Estevan Florial returned to the Yankees with a bang.
Fresh off another call-up and playing in his third major league game, the 23-year-old outfielder crushed his first career home run in the eighth inning of a 6-4 win over the Phillies on Tuesday night.
“It’s everything I have dreamed about,” Florial said after going 1-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs. “To come here, to play in the big leagues and also overall help the team, [that’s] what I did.”
The lefty hitter was promoted from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre earlier on Tuesday after Trey Amburgey went on the 10-day injured list with a hamstring strain. Florial singled in his MLB debut last summer, doubled in another one-game cameo in May and then came up with his biggest swing yet, a solo homer to right field off Phillies reliever Enyel De Los Santos.
“He’s got loads of talent,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Tonight he was really good. … Hopefully he can continue to give us that shot in the arm.”
Florial, who was passed over for a call-up multiple times in the past week though the Yankees’ outfield continued to be depleted by injuries and COVID-19 protocols, now has his best chance to take advantage of an opportunity. None of his first four call-ups lasted more than a game (he never even got into a game during two of them), but Florial figures to stick around for the upcoming stretch of games with no outfielders close to returning from the IL.