According to the baseball-reference game finder, an opponent has scored six RBIs against the Yankees 85 times, including four this season, with Teoscar Hernandez achieving the feat when the Dodgers visited.
Filter the characteristic further, and there are 38 occasions against the Yankees in any place in New York, including the brief period when they shared the Polo Grounds with the New York Giants.
However, if you filter the feature for shortstops facing the Yankees in New York, Zack Neto becomes the first to accomplish the accomplishment, indicating that even on clubs out of playoff contention, there is always something to track. A shortstop with six RBIs against the Yankees is extremely rare; Alex Rodriguez was the only other player to accomplish the feat for the Texas Rangers on April 27, 2003, before Neto.
The Angels, who are 50-64 under first-year manager Ron Washington, are focused on the development of Neto, their first-round choice out of Campbell in 2022. Neto rose quickly, reaching the majors in mid-April 2023, just in time for the annual trip to Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium, but he was a.225 hitter.
His stature has only lately begun to grow, and after hitting.342 in his last 24 games, he is being touted as a second-tier rookie shortstop behind talents Elly De La Cruz, Gunnar Henderson, and Bobby Witt Jr. He is rising as part of the second wave of young shortstops, which includes C.J. Abrams, Royce Lewis, and Anthony Volpe, with whom Washington laughed about the Yankee shortstop’s Gold Glove trophy as a rookie last year.
A few hours later, after Neto homered and made a sliding catch on a wet field in the first game of a doubleheader, Washington praised the changes in his swing.
“I can see a lot more patience,” said Washington. “I can’t see the massive wild swing where his body is gazing in the dugout. “He’s staying on the field and producing results.”
About three and a half hours after those statements, Washington delighted at Neto’s accomplishments.
“Well, he must be a big-time player to do it in Yankee Stadium,” Washington commented. “All the players who might have done it here. Tonight, we needed everything he had. We won the game 8-2, but we never felt comfortable.”
Even if he had finished with five RBIs, it would have been unusual. Only eight shortstops have done so against the Yankees in New York, including Henderson’s 4-for-7 night on July 6, 2023 and Francisco Lindor’s effort in the Subway Series last month.
“I think that’s memorable,” Neto said when told he was the first opposing shortstop to record six RBIs against the Yankees in New York. “Being able to do that I think it’s an honor.”
Perhaps more importantly for Washington, Neto’s big night prevented the managerial decisions about pitching to Aaron Judge, who has five of his 12 intentional walks since Saturday when John Schneider opted for an intentional free pass of the slugger with nobody on and two outs in the second inning because he didn’t want to see Judge swing the bat.
Washington did not want to see Judge swing the bat when he hit an RBI single in the fourth inning on Wednesday. He wanted to pitch conservatively, but it didn’t work out, and with the Yankees up three in the eighth, he went with the intentional free pass, hoping to take advantage of an improved Austin Wells.
“The situation of the game is going to dictate that,” Washington said after Judge’s 104th RBI and 94th walk. “If we’re playing in a close game, and he’s coming up in situations where he can drive in runs, and we can afford to put him on the bag, we’re going to put him on the bag.”
“If I were them, I’d be walking Judge, too,” Wells said after a great game that raised his average to.313 over his last 24 games. “I don’t take it personally, but I am looking forward to the challenge. Getting a hit when Judge is on base? I’ll take it every time. Obviously, we want to see him hit, cause damage, and send balls over the fence. But as an opposing squad, it makes sense to start him first and attack the rest of the guys.”
While Judge’s effect was limited by being unable to get Neto out on Wednesday night due to a blowout, the Yankees appear to be in a better position than two weeks ago. While they are still 18-25 in their last 43 games and 22-28 in their last 50, they are 8-2, and one of their most pressing challenges appears to be figuring out how to handle opposing managers’ strategies while facing Judge.
It is possible that Judge will hit second ahead of Juan Soto at some point, but this does not appear to be imminent.
Meanwhile, emerging opponents hope that huge performances from key young players would keep them from making decisions about pitching to Judge in a critical situation, as Neto did.
