DENVER -- About three minutes after J.C. Escarra delivered his third hit of the game and drove in a big insurance run in the eighth inning of the Yankees’ 5-4 win over the Rockies at Coors Field on Sunday, the sun bathed the field in light for the first time all afternoon.
It had been a gray day to that point, one that included thunder, lightning and a rain delay of one hour and 46 minutes. But in the end, it was sunny for the Yankees as they took two of three from Colorado to open a nine-game road trip following a historically rare loss in the series opener on Friday.
Escarra, who made his MLB debut on March 29, was hitting .195 entering the series finale in Colorado. But he got his moment in the sun on Sunday. In addition to his clutch single in the eighth inning, the 30-year-old catcher doubled in a run in the second and singled in the fourth.
At this time a couple of years ago, Escarra wasn’t driving baseballs to right field. He was driving Uber and doing anything else he could to make ends meet for his family while keeping his baseball dreams alive in independent ball.
As celebratory music echoed throughout the visitors' clubhouse while the Yanks packed for Los Angeles, where they will play the Angels and Dodgers before returning home, Escarra was soaking it all in.
“It’s surreal,” Escarra said. “Just from what I was doing. Sometimes I sit back and I think about it -- where I’m at today, who I’m playing with, the name on my jersey. It’s incredible.”
The name on the front of his jersey read “New York” in the classic script of baseball’s most successful franchise over the past century-plus. Given the pressure that comes with playing for the Yankees, Escarra has handled his introduction to the Majors admirably, especially considering he’s a backup catcher who must find a way to produce at the plate and behind it despite sporadic playing time.
Though it was Escarra’s hitting exploits that stood out most on Sunday, manager Aaron Boone said there’s much more to Escarra’s game than that, and he’s showing it.
“He can really swing the bat,” Boone said. “But the real good part about it is what he’s bringing behind the plate on the days he catches. I mean, he’s been excellent. … On the days I don’t have [Austin Wells] in there, we’ve got a ton of confidence in J.C.”
As do the pitchers he’s working with, including Sunday’s starter, Will Warren.
“I played with him last year [in the Minor Leagues],” said Warren, who got off to a rocky start but then settled in, limiting the damage to two runs over four innings before the rain delay. “I’ve seen the grind he puts in every day. So to see him have success is awesome.”
A fifth-inning RBI double from Aaron Judge and a sac fly later in that frame by Jasson Domínguez set the stage for Escarra’s eighth-inning single, giving him a career-high three hits on the afternoon, another milestone in his fledgling career.
Sunday’s performance was the latest manifestation of how far Escarra has come, to go along with his first Major League hit on April 3 vs. the D-backs at Yankee Stadium, his first big league home run on April 27 against the Blue Jays in the Bronx and his pinch-hit walk-off sacrifice fly that lifted the Yanks over the Padres on May 7.
When he stepped to the plate in the pivotal eighth inning with two outs and Domínguez on second, Escarra knew that this was a big moment.
“Today was a dogfight,” Escarra said. “We came out hot yesterday, but the Rockies gave us some trouble that first game, and it’s a team we couldn’t take lightly. I was hyped up because I know every run matters.
“In the end, that’s the run that was the difference in the game.”
Escarra is no stranger to a fight. He fought for his place in that batter’s box, and he met the moment – just like he did when he went from Uber driver living paycheck to paycheck to coming through in a big spot to help lift the Yankees to victory.
“There was a time when I didn’t really see any light at the end of the tunnel,” Escarra said. “I was ready to give up. But I had that hope in my heart that kept me going.”