Slumping shortstop Anthony Volpe hitless in return to Yankees’ lineup after sitting 2 games

NEW YORK (AP) — Slumping shortstop Anthony Volpe was hitless in his return to the New York Yankees starting lineup Tuesday after two games off.

Volpe went 0 for 4 and is mired in a 1-for-32 skid and hitting .206 with 18 homers and 65 RBIs this season. He batted eighth for the 19th time this year as the Yankees beat the Washington Nationals 5-1 in the second game of a three-game series.

Volpe struck out on a curveball by MacKenzie Gore to open the third and flew out three times. In his final at-bat in the eighth, he drove a ball to the warning track in center field.

“He hits one 106 to the wrong part that last at-bat,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I thought (he) got some good swings off. Out in front of the breaking balls from Gore.”

José Caballero started in Monday’s 10-5 win over Washington and Sunday’s 7-2 win over Boston that prevented a four-game sweep. Volpe entered as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning Sunday. He had his second full day off this season Monday and first since May 4.

The Yankees were hopeful Volpe will benefit from the mini-benching after hearing loud boos from fans during portions of his slide, which dropped his average to the second-lowest among qualified players.

“Wired right for it, handles it,” Boone said before the game. “Whether he’s going through a good stretch or a struggle, he’s always the same guy and such an important part of our team. So hopefully (he will) start to turn the corner a little bit here offensively and get hot again for us. It has been a rough run offensively for him.”

Volpe started for the first time since Saturday’s 12-1 loss to the Red Sox. He was 0 for 3, attempted a sacrifice bunt with the Yankees down by three runs and committed his AL-leading 17th error by making an errant throw on a grounder during Boston’s seven-run ninth.

Volpe won the shortstop job in spring training 2023 and the former first-round pick batted .209 with 21 homers and 60 RBIs in 159 games as a rookie when he won the Gold Glove. Last season, Volpe improved his average to .243 and finished with 12 homers and 60 RBIs in 160 games.

He also batted .286 in the postseason as the Yankees reached the World Series for the first time since 2009. He hit a grand slam in Game 4 against the Dodgers that prevented the Yankees from getting swept.

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Volpe was hitting .249 through his first 69 games, but is hitting .157 since June 15. The Yankees are 30-33 in that span and dropped from first place in the AL East to the second wild-card spot.

“He’s very capable,” Boone said. “I think the biggest thing for him here in the first few seasons of the career is the ups and downs, the peaks and valleys offensively. So it’s just continuing to work really hard at being more consistent.

“I do feel like he’s hit into some tough luck this season, but is starts with the strike zone and making sure you’re swinging at quality pitches and when you do that you give yourself a chance to be successful”

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb