Yanks' Sanchez homers in first rehab game

Getting set to return to the big leagues, Gary Sánchez did exactly what made him a star there last summer in his first rehab game -- he left the yard.
The Yankees catcher bashed a solo homer and added an RBI double as Scranton/Wilkes-Barre fell at Lehigh Valley, 11-7, on Tuesday night.

On the road back from a right biceps injury he suffered in his fifth game of the season, Sanchez got started quickly. The 24-year-old clubbed his one-out home run to right-center field in the first inning off No. 20 Phillies prospectMark Appel.

After striking out swinging to end the second, Sanchez came through again in the fourth. The backstop drove a double to left to plate Tyler Wade. He later scored on a single to right by No. 8 Yankees prospectDustin Fowler.
Box score
Sanchez helped engineer the RailRiders' 14-hit night at the plate. Every Scranton/Wilkes-Barre starter had at least one hit, and catcher Eddy Rodriguez, who pinch-hit for Sanchez in the eighth, also had a knock.

Lehigh Valley was paced by five multi-hit performances in equaling the visitors' hit output. Baseball's No. 65 overall prospectJorge Alfaro singled three times, scored twice and drove in a run. IronPigs cleanup man and No. 9 Phillies prospect Dylan Cozens went 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs. No. 13 Rhys Hoskins added two hits, including a three-run homer in the fifth.
Appel was charged with six runs on 11 hits, striking out five over four innings. He didn't factor into the decision.