SAN DIEGO - Spencer Jones has spent enough time picturing Petco Park that the moment should have felt purely sentimental. Instead, his first big weekend there with the Yankees has turned into something much more practical: evidence that he belongs in a bigger role.
The rookie delivered again Saturday, going 2-for-4 with an RBI double in New York’s 5-1 win over the Padres. His two-out drive to the right-field corner in the second inning scored Ben Rice and helped spark a four-run frame that knocked Robbie Ray off rhythm early. It also followed up a night in which Jones came through in the 10th inning with a go-ahead RBI single before San Diego answered with Luis Campusano’s walk-off two-run homer.
That kind of back-to-back production matters even more now because the Yankees suddenly need Jones to do more than fill in.
Trent Grisham landed on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain after feeling it while trying to steal second base Friday, then having trouble closing on Xander Bogaerts’ run-scoring single before exiting. Jasson Domínguez was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. With Grisham out, Aaron Boone said the Yankees expect Jones to handle center field regularly.
Jones moved from right field to center Friday and stayed there Saturday, and the assignment comes with real weight. The Yankees are chasing Tampa Bay while also protecting the top wild-card seed, and the roster is about to get even tighter.
Jones has given Boone a useful answer against left-handed pitching, too. Saturday’s two hits both came off Ray, and the double that opened the scoring came in that same split. The rookie is batting .400 across 45 plate appearances against left-handed pitching this season, a number that makes him look less like a situational bat and more like someone the Yankees can trust in the lineup regardless of the matchup.
The recent stretch backs that up. Through Saturday, Jones is batting .365 with a .951 OPS over his last 18 games. A PinstripesNation calculation from official game logs shows a .333/.400/.722 line from Aug. 31 through Sept. 5, with two home runs and six RBIs.
Ben Rice has seen the calm up close.
“He keeps looking like a matured big leaguer out there, doing his thing,” Rice said. “He really slows it down well.”
The timing is important because Aaron Judge is closing in on a return. He took on-field batting practice for a second straight day Saturday and ran the bases again as he works back from a right rib stress fracture. The Yankees want him to face live pitching Monday in New York, and a return during the Sept. 8-13 homestand is possible.
Before Grisham’s injury, New York had Grisham, Jones, Cody Bellinger and Heliot Ramos in the outfield mix. Now Grisham is unavailable, Domínguez is back as depth, and Jones has center field. Boone has already said the Yankees expect him to be there regularly while Grisham is sidelined, though the club has not said whether Grisham will return before the regular season ends.
Jones is still learning the position at the major league level, and his defensive metrics in center have been slightly below average in a limited sample. But the bat is making the rest of the conversation easier. If he keeps hitting, the Yankees can bring Judge back without having to shove Jones out of the everyday picture.
For now, Jones has already made his mark in two different ways at Petco Park: the go-ahead extra-inning single Friday and the early RBI double Saturday. He is 3-for-8 with two RBIs in the series, and the hometown setting clearly means something to him.
“Obviously, I’m super happy with the Yankees and being here with this organization,” Jones said. “But San Diego is where I grew up and my hometown, so it was really cool.”
The Yankees finish the series Sunday with Gerrit Cole scheduled to face former Yankee Michael King. After that comes the homestand and the possibility of Judge’s return. For the moment, though, center field belongs to Jones, and his first answer to the opportunity has been loud enough to get everyone’s attention.
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