As John Snyder put it, it was a victory pulled out of the jaws of defeat pulled out of the jaws of victory. The Yanks seemed to have put their recent June swoon — having lost 5 of their last 6 — in the past with 5 runs in the 2nd to take a 5-0 lead. “Opener” Chad Green pitched 2 shutout innings and manager Aaron Boone handed the ball to Nestor Cortes Jr. who pitched 3 perfect innings — retiring all 9 batters he faced.
The Yanks rolled into the 6th with a 5-0 lead and in came Tommy Kahnle.
Coughing Up the 5-0 Lead
Kahnle bombed.
- Centerfielder Leonys Martin led off the 6th with a homerun.
- Francisco Lindor flied out but then Oscar Mercado singled, Carlos Santana singled, and second baseman Mike Freeman hit his 2nd career homerun to left and it was 5-4. Adam Ottavino starting warming in the pen.
Kahnle got the next two batters to end the inning, but in the 7th, Jake Bauers hit a homerun off Adam Ottavino to tie the game at 5. Just like that. Snatched from the jaws of victory.
Cortes
Some Yankee fans were wondering why Nestor Cortes Jr.— who is a starting pitcher (in minors) — couldn’t have just been left in there, since he had retired every batter he faced. Frank Casey pointed out on Twitter that he “Was in a pitch count they said, ’cause he was on short rest. Pitched 3 days ago .” Carlos Marti added that “Nestor had thrown 6 innings in AAA 3 days before.”
Marti added, “I’m very proud of Nestor. I coached him in the summer in High School and was the scout that signed him. Not common for a HS pitcher in the 39th round to make it to the big leagues at 24. Always believed in the heart with him. #Winner He’s an amazing young man. His heart will keep him in the big leagues for 10 years. Being a Yankee Fan myself is best case scenario. Lol”
A Parade of Failed Ex-Yankee Relievers Kept Yankees Scoreless
Have you ever heard the old Klingon proverb where Revenge is best served by former Yankee failed relievers? It is very former-failed-Yankee-relievers in Cleveland.” — Khan
After the Yankees exploded for the 5 runs in the 2nd knocking out Shane Bieber, Cleveland proceeded to bring in a parade of ex-Yankee failed relievers — one after another consecutively in one of the oddest things I’ve ever seen as a Yankee fan — former Yank A.J. Cole, followed by former Yank Nick Goody, followed by former Yank Tyler Clippard, followed by former Yank Tyler Olson — and they combined to pitch 5.2 scoreless innings!
Yanks Got their Offense Back in Gear
Finally in the 9th the Yankee offense woke back up — with one out Luke Voit singled and Gary Sanchez hit a hot shot down the 3rd base line, just fair, to put runners on 2nd and 3rd. Gleyber Torres was intentionally walked, and Clint Frazier stepped up with bases loaded. “Machine Gun” Frazier had already gotten two hits (including a double) and a walk on the day.
Frazier had a terrific at bat — taking two ‘just-outside’ pitches for balls to run the count to 3-2 before hitting a deep line drive to center for the sac fly and the Yankee 6-5 lead.
#Yankees retake the lead 6-5 with this sac fly by @clintfrazier! pic.twitter.com/xSX4T9tvXj
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) June 9, 2019
Didi Kicks Away the Win
Aroldis Chapman allowed a single and a walk to lead off the 9th, but then got a popup and a HEART ATTACK fly ball to left that Gardner caught just before the warning track. 2 outs. Lindor hit a ground ball to Didi Gregorious to end the game — but it kicked off Didi’s knee for an error and the tying run scored. The win again snatched from the jaws of victory. Chapman struck out Mercado to send the game into extras — a huge final out.
Winning Rally
In the 10th with one out, Cameron Maybin hit a one out double over the centerfielder’s head, and then with two outs, Aaron Hicks doubled him home for a 7-6 Yankee lead. The Cameron Maybin double was like when they played in on you in 4th grade and you hit one over their head.
A-A-Ron puts us back on top in the 10th. pic.twitter.com/Lr4gMcjiTF
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 9, 2019
Save Tarpley
Yankee elation turned to worry as #71 took the mound for the Yankees in the 10th — Stephen Tarpley was in to try to get his first MLB save.
- Tarpley threw a SLOW breaking ball to strike out Carlos Santana on a 3-2 pitch, after falling behind 3-1.
- He threw a NICE inside slider to just hit the strike zone and strike out Mike Freeman for the second out.
- And then got Jordan Luplow to strike out swinging to end the game.
Get the call, shut the door. @BankofAmerica pic.twitter.com/jS2t5wyRcc
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 10, 2019
It was beautiful pitching by Tarpley! He threw curveballs and sliders to strike out the side and give the Yanks the win. Yankee analyst John Flaherty mentioned Tarpley had allowed only 1 run in his last 15 innings in minors after being sent down.
The Boxscore
https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=401075705
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