Anthony Volpe belts grand slam, gets curtain call in rousing return as Yankees sweep away Rockies

Jazz Chisholm Jr. may want to familiarize himself with Wally Pipp. 

His injury has opened the door for Anthony Volpe at second base. If Thursday night was an indication, the back-from-the-minors Volpe doesn’t plan on relinquishing the job. 

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In his first game back in The Bronx, Volpe put on an offensive show: three hits, including a grand slam to the opposite field, as the Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the Rockies with a 10-3 victory to move within three games of the AL East-leading Rays. 

After Volpe’s seventh-inning slam, the crowd of 40,706 chanted “Volpe, Volpe, Volpe” until he came out for a curtain call. 

“A little bit of a blackout,” said Volpe, whose five RBIs are a career high. “I didn’t know what was happening.” 

Later, he added: “That’s why it’s a special place, for sure. I wouldn’t trade anything for it.” 

Suddenly, everyone’s favorite whipping boy is a fan favorite. 

Chisholm was placed on the 10-day injured list earlier in the day after suffering a sprained right thumb in Tuesday’s win over Colorado. He was wearing a protective brace on it, and will be shut down for at least a week. 

Before the game, manager Aaron Boone declined to say if Volpe would be the everyday second baseman, pointing out that he could use José Caballero there as well in Chisholm’s absence. But, obviously, Volpe is going to stay in the lineup if he hits like this. 

“You root for games like that, especially with how hard he’s been working and everything he’s been doing down in Triple A,” starting pitcher Max Fried said. 

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Volpe was demoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Aug. 4, replaced by top prospect George Lombard Jr. as the team’s starting shortstop. He produced in the minors. 

Volpe was named the International League Player of the Week from Sept. 1-6 after going 11-for-21 (.524) with three homers, eight runs scored and five stolen bases. Over his past 17 games at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Volpe was batting .333 with eight home runs and a 1.218 OPS. Teammate Jasson Domínguez recently joked that he “became Barry Bonds, all the time, every day.” 

“I don’t know if physically as much as just mentally [there was a change], having the mindset I wanted to get a lot out of it,” Volpe said before the game. “You have a game every night, try out different stuff. Seeing what works and you feel like it’s gonna translate in case an opportunity like this comes. So there was just a lot of trial and error.” 

Boone noted that it can sometimes be difficult for a player to handle a demotion the right way, especially if that player starts well following being sent down like Volpe did, but isn’t immediately recalled. Volpe felt he had no other choice being surrounded by positive people who work hard, such as teammate Oswaldo Cabrera and manager Shelley Duncan. 

“I wasn’t alone when I went there,” he said. “Cabrera, I feel like I got so close to him. To see his positivity and how he just enjoys playing and having fun, if you don’t do that when you’re down there, you’ll stick out like a sore thumb.” 

During pregame introductions, Volpe received cheers. In his first at-bat, he singled in a run. He added another hit in the sixth and then came up with the bases loaded an inning later. He smashed a 1-1 Jimmy Herget sinker over the wall in right field at 104 mph to put the game away. The curtain call followed. 

“I wanted to be back up here, I wanted to be helping and contributing, but when you’re down there, there’s obviously no guarantees,” he said. “You work really hard for yourself and for the player that you feel like can help the organization. 

“I never thought I was going to be back here in this moment. But I wanted to be ready and prepared in case something happens.” 

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