Jasson Domínguez homers in first at-bat as youthful Yankees beat Astros – The Denver Post

HOUSTON — Hours before Austin Wells and Jasson Domínguez made their major league debuts for the Yankees, the former said the latter wouldn’t be intimated by Justin Verlander, the Astros’ starter on Friday night.

“From the first time I played with him, he is unfazed by really anything,” Wells said of Domínguez. “So I mean, for him, facing Verlander, he probably doesn’t even care. It’s just another arm on the mound.”

Lo and behold, Domínguez homered off Verlander with the very first swing of his very first at-bat, taking the right-hander into the Crawford Boxes at Minute Maid Park. The 20-year-old’s first-inning, two-run blast off the 40-year-old, future Hall of Famer gave the Yankees a three-run lead after DJ LeMahieu led the game off with a solo homer.

“You can’t write it up any better than that,” Wells said of Domínguez’s opposite field jack.

Added Domínguez: “To me, it’s being able to connect and getting that homer. That’s what really, really means a lot to me. And I understand Verlander is a future Hall of Famer, but to me, being able to do that, that’s special.”

The explosive first inning paved the way for a 6-2, series-opening win for the Yankees.

Domínguez’s home run also showed why he has received endless — and sometimes unfair — hype since signing a $5.1 million contract with the Yankees as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic. The centerfielder, batting fifth, finished the game 1-for-4.

“I mean, that’s pretty impressive,” Aaron Boone said. “That’s a way to announce your presence with authority.

“It’s one game, but you get a peek tonight of why a lot of us are excited about him.”

Wells, meanwhile, singled in his first at-bat, went 1-for-4 while hitting seventh, and caught Carlos Rodón.

“That was awesome,” Wells said. “It’s good to check the box on the first AB. And then after that, I was just out there having fun and trying to get my pitch.”

The left-handed Rodón totaled three hits, two earned runs, one walk, four strikeouts and one home run over five innings.

“Wells had a great game back there,” said Rodón, who previously threw to Wells on a rehab assignment and in spring training. “We were pretty close to the same page and we worked pretty well. It was good to see the young guys contribute early. The Martian hit his first homer. It was a fun game to be a part of.”

The Yankees’ offense didn’t end with those debuting, as Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run moonshot in the third inning. Aaron Judge then became the fastest player to reach 250 career home runs when he hit Minute Maid’s train with a solo bomb in the fifth inning.

Judge, who has 30 dingers this season, needed just 810 games to record the milestone. He easily surpassed the previous record holder, Phillies great Ryan Howard, who needed 885 games.

“It’s great. I really don’t think about it,” Judge said. “I don’t think it means too much. Doing it in a win, I think, means more. But when you see the guys that are on the list, especially Ryan Howard, who is one of the greatest power hitters and left-handed hitters in the game, it’s pretty cool to be on that list.”

Verlander, typically a Yankees killer, permitted six earned runs in just as many innings while also surrendering eight hits and four longballs. He walked one and struck out three.

The Astros scored their runs on a José Abreu solo dinger and a Kyle Tucker double.

With their first game successfully out of the way, Domínguez and Wells will look to settle into big league life over the coming days and weeks. The Yankees, meanwhile, will try to harness the jolt that the youthful newcomers provided on Friday as the team evaluates its future over the final month of what has otherwise been a disappointing season.

“We were jumping up and down like little kids when Domínguez hit that two-run homer,” Judge said. “That was just impressive. Excited for him.

“We just felt a different energy on the bus coming to the field today. It was a little bit of excitement, a little bit of jitters, but it was, all in all, a good day.”

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