The Yankees were a strike away from the win, but the Detroit Tigers came away with a walk-off 3-2 win in 10 innings on Friday.
Here are some key takeaways…
– Giancarlo Stanton made his return to the lineup after missing 13 games with a quad strain, hitting second in the Yankees’ order. Stanton showed some signs of rust at the plate, striking out in his first three at-bats, including with two men on in the fifth.
Stanton had a very rough night overall, going 0-for-5 with four strikeouts.
– Gerrit Cole allowed a couple of runners with two outs in the first, but he got out of the early jam unscathed. But in the third, the Tigers notched three consecutive hits, the third being an RBI single from Jeimer Candelario to put Detroit up 1-0. Fortunately, Cole was able to force a Miguel Cabrera double play to get out of the inning without any further damage.
– The Yankee bats got off to a quiet start, but Aaron Judge was able to record the first two Yankee hits of the night. Judge singled in the first and then snuck a double just over the first base bag in the fourth, giving the Yankees their first runner in scoring position on the night. But a couple of groundouts from Gio Urshela and Gleyber Torres left Judge stranded.
– Rougned Odor tied things up at 1-1 in the top of the fifth, leading off the inning by launching a high fastball over the wall in right. Odor’s fifth home run of the season came with a nice bat drop as well.
He ended up going 4-for-5 at the plate, his third career four-hit game.
– Cole had an interesting night, as he didn’t have his typically-elite command, but he was able to pitch six innings of one-run ball. He allowed six hits and only struck out five on 103 pitches, but he kept the Tigers at bay for most of the game.
– The game stayed tied into the top of the eighth inning, when Clint Frazier came up in a big spot with two on and two out. He had a couple of good pitches to hit, but fouled them back before grounding into a forceout to short to end the inning.
– In the bottom of the eighth, Chad Green walked Robbie Grossman to lead off the inning. Grossman then stole second, but Green settled in and worked out of the inning, thanks mainly to a terrific jumping stab from DJ LeMahieu at first base that saved a run.
-In the ninth, pinch-hitter Miguel Andujar singled before Tyler Wade came in to pinch-run. When ball four to LeMahieu from Gregory Soto sailed to the backstop, Wade reached third, giving the Yankees runners on the corners. After Stanton’s fourth strikeout, Judge struck out as well to keep the game tied.
– After dealing with an illness the last couple of days, Aroldis Chapman entered the ninth inning with the game still tied. But he walked Jonathan Schoop to start off the inning. But pinch-runner Akil Baddoo was picked off first by Gary Sanchez, and Chapman pitched a scoreless frame.
– The Yankees got a gift in the top of the tenth, as a passed ball on catcher Jake Rogers allowed Judge to score from third base. In the bottom of the inning, But in the bottom half of the inning, Justin Wilson allowed a walk-off two-run home run to Robbie Grossman to give Detroit the win.
The Yankees were one strike away from the win, but not keeping Chapman on the mound in the 10th proved to be costly.
Highlights
What’s next
The Yankees and Tigers continue their weekend series on Saturday at 4:10 p.m. Deivi Garcia will make the start against Spencer Turnbull, who threw a no-hitter earlier this season.