The legend of Luke Voit survived the offseason. After the Yankees first baseman thrived in The Bronx following an unheralded midseason trade, Voit picked up where he left off and belted a three-run home run in his first at-bat to put the Bombers up 3-0 on the Orioles on Opening Day. Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton settled for singles before Voit started the Yankees’ chase to beat the home run record they set last year, with 267. Voit had 14 of those long balls in 39 games. Trying to prove he was not a one-hit wonder, Voit had a solid spring training, as did Greg Bird. Voit got the start at designated hitter Thursday, batting cleanup, while Bird played first base and hit seventh.<doc-sep>NEW YORK -- In the Bronx, the old saying is you can't predict baseball, but Opening Day was as predictable as it gets. The Yankees beat up on the visiting Orioles for their first win of the 2019 season (NYY 7, BAL 2). Andrew Cashner couldn't complete five innings and, for much of the afternoon, it was a clear mismatch. The Yankees scored all the runs they would need right in the first inning. Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton hammered opposite field singles against the shift, then cleanup hitter Luke Voit brought them home with a loud home run to center field. It hit above the windows on the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar. Check it out: "It felt good off the bat -- I did my little Sammy Sosa hop -- it felt good to pick up where I left off," said Voit following the game. "To get that first hit out of the way is always nice." Through one game Voit is hitting a cool 1.000/1.000/4.000 after the home run, two walks, and a hit-by-pitch. The hit-by-pitch came with the bases loaded to force in an insurance run. After the home run, Voit got nothing to hit. He took one more swing the rest of the afternoon, and when you look at where the O's pitched him, it's easy to understand why: Luke Voit hit a long first inning home run on Opening Day, then didn't get anything else to hit. USATSI "Me and G, we just have to get on base for Voit, and he took care of the rest," said Judge after the game. "He might tell you he's nervous, but you can never tell. He's got ice in his veins. First inning, get a couple guys on, get the crowd into it, for him to take that shot (to center). What an at-bat by him. All his at-bats. He'd just locked in." Voit opened the season as the Yankees cleanup hitter following a six-week assault on American League pitching last year. The Yankees acquired him from the Cardinals in a seemingly minor trade deadline deal last summer and he responded with a .333/.405/.689 batting line and 14 home runs in 39 games. It was no fluke either. His Statcast numbers: Average exit velocity: 93.0 mph (10th in MLB) 93.0 mph (10th in MLB) Expected batting average: .296 (14th in MLB) .296 (14th in MLB) Expected slugging percentage: .670 (1st in MLB) .670 (1st in MLB) Expected weighted on-base average: .437 (1st in MLB) Will he put up a 1.094 OPS all season? Probably not. But this was not a player living off bloops and seeing-eye grounders. The Yankees believe in exit velocity as an evaluation tool -- it's not a coincidence they drafted Judge -- and Voit has always put up big exit velocity numbers. He crushes the ball. The Yankees picked him up on the cheap last year and have been rewarded handsomely. Voit is a legitimate middle of the order force. "That's what we talk about with him all the time. He controls the strike zone, the authority to hit the ball the other way. Today center field to get us off and running," manager Aaron Boone said following the Opening Day win. "His at-bats continued to be -- you get a little greedy there (later in the game). Opening Day, you've got a three-run homer in the books, you've got runners on base, but he never left the zone." Judge (2 for 3 with two walks) and Stanton (1 for 3 with two walks) had strong Opening Days and are the centerpieces of New York's lineup, and that will never not be the case. Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres were both worthy Rookie of the Year candidates last season. Gary Sanchez remains the best power-hitting catcher in the game as well. The Yankees are not short on offense, yet Voit does kind of sneak up on you in the lineup, even as the cleanup hitter. Look, the Orioles are not good. The three pitchers Voit faced Thursday (Cashner, Mike Wright, David Hess) combined to allow 216 runs in 340 2/3 innings last year. The O's are bad and the Yankees treated them accordingly. In Voit's case, he continued doing what we saw last year, meaning loud contact and great at-bats. The Yankee Stadium crowd serenaded him with "LUUUKE" chants and it looks like the Yankees have poached another undervalued player from another organization, like they did with Didi Gregorius, Aaron Hicks, and Chad Green. "It's crazy how (the fans) took me in," said Voit. "I hope they don't boo me away too quick, because I know it's New York. I'll bring the energy and have fun with the guys. I think a lot of the fans feed off it."