The Yankees' offense has been absolutely electric in their first three games against the Orioles, plating 27 runs on 37 hits—including eight home runs. But the real story on Sunday was the emergence of Jasson Domínguez, who seized his opportunity to shine with Giancarlo Stanton sidelined. The young slugger delivered a home run, two doubles, and three RBIs, but it's his leadoff double in the sixth inning that earns this week's At-Bat of the Week honors.
Let's set the scene: bottom of the sixth, game tied 3-3. Ben Rice and Aaron Judge had gone deep, but the Orioles had answered with some crafty small ball in the third and fourth. Domínguez had already grounded out twice from the left side against righty starter Trey Gibson, but with lefty reliever Grant Wolfram now on the mound, the switch-hitter flipped to the right side for a fresh look.
Here's where the chess match begins. Five of the six pitches Domínguez saw from Gibson were fastballs, and the scouting report shows he has a tendency to chase breaking balls down and away. Wolfram knows this, so he opens with a first-pitch curveball. It catches plenty of the zone, but Domínguez is way out in front, swinging as if he's expecting heat. He just manages to get a piece of the top of the ball, fouling it off for strike one.
Seeing how early Domínguez was on that swing, Wolfram's next move is obvious: another curveball, this time a few inches lower. He executes perfectly, placing it about six or seven inches below the previous pitch. Domínguez is completely overmatched, chasing the breaker as if it's déjà vu. The swing is early again, and he whiffs—a lightning-fast 0-2 count.
At this point, there's no reason for Wolfram to change his game plan. Domínguez hasn't shown he can recognize the curveball out of the hand or adjust his timing to anything other than a fastball. But as any Yankees fan knows, this kid has a knack for proving people wrong—and that's exactly what he did next.
