After being held scoreless by Baltimore in three straight meetings, the Yankee bats rose from the grave, breaking out for three runs in the first in a 5-2 victory.
It wasn’t Gary Sanchez, Starlin Castro or even Aaron Judge doing the damage; Chase Headley and Austin Romine drove in four of the five runs. The Yankees needed runs in a bad way heading into the most crucial 10-game homestand of the season that will most likely determine their postseason fate. New York entered the day with a 3.1% chance to make it, according to Baseball Prospectus, so they’ll probably need to win all 10 of those.
Michael Pineda made it into the fifth, but didn’t record an out, and Luis Severino came in and left the bases loaded. From there, the bullpen shut the door.
The Play: Romine singles in a pair (+.144 WPA)
Romine really went down to get this one, and put the Yankees out in front for good.
Notes
– The Yankees now sit 6 1/2 games back in the AL East and 3 1/2 back in the wild card. That’s not that many games!
– Gary Sanchez is now 1 for his last 8. Waive him.
– Tyler Clippard was hit in the side by a line drive. He stayed in the game.
The Highlight: Severino leaves ‘em loaded
Up Next
The Yankees return home for a 10-game homestand, beginning with the Blue Jays. It’s Masahiro Tanaka against R.A. Dickey at 1:05 p.m. ET on Monday at the Stadium.
Photo: Evan Habeeb / USA Today Sports