New York Yankees outfielder Jasson Dominguez earned a historic career achievement on Friday, then got a big shoutout from the team.
Dominguez has gotten off to a hot start this season, but the switch-hitter struggled from the right side of the plate. He may have broken the slump in Friday’s game in a big way, smashing a record-setting three home runs including ones from both sides of the plate.
Dominguez earned some big praise for the achievement, with the Yankees sending him a strong message on social media.
Yankees Show Love to Jasson Dominguez
Dominguez had already hit one home run when he stepped up to the plate in the seventh inning. The 22-year-old then added to the lead when he connected on a pitch low in the zone and sent it out past the centerfield wall, giving the Yankees a 5-0 lead and earning the first multi-homer game of his young career.
The Yankees celebrated the accomplishment in a post on X.
“The Martian is Mashing,” the post read, referring to Dominguez’s nickname.
Dominguez wasn’t done yet. He came up to bat again in the next inning with the bases loaded, this time sending a ball deep to left-center for a grand slam.
The Yankees sent another message to Dominguez after his third blast.
“He did the Martian SLAM,” the team wrote.
The MLB’s official account also took note of the historic achievement from Dominguez.
“Jasson Domínguez is the youngest player in @Yankees history to record a 3-homer game!” the league noted in a post on X.
Jasson Dominguez Has ‘All the Tools’
Dominguez may have started to break out of his early slump from the right side of the plate earlier in the week, when he connected on a double off San Diego Padres reliever Adrian Morejon and keyed a 12-3 win.
Dominguez had entered the game hitting just 3-for-36 against left-handed pitchers while hitting right-handed.
“I’ve been struggling from the right side,” he said, via The Athletic. “Getting that hit from that side obviously means a lot.”
After that win, Yankees teammate Ben Rice shared some big praise for Dominguez.
“He’s got all the tools in the world,” Rice said. “It’s fun to watch.”
Cody Bellinger agreed, telling reporters in April that he could tell at training camp just how special Dominguez would be this season. Though Dominguez had a light MLB resume to that point — notching just 87 career at-bats in 26 total games at the top level — Bellinger said he could tell the youngster was bound to do great things.
“Man, the talent is through the roof,” Bellinger said, via MLB.com. “The swing, both sides of the plate, it plays. It’s a really, really good swing. Contact, power — he’s got a really good approach for a young guy. Watching him work is special; he’s got real special talents.”
Dominguez said at the time he was encouraged by the support of his teammates and working hard to learn a new position.
“To hear that from your team, that they believe in you, it gives you a lot of motivation and confidence to do it,” he said. “Right now, I’m working in left field, learning a new position, and I’m doing my best to win that.”
Yankees Send Strong Message to Jasson Dominguez After Historic Announcement