Down 7-4 with 2 outs in the 9th in the Field of Dreams game in a cornfield in Dyersville, Iowa, Aaron Judge hit a 2-run homer and Giancarlo Stanton hit a 2-run homer to vault the Yankees ahead 8-7! But in the bottom of the 9th the dream was shattered when Tim Anderson turned around a Zach Britton pitch for a game-winning homer to right in a walk-off White Sox win, 9-8.
After the game, accusations swirled on Yankee Twitter that the game was played with lively baseballs.
1. The Field
MLB built the small stadium to play the game in Dyersville, Iowa, within walking distance of where a “Field of Dreams” field was built to honor the Kevin Costner film. The MLB stadium was designed similar to Comiskey Park with the exception that you can see the corn field behind the outfield fences. There is a path running through the cornfield that connects MLB’s stadium for the game to the “Field of Dreams” field.
2. Yanks Jump on Top with Judge Homer
Down 1-0, DJ LeMahieu walked with 2 out in the 3rd against Chicago starter Lance Lynn. Brett Gardner singled, and Aaron Judge hit an opposite field homer to right for a 3-1 Yankee lead.
#ALLRise x Corn is the combo we needed. pic.twitter.com/zLjnmpQ0sN
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 13, 2021
3. Heaney Bombed
But Andrew Heaney gave it all up in the 3rd. Heaney had pitched so well the last time out — his 2nd start as a Yankee. In his 1st start, he gave up 4 solo homers in 4 innings.
And the balls in this game were clearly juiced. Heaney did not have the right stuff to match up against that.
Heaney allowed a homer to Chicago’s Jose Abreu in the 1st for a 1-0 White Sox lead.
Up 3-1 in the 3rd, Heaney gave up an RBI double to Tim Anderson to make it 3-2, and a 3-run homer to right by Eloy Jimenez — a red hot hitter in general — to make it 5-3 Chicago.
Go the distance. #ChangeTheGame pic.twitter.com/bei7Pxa6Qp
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 13, 2021
In the 4th, Heaney gave up a 1-out double to Luis Robert, and a 2-out homer to catcher Seby Zavala for a 7-3 Chisox lead.
Seby Zavala has us smiling from 🌽 ear to ear 🌽 pic.twitter.com/Qp6BbM87xH
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 13, 2021
Heaney pitched a scoreless 5th but the damage was done. His final line: 5 IP, 5 Hits, 7 runs, 5 K’s, 3 walks.
4. Old Man Gardner Gets Yanks Closer
Old man Brett Gardner got the Yanks to within 7-4 with a homer to right in the 6th — proving that the balls were juiced like they were 2 and 3 years ago.
Gardy goes (corn) Yardy. pic.twitter.com/ytcvNs975c
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 13, 2021
Meanwhile the Yankee bullpen of Wandy Peralta (2 shutout innings) and Joely Rodriguez (1 shutout inning) pitched shutout ball for the 6th, 7th, and 8th — not allowing a homer — to keep the Yanks in the game.
5. A Dream Top of 9th Inning for Yanks
The White Sox brought old Yankee friend Liam Hendricks their ace out for the 9th. Tyler Wade (a recent hitting star) led off with a single to deep right center, but then DJ LeMahieu and Brett Gardner struck out — bringing Aaron Judge up with 2 out and the Yanks down 7-4. Judge hit a blast to center for a 7-6 game, still the White Sox advantage.
Corn on the clobbered. #AllRise pic.twitter.com/nwQmuYjCiN
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 13, 2021
Then Joey Gallo walked. Still with 2 out, Giancarlo Stanton stepped up. And the Yankees dreamed a dream. Stanton ripped a homer just over the fence into the corn in left for an 8-7 Yankee lead and jubuliation.
Maybe this is heaven… pic.twitter.com/X01NOCIAi6
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 13, 2021
6. Bottom of 9th a Bad Dream
All the Yanks had to do is keep the lead. Both Jonathan Loaisiga and Zack Britton were available. They both had pitched an inning the day before but the Yanks had the next day (Friday) off.
Manager Aaron Boone went with Britton — who had gotten 3 (three) double play balls in the 9th just the day before in getting the save. Britton got a groundout for 1 out, and went 0-2 on #9 hitter Zavala — but then walked him.
Up stepped Tim Anderson — and on the first pitch — homerun to right for the walkoff Chicago win. Crushing the Yankees’ dream.
WHAT A DREAM. Tim Anderson walks it off! pic.twitter.com/0GDXW91uKg
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 13, 2021
Highlights by MLB
Here is MLB highlight coverage of the game:
https://www.mlb.com/gameday/yankees-vs-white-sox/2021/08/12/632924/final/video
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