BRONX, NY – The New York Yankees rallied their way to victory for the second straight night – this time in dramatic, walkoff fashion.
Oswaldo Cabrera led off the bottom of the 10th inning with a groundout, advancing ghost-runner Jasson Dominguez over to third. Up came the pinch-hitting rookie, JC Escarra, who belted a deep sacrifice fly to left field that scored Dominguez for a 4-3, extra-inning victory over the San Diego Padres at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Yankees (21-16) needed just three hits to secure the win, with two of them being game-tying homers from Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively.
The walkoff wouldn’t have been possible without reliever Devin Williams, who escaped a bases-loaded jam in the top of the tenth inning. In the defining moment of his young Yankee tenure, the right-hander was overcome with emotion after striking out the lethal trio of Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, and finally Xander Bogaerts to punctuate the spotless frame.
“That’s as tough a spot as you’re going to be in,” noted Yankee manager Aaron Boone after the game. “Ghost runner, top of the order, and what’s gone on here in the first month-plus. That takes a lot of guts to stand out there and just make pitch after pitch and continue to execute. That’s who he is and what he’s capable of.”
Yankees starter Max Fried, who entered Wednesday’s contest with an American League-leading 1.01 ERA through his first seven starts, turned in yet another gem. The lefty allowed just one run across seven innings with eight strikeouts and zero walks. His only blemish was a solo homer, which he surrendered to outfielder Jackson Merrill in the top of the fourth that gave the Padres a 1-0 lead.
“I thought this was one of Max’s best,” Boone remarked. “I thought stuff-wise, he was really good, but this might have been his best command game, in my opinion, all year. Obviously, that’s saying something, with as well as he’s pitched.”
Not to be outdone, Padres starter Dylan Cease carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning with nine strikeouts – three of which came against Aaron Judge. Holding a one-run lead and eight outs away from his second career no-no, Cease watched Bellinger clobber his 0-2 four-seamer 373-feet into the right field seats to settle the score.
San Diego regained control once New York turned the game over to their bullpen in the eighth. Ian Hamilton walked two of the first three batters he faced, and both came around to score off righty Luke Weaver. Merrill notched an RBI singl,e and Bogaerts lifted a sacrifice fly that made it a 3-1 ballgame.
The crowd erupted with applause as the Padres plated the go-ahead run, but it wasn’t for the opposing club. The New York Knicks had just rallied from behind for the second straight game to defeat the Boston Celtics — in Boston — and go up 2-0 in the NBA playoffs.
Boone wasn’t surprised by the crowd reaction, joking postgame, “I figured the Knicks were doing well.”
But the Yanks answered right back in the home half of the inning. Cabrera led off the frame with a walk against reliever Jason Adam. New York then summoned Grisham to pinch hit for Jorbit Vivas, a decision that proved wise. The lefty slugger got every piece of Adam’s inside changeup, launching the 1-2 offering to the second deck in right field for his tenth homer of the year and tying the game at three runs apiece.
With the win, the Yankees took two out of the three games against the Padres. New York will next travel to Sacramento for the first time ever, kicking off a three-game set against the Athletics on Friday night (10:05 p.m. ET) at Sutter Health Park.
