NEW YORK – Anthony Volpe said he felt as though he was residing in a “bubble” during his time in the Minor Leagues, which offered an opportunity to reset and focus on all aspects of his game.
He wasted no time showing what he’d been working on.
Volpe belted the Yankees’ second grand slam in as many nights as part of a three-hit, five-RBI performance, helping to power the club’s 10-3 victory over the Rockies on Thursday at Yankee Stadium.
With Volpe on Wednesday and George Lombard Jr. on Wednesday night, this is the first time in Yankees history they’ve gotten grand slams from players age 25 or younger in consecutive games.
“I wanted to get a lot out of it,” Volpe said before the game. “You have a game every night to try out different stuff and feel what works. You feel like it’s going to translate in case an opportunity like this comes. So there was just a lot of trial and error.”
Max Fried labored to record 10 outs, but the Yankees completed a series sweep of Colorado and won for the ninth time in 13 games. Luis García Jr. continued to impress, belting his career-high 30th home run – seven of which have come since being traded to the Yankees.
Cody Bellinger also lifted a sacrifice fly facing Ryan Feltner, who allowed four runs in five innings, before Spencer Jones added a two-run single in the seventh.
But the offensive star was Volpe, who made his first Major League appearance as a second baseman on Thursday. Volpe worked to expand his versatility in Triple-A, making 19 starts at second base, three at third and 15 at shortstop.
Entering Wednesday, Volpe had committed one error in 162 1/3 Triple-A innings as a second baseman (.987 fielding percentage).
“It’s been excellent, from all the reports,” manager Aaron Boone said. “The double play turns have been excellent. I’m not surprised. He’s the type of athlete that should take to that position well, and so far, so good.”
Boone said he has been told that Volpe “has been swinging the bat incredibly well for a while now,” something teammate Jasson Domínguez touched upon recently, when he remarked that Volpe “became Barry Bonds all of a sudden” with the RailRiders.
“We’ve always maintained and felt like he’s very capable of being a good offensive player,” Boone said.
Volpe is the reigning International League Player of the Week after going 11-for-21 (.524) with three doubles, three homers, six RBIs, eight runs scored and five stolen bases from Sept. 1-6.
Asked about the Bonds comparison, Volpe laughed and said, “I don’t know about that.” He credited the Triple-A coaching staff for his recent improvements, specifically bench coach Gil Velazquez and hitting coach Michael Mergenthaler.
Volpe struggled in 56 big league games this season after returning from offseason left shoulder surgery, batting .240/.325/.322 with one homer and 19 RBIs.
“We just got to work right away,” Volpe said. “There’s stuff I wanted to work on and wanted to do. I felt like it was a good opportunity to try to take advantage of. We did a lot, and we took a lot of swings. I feel really good about it.”