Unbelieveable. The Yanks had this game and the series sweep, heading into the 9th inning with a breezy 7-2 lead. Domingo German was in for his 3rd inning of relief of Jameson Taillon who pitched great as the starter.
And then — absolute disaster. A weak infield single led it off, a double and German was gone. Chad Green came in and didn’t have it — double, double, bloop single and then after an out, Jose Altuve walk-off homerun.
Altuve took his shirt off to signify to everyone that he had hit “This” homerun without benefit of cheating with a buzzer to know what pitch was coming. Thanks Jose.
Shirt Tugging Thing
It was also a response to Aaron Judge tugging his jersey to signify Jose’s cheating the day before when Judge hit the homer to win the game 1-0, and earlier in this game when Martin Maldonado hit a homer and pulled his jersey down as he crossed home plate to signify he wasn’t wearing a buzzer, and then later Gary Sanchez hitting a 3-run bomb and tugging his jersey in the dugout.
A story in four parts (📸 @BryanHoch) … pic.twitter.com/NvUo1hSh41
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) July 11, 2021
Lost Opportunity
The loss cost the Yanks an opportunity to pick up another game on Boston, who lost. And Yankee fans now have to sit on this loss all week as the All Star Game is on tap. NY is 46-43, tied with Toronto for 3rd place, 8 game back of Boston and 5.5 behind Tampa.
1. Taillon Pitched Great
Good news for the Yanks was that Jameson Taillon pitched great. The Yanks had shutout Houston the first two games of the series, and Taillon matched that type of pitching. This was going to be such a nice win.
Taillon’s line: 6 IP, 3 hits, 2 runs, 4 K’s, 2 BB’s, and he left with a 4-2 lead.
2. Gleyber-Led Yankee Offense Gives Taillon Lead
The Yanks jumped on top 1-0 when Gleyber Torres ripped a shot past shortstop for an RBI single in the top of the 3rd off Houston starter Framber Valdez, after Gary Sanchez and Luke Voit had walked. Sanchez scored but they ruled the play an error by the shortstop as he got a glove on it to his right. Was figuring the official scorer would change it but he didn’t — Torres should have slipped him $100 after all this was Houston.
On the board 1st. pic.twitter.com/gWGckQtSwT
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 11, 2021
As John Sterling said at the time on radio to Taillon, “There’s your run.” The Yankees having won 1-0 the night before.
But Maldonado answered with a homer in the bottom of the 3rd to tie it, then pulled down on the neck of his jersey to show his bare chest on crossing home.
Tim Locastro hit his first homer as a Yankee in the top of the 4th to put NY back on top, 1-0. Locastro grew up a huge Yankee fan and you could see his excitement on the field.
1st homer as a Yankee đź’Ş
Congrats @TimmyLo16 đź‘Ź pic.twitter.com/rs5VwgTrDe
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 11, 2021
Gleyber Drives In a Run
Gleyber Torres drove in another run in the 5th with an RBI single to center, scoring Giancarlo Stanton, who had to dive out of the way of the ball it almost hit him at 2nd. He had gotten on with an infield single to the right side — the second time in the game he hit a chopper to the right side where infielders do not play him due to the shift. Stanton moved to scoring position at 2nd on another Luke Voit walk.
Gleyber adds 👆 more. pic.twitter.com/zeIfIT8lRn
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 11, 2021
Houston right fielder Kyle Tucker hit a homer in the 5th off Taillon to close the game to 3-2 NY.
Gleyber Walks, Steals 2nd, Scores
But the Yanks got Taillon an insurance run in the top of the 7th when Gleyber Torres worked a 2-out walk, stole 2nd, and scored on a clutch, 2-out RBI single by Gio Urshela. This game was looking so good.
The most happy fella comes through. pic.twitter.com/sY4xb1ef4u
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 11, 2021
3. Sanchez with 3-Run Bomb for Insurance
Gary Sanchez hit a 3-run bomb in the top of the 8th, plating DJ LeMahieu and Aaron Judge who had walked, and this one seemed over. NY 7 Houston 2. Beautiful.
That's a goner, Gary. pic.twitter.com/88XAk5rLzM
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 11, 2021
4. Unbelievable 9th
Domingo German was looking good after 2 shutout innings in relief of Taillon. This game was just about over. But an infield single by Yuli Gurriel started the 9th, and then Tucker doubled to left — and Aaron Boone took out German after 34 pitches for Chad Green.
It was a mistake.
As good as Green has been — he didn’t have it. A booming double by centerfielder Chas McCormick, a booming double by 3rd baseman Abraham Toro and then a bloop single by pinch hitter Jason Castro into center made it 7-4 with 1st and 3rd — the tying run on base and the winning run at the plate.
The only question was if Green could get “it” back or if he’d get it.
Maldonado hit a soft liner to short that Gleyber Torres caught but purposely let drop to see if he could get a double play — but the ump ruled it an out on ‘infielder’s fly rule’.
And then Altuve stepped up. He got a Green hanging 85-MPH curveball on a 1-1 pitch and that was ballgame.
We heard it was cold, so we turned it up a notch.#ForTheH pic.twitter.com/tcC5xcRcRc
— Houston Astros (@astros) July 11, 2021
Etcetera
There was a lot of good to take from this game — which was going to be a great win until the final inning:
- Gleyber Torres was at the heart of the Yankee offense all night — he only was credited as going 1-4 with an RBI, run scored and stolen base. He is at .240 (.326 OBP) heading into the 2nd half of the season.
- Gary Sanchez was 1-5 with a walk and the 3-run bomb.
- Giancarlo Stanton was 2-4 with a walk — he is at .270 (.364) — looking ready for a big 2nd half.
- DJ LeMahieu went 0-2 but walked 4 times. He’s at .270 (.351 OBP).
- Aaron Judge went 0-4 but walked 2 times. He’s at 282 (.375)
- Luke Voit went 0-2 but walked 3 times.
- Jameson Taillon pitched great.
- Domingo German pitched well in relief.
Houston pitchers walked a lot of guys, as you can tell from the bullet points above.
- Starter Framber Valdez walked 6 in 4 innings
- Reliever Blake Taylor walked 3 in a third of an inning.
- Reliever Ralph Garza Jr walked 3 in 1.2 innings. This was going to be such a good win.
Yanks Draft Shortstop Sweeney
After the game, in the MLB June draft — the Yankees had the 20th overall pick and used it to select shortstop Trey Sweeney from Eastern Illinois, who crushed the Ohio Valley Conference, hitting .382/.522/.712 with 14 HRs; and more walks (46) than whiffs (24). He is a Lefty hitter. The scouting report from MLB says he has below-average speed, might have to move off shortstop as pro, although has good arm strength.
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