The Yankees came back from down a run twice to beat the Mariners in the first of a four-game series on Thursday night.
Here are a few takeaways from the game:
1. Nestor Cortes (5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K) didn’t have his best stuff but labored through another solid start. His ERA is now 2.15 in 37.2 IP.
2. Former Mets prospect, Jarred Kelenic, batting just .138, hit a solo home run in the seventh inning to make it 3-2. It was his fifth of the year.
3. In the bottom of the seventh, former Met Paul Sewald let up two two-out singles to both Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, which brought up Joey Gallo in his first big moment as a Yankee.
He hit a towering home run (launch angle: 48 degrees) which just cleared the right field wall. It was his first in New York, and made the score 5-3. He finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored, a homer and three RBI.
4. The Mariners threatened in the top of the eighth to get those runs back, but Zack Britton, finding himself in a first-and-third one-out jam, induced a double play to get out of trouble. In all, the bullpen did another nice job following Cortes, allowing only one run over four innings.
5. Aroldis Chapman came on to close the game, throwing a laborious but scoreless ninth to earn his 299th career save. His ERA is back down to 3.63 after it ballooned to 4.71 on July 4. He’s allowed one run over his last 11 games.
6. With the Red Sox losing and the Rays off, New York is now only 5.5 games out of the AL East. Oakland was off, too, so the Yankees gained a half-game and are only 1.5 games out of a Wild Card spot.
Highlights
What’s Next:
The Yankees play the Mariners in the second of four games on Friday night.
Marco Gonzales (3-5, 5.15 ERA) will go for Seattle, while the Yankees are yet to announce a starter.