Matt Carpenter drills 2 more home runs as Yankees rout Cubs 18-4 to complete three-game sweep

NEW YORK – As a relative newcomer in pinstripes, Matt Carpenter had made the most of his at-bats, but he’d lately been a fixture on the Yankees’ bench.

Carpenter was not in Sunday’s original lineup at Yankee Stadium, until Gleyber Torres came down with an upset stomach.

"I put him in the garage for a week and pulled him out for a spin,'' said Yankees manager Aaron Boone, after witnessing another vintage Carpenter performance. 

As the Yankees stomped toward an 18-4 win, completing a three-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs, Carpenter etched his name into franchise history.

With two more homers and seven RBI for the afternoon, Carpenter (3-for-4, double, walk) now has six home runs in his first 10 games as a Yankee.

According to Elias, Carpenter is just the second player since 1900 in Major League Baseball to club six home runs in his first seven hits with a team, matching Trevor Story (2016) with the Colorado Rockies. 

All this from a 36-year-old veteran who began the year in the minors and spent several uncertain days at home in Texas, after asking for his release last month from the Texas Rangers' organization. 

“It’s pretty hard to be in Triple-A and imagine that you’ll get this opportunity,’’ Carpenter said.

Moving directly from Class AAA Round Rock “to my couch for a week, I didn’t know if this would work out,’’ although, “I was confident with what I was doing at the plate.’’

Worth the wait  

Entering Sunday, Carpenter - a three-time All-Star with the St. Louis Cardinals - had not started a game for the Yankees since June 3.

But he has now homered in each of his last four starts as a Yankee, since May 31.

“I’ve played the game long enough to know…how it feels when I’m right and this is certainly that,’’ said Carpenter, who worked all winter to find his swing, including a period with ex-teammate Matt Holliday – now on the Oklahoma State coaching staff.

Over the previous three seasons, Carpenter struggled along with a .671 OPS.

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During his five-year prime, from 2013-2018, Carpenter had an .851 OPS, averaging 21 homers and 73 RBI per season.

Now, “I feel I can have a competitive at-bat each time I get in there,’’ said Carpenter. “It kind of got away from me the last few years.

“But I was able to put in a lot of good work, with a lot of people helping me.’’

And with a lefty swing built for the Stadium, “it’s rewarding to do it in New York City, for the best team in baseball. I’m enjoying it.’’

Giancarlo Stanton and Isiah Kiner-Falefa each drove in three runs, and the first-place Yankees (44-16) headed into Monday’s off day having won 11 of their last 12 games and four straight.

The Bronx Experience

Having routinely taken grounders daily at three infield spots, Carpenter finally played his first game as a Yankee in the field.

Afterward, Carpenter posted to his Twitter account that experiencing his first roll call salute from the bleacher fans "is at the top of my list!''

Carpenter even made a neat, diving play at third base, on a grounder in the eighth, after starter Jameson Taillon (7-1) had yielded three runs over five innings. 

The way Carpenter has fit in, "it's like he's been on our team forever,'' said Taillon, who faced him when they were National League opponents. 

Carpenter, who played on a pennant-winning St. Louis team, says he felt at home the moment he arrived.

"On a lot of teams, everybody’s taking their at-bats, trying to put up their numbers, and that’s just not the case here,'' said Carpenter. 

Plus, "I see (Gerrit) Cole, Nestor (Cortes), our entire staff living and dying with every pitch they make. It’s just a lot of fun to come to work when you have that many guys all rooting for each other, all pulling for each other.

"And (with) that talent that we have in this clubhouse...what you see is a recipe for success.''

Homer happy

On the heels of Saturday's 8-0 win, in which the Yanks belted six solo home runs, Boone's club scored five times in Sunday's first inning.

Carpenter drove in the Yankees’ first run with a bases loaded walk, and Cubs starter Keegan Thompson was on his way to a first-inning knockout. 

By the eighth inning, Livingston, New Jersey’s Frank Schwindel – the Cubs’ first baseman – was summoned to pitch, and he was Chicago’s most effective pitcher Sunday.

Schwindel gave up just one run, a homer by Kyle Higashioka on a 35-mph floater. It was Higashioka’s second homer of the game, after going homerless in his first 34 games this year. 

"I've been grinding all year,'' said Higashioka, who received some hitting advice from fellow catcher Jose Trevino following Sunday's first at-bat, a fly out. 

After Trevino told Higashioka that he was not being aggressive enough with his lower half, Higashioka drove one over the left field wall the next time up. 

Higashioka, who led the Grapefruit League in homers during spring training, said he "kind of expected'' the dugout silent treatment that followed, before his teammates erupted in cheers. 

As he rounded the bases, Higashioka gave a salute to Trevino, whose performance has impacted the balance of playing time at catcher. 

But their bond as teammates has seemed to grow stronger. Two nights earlier, when Trevino delivered a walk-off single, Higashioka waited until Trevino had conducted his last on-field interview to congratulate him in the dugout. 

Jose Trevino scratched 

Like Torres, Trevino was also a late lineup scratch Sunday but available if necessary.

Trevino played through some back discomfort during Saturday night’s game, going 3-for-4 with a home run.

Boone was not specific about Trevino’s condition, other than to say “it still lingered’’ into Sunday morning.

But with Monday’s team off day and 20 straight playing days ahead, “it’s something I didn’t want to mess with,’’ Boone said.

Aaron Hicks was on the bench Sunday. It was just a day off, said Boone, who had always planned to use Marwin Gonzalez as Sunday's starting left fielder. 

Pete Caldera is the Yankees beat writer for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to all Yankees analysis, news, trades and more, please subscribe today and download our app.

Email: caldera@northjersey.com Twitter: @pcaldera