’s kind of relative. I feel like I played really well. I just didn’t have the quote-unquote numbers that everyone was looking for.”

There was nothing ambiguous about Tuesday’s stat line. Grisham launched a solo homer in the third inning off Shane Baz, his 17th of the season, then knocked in two runs with a go-ahead single facing reliever Josh Walker in the seventh.

In the latter at-bat, Grisham was down 0-2, then worked the count back to even before lashing a 93.8 mph sinker into the outfield.

“Stay in it. Stay in the fight,” Grisham said. “Don’t let circumstances dictate how I’m thinking. If I get out, I get out. If he makes his pitch, he makes his pitch. But it’s not going to be because I think my way out of an at-bat.”

Over his past 13 games (since Aug. 3), Grisham has tallied 16 hits in 53 at-bats (.302) with six homers and 12 RBIs. Overall, Grisham is slashing .224/.313/.426 in 105 games.

“He’s really kind of got locked back in to where I feel like he’s having those good Grish at-bats every day,” Boone said. “He’s been dialed in pretty good, and obviously he’s hitting for some power now over the last several as well. A big night for him.”

Carlos Rodón tossed four innings in his return to the rotation, touched only by a solo Coby Mayo homer. Rodón permitted two hits, walking two and striking out four. He tossed 66 pitches (39 for strikes) in his first Major League start since June 28, when he landed on the injured list with left elbow inflammation.

“It’s good to be back,” Rodón said. “Just to be able to contribute and compete with the guys, it’s fun.”

Yerry De los Santos followed Rodón with two scoreless innings, an outing which Boone called “huge.” Brent Headrick labored in the seventh, including a 10-pitch walk to Christian Franklin, prompting Boone to summon Fernando Cruz to face Pete Alonso.

“I just felt like I didn’t want [Headrick] to get beat there where he wasn’t at his sharpest,” Boone said. “It was getting to be a longer inning. I felt like with a base to work with there, Fernando could be aggressive with trying to get some swing and miss.”

Alonso squared up a four-seamer, but Spencer Jones caught it neck-high in right field, stranding two men aboard.

“He ends up smoking the ball to right, but I felt like we had some margin there,” Boone said.

Paul Blackburn worked the eighth and David Bednar set down the side in the ninth for his 28th save. The Yankees have won six of eight against the Orioles this season.