Yankees Rally in Ninth For Thrilling Comeback Win vs Blue Jays
The Yankees salvaged the final game of a three-game set with a ninth-inning comeback.
The New York Yankees continue to show their resilience.
Through two games and eight innings, the Yankees had lost three games in a row and had already lost their first series of the year against their division rivals, the Toronto Blue Jays. To make matters worse, they were trailing 4-2 in the series finale with the lineup still floundering; Juan Soto had accounted for the team's entire offense with a fifth-inning double and an eighth-inning solo homer. Aaron Judge was hitless in the series up to this point, while Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres were still struggling both at the plate and in the field.
With New York's offense unable to hit Toronto's starters throughout the series, they now had just three outs to rally against a bullpen that had just received reinforcements, including regular closer Jordan Romano. They were staring a three-game sweep in the face... until they didn't.
With Romano having made his season debut the night before, Erik Swanson was tabbed to close the game instead for the Blue Jays. Giancarlo Stanton led off the inning for the Bronx Bombers, and with the count at 1-1, he got a splitter in the strike zone and did what he does best: hit it a mile. Stanton's prodigious blast had a 111.8 mph exit velocity, traveled 437 feet, and landed in the second deck in left-center field. But most importantly, while the Yankees still trailed by a run, the homer gave the lineup the momentum they needed for a comeback.
Next up was Torres, who was still struggling immensely and entered the at-bat 0-for-3 with three strikeouts. However, he continued the rapidly-developing rally with a single to left. Alex Verdugo followed by yanking a double to right, putting both the tying and go-ahead runs into scoring position. Although Oswaldo Cabrera was unable to deliver as he grounded out to second, Jose Trevino was brought in to pinch-hit for Austin Wells; facing left-hander Tim Mayza, Trevino lashed a single just past the glove of the drawn-in second baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa and into right-center field to score Torres. Remarkably, the game was tied at four.
The lineup flipped over for the red-hot Anthony Volpe, but he couldn't come through, merely popping out in foul territory. Soto was next, and as he entered the at-bat 3-for-3 with a walk and a triple shy of the cycle, Mayza wanted absolutely no part of the left-handed slugger and walked him to load the bases. This set the stage for Judge, who not only went hitless in the first two games but was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and a double-play ball. But the Yankee captain redeemed himself by working the count full before hitting a go-ahead, two-run single just inside the left-field line.
With Rogers Centre in stunned silence, the Bronx Bombers now had a 6-4 lead thanks to their four-run rally. Mayza struck out Rizzo to finally end the inning, but the damage was done.
Clay Holmes, fresh off three days of rest, was brought in to close the game and did his job. Despite allowing a one-out single to Kevin Kiermaier, Holmes calmly retired the next two batters and was assisted by a slick defensive play by Volpe, who snared Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s blistering ground ball and threw him out at first to end the game.
Although the Yankees had lost their first series of the season, the much-needed win in the finale snapped their three-game losing streak and may give the lineup some much-needed confidence, especially for struggling batters like Torres and Judge. New York also improved their record to 13-6 and remain in first place in the AL East, with the Baltimore Orioles behind them by half a game.
The Yankees will have an off-day on Thursday before beginning a three-game set in the Bronx against another division rival, the Tampa Bay Rays. Clarke Schmidt will get the start on Friday, with first pitch coming at 7:05 PM Eastern.
