Gio Urshela’s Yankees run puts him in elite company

Gio Urshela says he didn’t know the extent of his ability in the batter’s box prior to Monday against the Orioles.

But after he smashed a 461-foot home run in the fifth inning of the Yankees’ 8-5 victory over the Orioles in the first game of a doubleheader in The Bronx, the third baseman guessed he can consider himself a power hitter going forward.

“He hits one up on the restaurant the other day in Toronto. Again, from the start of spring training, he caught my eye, his ability in batting practice,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said following the first game, after an initial disbelief at the range of Urshela’s homer.

“… No, I’m not that surprised [at his power], he’s really come into his own as a hitter.”

Urshela led the Yankees in Game 1, going 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs, along with the solo homer. He was a triple short of the cycle. In the doubleheader finale, Urshela batted third as the designated hitter, stringing together a 3-for-5 performance with another two runs scored in the 11-8 victory.

Urshela has multi-hit games in five of his past seven contests and has safely reached base in each of his last 18 games with a plate appearance, posting a .452 average (33-for-73) with nine homers

After a leadoff walk in the first to Brett Gardner in Game 1, Urshela reached on a fielder’s choice to put runners on first and second. Didi Gregorius followed with a three-run homer to right-center before Gleyber Torres capped off the inning with a solo shot for a 4-1 lead.

With two outs in the second, Gardner sent a deep double into the right-field corner before Urshela dumped a double over Orioles center fielder Stevie Wilkerson’s head to put the Yankees up 5-1.

Urshela’s homer in the fifth tied him with Mike Trout, Max Kepler and Trey Mancini for the third most home runs in the AL since the All-Star break (11). More impressively, all three of his hits came with two strikes in the count.

To cap off the afternoon, Urshela recorded the game-ending out in the ninth, scooping up a Mancini grounder at the edge of the infield dirt and making a strong, off-balanced throw across the diamond for the final out.

“Man, that guy is on fire. He’s unreal,” Game 1 starter James Paxton said of Urshela. “And that play at the end of the game, that’s a tough play and he made it look easy. He’s really good and I’m happy that he’s on our team.”

Like Boone, Gregorius wasn’t fazed by Urshela’s contributions, noting the Colombia native has been one of the team’s most consistent players this season. It means a lot to Urshela, knowing his teammates consider him someone they can depend on.

“Like I always say, it’s confidence,” Urshela said. “Trying to go to the box with that confidence every time. Be ready for every pitch.”

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