<doc-sep>​Expect to see this A LOT this season. There's a reason why ​New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone put ​Luke Voit in the cleanup spot, because after Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge singled to put two runners on, Voit belted a three-run bomb to center field. Take a look: Baltimore Orioles starter Andrew Cashner hung a breaking ball, and instead of over-swinging, Voit stayed back and let his power do the talking. Talk about a big daddy hack! Luke Voit takes big daddy hacks. A three-run bomb off Cashner to start his season for the #Yankees — Jim Ferchland (@Ferch13J) March 28, 2019 ​​This Yankee lineup so dangerous. If Judge and Stanton don't get you, there are a handful of other players on this team who can make you pay and go deep. New York is off to a great start in their quest to break the home run record, which they set last year with 267 dingers.<doc-sep>Glorious daydreams abound on opening day, when each team’s slate is clean and the season’s inevitable trials and tribulations haven’t yet piled up. But the images of winning a pennant and hoisting the World Series trophy are far more realistic for some — the 2019 Yankees included. Their season of high expectations, at the tail end of a championship-less decade, began Thursday afternoon with a booming first chapter. With a formula they expect to ride often this year, the Yankees toppled the Baltimore Orioles, 7-2, behind power hitting and pitching. Designated hitter Luke Voit provided the bulk of the power by smashing the team’s first home run of the season, a three-run shot in the first inning. He drove in another run when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the fifth, ultimately accounting for four runs with a blast and a bruise. There was more offense to come after his homer, but Voit’s contributions proved more than enough against the rebuilding Orioles in front of a crowd of 46,928 at Yankee Stadium.<doc-sep>
Opening Day has come and gone and now the reality of the season sets in: the Yankees have 161 more games to reach their regular season goal of winning the AL East. Yesterday in the Bronx was all fun. The Yankees rolled over the woeful Orioles, 7-2, and it wasn’t even that close. From the first inning when Trey Mancini’s would-be single hit Jonathan Villar rounding the bases, you knew the Yanks were going to win. The O’s have a mix of overpaid veterans, raw minor leaguers, and replacement players that make the Bad News Bears look competent. Welcome to #Orioles baseball 2019. A 1st inning rally killed because Villar didn’t remember fundamentals taught to most 9-year olds. @MASNOriolez pic.twitter.com/mF0YStyOju — Brian Sinkoff (@BrianSinkoff) March 28, 2019 LUKE VOIT If Villar’s blunder wasn’t enough to convince you, Luke Voit’s mammoth 3-run blast to Monument Park sealed it. In the bottom of the first, after Brett Gardner struck out quickly, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton singled to right-center field (a wonderful sign). Voit then worked the count to 3-1 and blasted a 428-foot bomb to center. It was 3-0 and the game was effectively over. As you’ve been told a million times, Voit burst onto the Yankees scene last August and September, posting a 188 OPS+ after being acquired from St. Louis for Giovanny Gallegos and Chasen Shreve. If you had told me when that trade happened that Voit would be the Yankees 2019 opening day cleanup hitter, I would have thought we entered some alternate timeline where Luke Voit was Biff Tannen (actually, there is some resemblance…). But here we are and nothing has changed for Luke Voit. He was the Yankees DH yesterday and Greg Bird was at first. It wasn’t a great day for Bird until his 8th inning solo home run, which made up for a poor play at first base earlier in the game that led to a Baltimore run. Before the homer, Bird had struck out three times. The first base battle continues. One game won’t change anything, but Voit has picked up right where he left 2018. Hi my name is Luke Voit and my batting average is 1.000 pic.twitter.com/QtJnc9rANG — Andrew (@Andrew_Rotondi) March 28, 2019 ADAM OTTAVINO Ottavino entered the game in the 6th inning, relieving Masahiro Tanaka who was good but not great. Tanaka left Otto a runner on second, but he struck out Rio Ruiz to end the inning. It was three-up, three-down in the 7th for Ottavino, including two strikeouts. Adam Ottavino recorded his first Yankee strikeout with a backdoor 3-2 slider. pic.twitter.com/A6SQhPVr4J — Pitcher List (@PitcherList) March 28, 2019 His pitches were moving all over the place — sliders and 2-seamers whiffling back and forth. Of the 19 pitches he threw, 13 were strikes. It was quick work for Ottavino who impressed everyone in his debut. From there, Zack Britton and Aroldis Chapman shut the door without much drama. DID ANYTHING BAD HAPPEN? No, not really. The Yankees, in the words of Aaron Boone, “had traffic on the bases” all day. They only went 1-for-8 with RISP, which is why the game was as close as it was. As I said before, Bird was having a terrible day until his home run. Andujar was charged with an error but most people who watched the play blamed Bird. Voit was hit by a pitch but not hurt (too much meat on those bones). Gardner was the only Yankee to go hitless and he possibly misplayed a ball in center, but whatever… it’s just one game, remember? One down, 161 to go.