DETROIT — Oswaldo Cabrera just keeps hitting.
On a day when the Yankees were shut down overall in a 4-0 loss to the Tigers, it was Cabrera who had two of their four hits in addition to making a few strong plays at third base as the utilityman continued to produce when called upon.
Cabrera should be in for a bigger role while Jazz Chisholm Jr. is on the injured list with a UCL sprain, particularly against right-handers (though he hit right-handed against lefty reliever Tyler Holton on Saturday for one of his singles).
While Cabrera extended his hitting streak to six games, he is now batting .304 (24-for-79) with an .825 OPS over his last 30 games (19 starts).
“He’s just such a good teammate, such a good guy to have on the team,” manager Aaron Boone said. “He’s obviously been playing really well over the last month when he’s had his opportunities. The defensive versatility he provides [is important], but he’s been really stringing together a lot of good games at the plate as well. … Really love the way he’s playing right now.”
Tim Mayza made his Yankees debut with a scoreless sixth inning, even after giving up a leadoff triple to Spencer Torkelson that tipped off the outstretched glove of Juan Soto in the gap.
The lefty reliever’s next pitch got away from Austin Wells, and Torkelson tried to race home to score, but Mayza got there just in time to slap the tag on him for the out.
Mayza retired the next two batters quickly while showing off a bump in velocity — he struck out Javier Baez on a 95 mph sinker — after the pitch averaged 91.9 mph earlier this season with the Blue Jays.
“By the end of the inning, it was like, ‘Boom,’ ” Boone said. “He started to pop some that I felt like, ‘There he is.’ He finished the inning strong.”
The White Sox claimed reliever Enyel De Los Santos off waivers Saturday, three days after the Yankees designated him for assignment.
It was the White Sox who helped expedite De Los Santos’ departure from the Yankees, as they tagged him for seven runs on eight hits in 1 ²/₃ innings on Monday in Chicago.
Chisholm did some running in the outfield before Saturday’s game, but he has yet to resume swinging.
Jon Berti (calf strain) did full baseball activities on Saturday in Tampa, but Boone was still not sure when he might start a rehab assignment.
Ian Hamilton (lat strain) threw his first live batting practice session on Friday and it went well, according to Boone. … Clarke Schmidt (lat strain) is set to throw another live session on Sunday, after which he could begin a rehab assignment.
