Trent Grisham doing incredible things with bat, glove for Yankees

TAMPA — So much for being a defensive specialist.Yes, Trent Grisham has continued to play top-notch defense in center field, but he has also continued to swing a hot bat, making it difficult for manager Aaron Boone to keep him out of the lineup.Grisham did it again in a 4-0 win over the Rays on Sunday, making his third straight start, when he led off the game with a home run and later added a strong, diving catch in the gap that turned into a double play.“He’s been doing incredible things,” Aaron Judge said.“Especially leading off the game with a homer and then making a diving play like that, he’s doing it all right now for us.”After homering in back-to-back games, Grisham has six home runs on the year, nipping at the heels of Judge (seven) for the team lead.

The left-handed hitter is batting .320 with a 1.093 OPS through 20 games.“He’s been so good,” manager Aaron Boone said before the game when asked about Grisham batting leadoff for the first time as a Yankee.“Obviously, love the way he’s playing all-around right now.”The outfield played difficult at Steinbrenner Field throughout the four-game series because of a howling wind, but Grisham made it look easy.In the fifth inning Sunday, he fought the wind and ranged into the gap in right-center to rob Jake Mangum of a hit on a slicing fly ball, temporarily keeping Max Fried’s no-hit bid alive.

Grisham then got to his feet and fired a strike to second base to nail Danny Jansen, who was trying to tag up on the catch that instead turned into a double play.“Really good play,” Cody Bellinger said.“Really windy and he did a great job of getting to the ball.

Not only that, but picking up his head right away and making a great throw.It’s not easy to get up and make a perfect throw like that.

Just a heads-up baseball player.He’s playing extremely well right now.

It’s fun to watch.”Grisham’s two-way play has forced Boone to keep finding ways to get him in the lineup.Sunday he ...