Harrison Bader 3-Run Blast Vaults Yanks! NY 6 Baltimore 3

July 4, 2023 paperbacklou 2023 0
Harrison Bader gets green light and RIPS 3-run game-winning homer to left in the 8th.

The Yankees spotted the Baltimore Orioles a 3-0 lead, scored 2 on solo Homers in the 5th, tied the game in the 7th on a wild pitch, and won going away when Harrison Bader pulled back from bunting in the 8th and instead ripped a 3-run homer to left for a 6-3 Yankee win.

On a hot, humid Monday night at Yankee Stadium. The night before July 4th.

Domingo German, just off his Perfect Game, pitched a perfect 1st inning, but then allowed 3 straight singles to start the 2nd for a 1-0 Orioles lead. He rope-a-doped the Orioles lineup into the 5th — allowing 9 (nine) hits but only 3 runs (2 earned).

Nick Ramirez got German out of trouble in the 5th and then pitched a perfect 6th to keep NY in the game. The rest of the Yankee pen was heroic as well — Ian Hamilton, Tommy Kahnle, and Clay Holmes pitching a shutout inning each.

“We just kept chipping away,” said Bader afterwards. “Bullpen has been incredible for so long, throwing up zero’s. Volpe has been stringing together a lot of good work. Higgy with big hits. G with big hits. It’s just about chipping away and passing the baton.”

“It feels like a good win,” said manager Aaron Boone afterwards. “Summer, hot, 4th of July, energetic awesome crowd, falling behind and the way we’ve been grinding, to see us have those kinds of at bats, the bullpen really doing their thing. It was a good win.”

A huge comeback win for the now 47-38 Yanks, who pull to within 3 of Baltimore, at 49-34. NY pulls to within 9 of Tampa, and are now 2 ahead of Toronto.

1. German Imperfect

Domingo German was hot to start on the hot, humid evening — strikeout, groundout, ground out and he was on his way in the 1st.

  • But in the 2nd — single, single, single (by Cedric Mullins) and it was 1-0 Baltimore with nobody out, and runners on 1st and 2nd. German got tough — getting Aaron Hicks to pop out, picking off the runner on 2nd (Ramon Urias), and getting a ground out.
  • In the 3rd, more trouble — a 1-out single, then RBI double by Audley Rutschman, lineout by Anthony Santander, and 2-out RBI single by Ryan O’Hearn and it was 3-0 Baltimore.
  • German only allowed 1 single in the 4th,
  • But in the 5th — consecutive 1-out singles sent German to the showers.

“My fastball and my secondary pitches weren’t as sharp as I wanted them to be, said German afterwards through the Yankee translator. “And credit to them — they made adjustments throughout the game and were able to put the ball in play. That’s what this sport is about; it’s a great competition, they have a good team, and it’s a good game.”

“Domingo gave up a lot of hits, a lot of traffic, but we were in it,” said Boone afterwards. “He stayed away from the extra base hit and the slug. Obviously not perfect but we’re in it.”

2. Ramirez a Relief Hero

In came Nick Ramirez with 1st and 3rd, 1 out in the 5th — NY down 3-0 and Baltimore threatening for more. Ramirez struck out O’Hearn and got Urias to ground out to end the threat.

Ramirez pitched a shutout, 1-2-3 inning in the 6th as well — shutting the door on Baltimore after NY had picked up 2 runs in the bottom of the 5th to make it a 3-2 game.

“Awesome,” said Boone about Ramirez. “Kept it right there. For Nick to come in and hold the line there and give us a chance. Nick was huge tonite — and being able to go 5 outs for us — through the middle and bottom part of their lineup — that was big.”

3. Volpe and Higgy Go Back to Back

Those 2 runs came on back-to-back HR’s in the 5th.

Baltimore’s 28-yr-old, 6’8 righthander Tyler Wells had been stifling the Yankees on this hot, humid night. Wells got the first 2 outs of the 5th — things were not looking good for NY, down 3-0.

And then up stepped Anthony Volpe. He Ripped a 392-foot homer to left center and it was 3-1. The Yankees had life.

Next batter Kyle Higashioka ripped a 390-foot homer to left and it was 3-2. Yanks back in it.

4. Hamilton Rope-a-Dopes the 7th

Ian Hamilton got the first 2 outs of the 7th, but then yielded a single to Rutschman and a double to  Anthony Santander putting 2nd and 3rd, 2 outs.

But O’Hearn Lined out to Volpe at shortstop. PHEW.

5. Volpe Scores on Wild Pitch — Ties Game in 7th!

And then Volpe was at it again in the 7th.

  • Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled to lead off against reliever Michael Baumann, and Volpe followed with a single putting 1st and 2nd nobody out.
  • Kyle Higashioka bunted them to 2nd and 3rd.
  • With 1 out, Yennier Cano came in to pitch to DJ LeMahieu, who hit a comebacker to the Cano and Isiah Kiner-Falefa was a dead duck at home.

But with 2 outs, Cano threw a wild pitch to Gleyber Torres and Volpe came flying in to tie the score 3-3!

6. Bader 3-Run Blast

Tommy Kahnle pitched a shutout top of 8th keeping the score 3-3.

Giancarlo Stanton led off the bottom of the 8th with a line drive base hit off Cano. Enter reliever Danny Coulombe. Anthony Rizzo greeted him with a single to right.

1st and 2nd, nobody out. John Sterling on the radio was saying how the Yankees and Harrison Bader should be bunting now.

Bader motioned to bunt but took a strike. Then took a ball.

In the dugout, manager Aaron Boone gave Bader the green light sign to swing away.

Coulombe threw an 81 MPH sweeper that didn’t sweep much — it lay flat right down the middle and Bader Ripped it for a 3-run BLAST to left and 6-3 Yankee lead.

“I wasn’t going to take the bat out of his hands completely there,” said Boone afterwards. “Once there was a strike on him I wasn’t going to mess with it. Felt like the hole was open there at the very least, with them playing it pretty aggressively on the bunt. I was only going to play for it for one pitch there. He did the rest — got a hanger, and, did good things with a hanger.”

7. Holmes Wraps Up

Clay Holmes pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 9th, striking out the first 2 batters and then getting a ground out for the old ballgame.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401472284

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