The Yankees rallied in the top of the ninth inning as Brett Gardner delivered the go-ahead hit to beat the Baltimore Orioles 4-3.
Here are the takeaways…
1. Gleyber Torres walked with two outs in the top of the second inning, and the Yanks nearly went up 2-0 on what would’ve been their first hit of the night. But, CF Cedric Mullens (who’s listed at 5-foot-8) climbed the wall and robbed a home run from Gary Sanchez for the third out.
2. Nestor Cortes Jr. got off to a hot start, striking out five batters in the first two innings. He let up a double and a walk in the second, but all three outs were strikeouts. In the top of the third, Brett Gardner singled and scored on Gio Urshela‘s two-run homer to put the Yankees up 2-0. It was his first home run since July 4.
3. Cortes continued to dominate the Orioles, striking out the side in the bottom of the fourth inning on just 16 pitches. That gave him eight strikeouts over 62 pitches (40 strikes). He let up a single with one out in the fifth, but recorded another strikeout and then Urshela made a diving catch to end the inning.
4. The lefty struck out the first two batters in the sixth inning, but let up a solo home run to Austin Hays, making it a 2-1 one game. Cortes got Anthony Santander to fly out to Giancarlo Stanton in foul territory down the line in left field. His night on the mound came to an end after 6.1 IP, allowing just one run on three hits with a career-high 11 strikeouts and two walks over 98 pitches.
5. Chad Green allowed a leadoff single to Austin Wynns in the eighth inning. He then got Mullins to hit a grounder to second, but they couldn’t turn the double play and Wynns was safe at second base. He advanced to third on a wild pitch that got by Sanchez, and Green struck out Ryan Mountcastle for the second out. Hays gave the Orioles a 3-2 lead with a two-run home run for his second of the night.
6. The Yankees began to rally in the top of the ninth, as Luke Voit walked and Tyler Wade came in to pinch run for him. Torres singled to center with no one out and then Sanchez would fly out to center for the first out. Wade and Torres executed to double steal to give the Yanks runners in scoring position. Gardner hit a bloop two-run single to shallow the outfield over the shortstop, giving the Yanks a 4-3 lead.
Aroldis Chapman came in for the save, and was able to close things out.
Highlights
What’s next
The Yankees will continue their series against the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday at 5:05 p.m. at Camden Yards.
Jordan Montgomery gets the start for the Yanks, while Chris Ellis takes the mound for the O’s.