By Bryan High | 43 minutes ago
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NEW YORK — When Aaron Boone first noticed Jhony Brito, the young right-hander dumped his four-pitch mix in a bullpen in Tampa, Fla., and popped the catcher’s glove one punch at a time.
From his perch behind the hill, the Yankees manager nudged a couple of nearby coaches and said, “He can help us.” Rotational injuries presented Brito with an opportunity sooner than expected, and the 23-year-old rose to the occasion .
Assisted by three homers – including Giancarlo Stanton’s overwhelming throw that cleared Monument Park and the batsman’s eye – Brito went five scoreless innings to earn the win in his major league debut, a 6-0 win over the Giants on Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.
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“I always thought about having a good debut,” Brito said through an interpreter. “You have to be confident in doing your job. When you start thinking about bad results, things usually get out of control. I am very happy.”
After returning from minor league camp to withdraw all 16 Blue Jays on his last spring outing to replace injured veteran Luis Severino, Brito conceded just two hits in a 76-pitch effort and hit six with a walk .
“He kept hitting the strike zone,” Boone said. “It was more of what we saw. He felt very comfortable out there, very comfortable. It’s just a really good performance and an important achievement for us when we needed a bit of distance.”
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Brito’s money pitch is an above-average change, and it gave the Giants seizures. He relied heavily on it, using it 38 percent of the time (28 pitches; 22 strikes) and generating 10 swings and misses. All six of his strikeouts were ended by the switch, including the first hitter he faced, LaMonte Wade Jr.
“It just looks a lot like his fastball, probably more so than most guys. It’s really hard to say,” said catcher Kyle Higashioka. “His willingness to attack the zone is probably the most important thing. You have to trust your stuff and attack the zone because major league hitters will pat you down and see what you’ve got. He did a great job.”
Brito, ranked the No. 27 Yankees by MLB Pipeline, signed for $35,000 from the Dominican Republic in 2015 and earned a reputation as one of the organization’s top strike throwers. With Severino, Carlos Rodón and Frankie Montas all out through injury, the steely Brito looks to have earned a few more rounds in the rotation.
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Brito is only the fourth Yankee since the end of World War II, behind Luis Gil (2021), Jonathan Loáisiga (18) and Sam Militello (1992), to throw at least five scoreless innings on his major league debut.
“I have to thank my teammates,” said Brito. “They prepared me and gave me good pointers to understand that it’s the same type of baseball that we’re going to play out there. It will be a different stadium and definitely more fans, but I wasn’t nervous.”
Brito identified Severino, Domingo Germán, Jimmy Cordero and Wandy Peralta among the Bombers’ slingshots who helped him get his feet wet.
“They told me to keep focusing on doing the same things I did in spring training and everything would be fine,” Brito said.
Aaron Judge hit a solo homer, his second, before Stanton hit the standings 485 feet from home plate with a stunning drive in the third inning. Higashioka also scored for the Yanks, who added two late runs on a sacrificial fly by Anthony Rizzo and a wild pitch that allowed Gleyber Torres to scurry home.
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Stanton said of Brito: “He was fun to watch. He was great for us. It was good to get his first start like that and continue the success for him.”
Cordero, Ron Marinaccio and Colten Brewer combined to blank out the Giants in the last four innings. This marks the first time in franchise history that the club has thrown a shutout in two of their first three games of the season.
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Brito was awarded the wrestling-style championship belt after Sunday’s win, and when asked to speak to his teammates, kept his remarks brief.
“I just said a big thank you to them for all the support and everything they’ve done for me,” Brito said. “They accepted me into this clubhouse. They were happy; I was happy. It’s very exciting.”