DJ LeMahieu Walks It Off ! NY 4 Toronto 3 in 10

August 5, 2024 paperbacklou 2024 0

DJ LeMahieu lined a single up the middle through a 5-man infield (Toronto bringing their left fielder in as another fielder) in the bottom of the 10th for the game-winning, walk-off hit in the Yankees 3-2 win over Toronto at a thunderstorm-drenched Yankee Stadium on a late Sunday afternoon.

The game was delayed by rain in the bottom of the 8th for almost 2 hours as a nasty thunderstorm hit the Bronx. The NYC area had thunderstorms all afternoon.

The win put the Yanks back in a 1st-place tie with Baltimore, which won earlier.

It was a comeback win — Gerrit Cole pitched well but the Yanks were trailing 2-0 all afternoon until they tied it with perfectly executed small ball in the 6th — leadoff singles by Jazz Chisholm Jr.and  Anthony Volpe, a double steal, and then a groundout RBI by Trent Grisham and sac fly by DJ LeMahieu.

NY took a 3-2 lead on a Juan Soto homer in the 7th, but Trent Grisham dropped a fly ball at the warning track in the 8th, offset by Aaron Judge who came over to catch the fly too — which led to a game-tying run.

Mark Leiter Jr.was another hero — pitching a shutout top of 10th with moxie; stranding the inherited runner.

“We’re excited; it was a great win,” said DJ LeMahieu afterwards. “Good series win. Just one of those games where we felt had some chances, and finally just put it away. It feels good.”

NY takes 2 of 3 from Toronto and improves to 67-46; the Blue Jays fall to 51-61.

1. Cole Good

Gerrit Cole was on the mound after skipping a start due to ‘general body tiredness’. This alarmed all of Yankee Universe but Cole insisted it had nothing to do with his arm — moreso a stomach flu.

Cole allowed a leadoff single to start the game in the HIGH HEAT and HUMIDITY — but then retired the next 3 batters, striking out 2.

In the 2nd however, he ran into trouble — with 1 out, back-to-back doubles by Alejandro Kirk and Barger made it 1-0 Toronto. Davis Schneider singled to put runners on 1st and 3rd, but Cole got a comebacker to get the out at 2nd and prevent the run from scoring.

With 2 outs, Ernie Clement singled to center and it was 2-0 Toronto.

Cole got the last out of the 2nd but Vladimir Guerrero Jr.led off the 3rd with a double. Guerrero — who lost over 40 pounds this winter and has been spritely on the bases — tried to steal 3rd but was gunned down by Austin Wells.

After that, Cole found his off speed pitch — and started to dominate. He retired 7 in a row until hitting Joey Loperfido with a pitch with 2 outs in the 5th — then got Guerrero to end the inning.

Cole got the first 2 outs of the 6th before being relieved by Luke Weaver who got the final out. Cole’s line: 5.2 innings, 6 hits, 2 runs, 4 K’s, 0 walks — 91 pitches.

2. Yanks Waste Multiple Bases-Loaded Chances

Meanwhile the Yanks kept peppering Toronto rookie starter Yariel Rodriguez to no avail. Rodriguez, a 27-year old, 6-foot Cuban righty, danced around the Yanks all afternoon.

  • In the 1st the Yankees loaded the bases with 1 out (Gleyber Torres single, Juan Soto walk, Aaron Judge strikeout on some controversial strike calls by the ump, and Austin Wells single) — but Giancarlo Stanton popped out to 1st, and Jazz Chisholm Jr.lined out to 3rd.
  • In the 3rd, the Yanks had 1st and 2nd, 1 out on singles by Gleyber and Judge — but Wells and Stanton grounded out to end the inning.
  • In the 5th, Rodriguez got the first 2 outs, then was relieved — leading 2-0. Toronto brought in lefty Brendon Little, who proceeded to walk Juan Soto. Toronto intentionally walked Aaron Judge to put runners on 1st and 2nd, and then lefty Austin Wells walked to load the bases with 2 outs. But Giancarlo Stanton struck out — the 3rd time he made out in the first 5 innings with either bases loaded or 2 runners on.

3. Yanks Tie It with Small Ball in 6th

NY finally broke through in the bottom of the 6th — trailing 2-0.

Jazz Chisholm Jr.and Anthony Volpe had consecutive singles to lead off the inning against Zach Pop. Chisholm and Volpe then executed a double steal of 3rd and 2nd. Trent Grisham grounded to 1st for a run, and DJ LeMahieu hit a sinking line drive to center for a sac fly — as Volpe flew in from 3rd.

4. Soto HR Puts Yanks Ahead in 7th

Juan Soto put the Yanks ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the 7th with an drive to opposite-field left that bounced off the top of the wall and into the bullpen.

5. Weaver Good

After getting the last out of the 6th, Luke Weaver pitched a shutout 7th — getting the first 2 outs, walking a batter, and then getting the final out. Another good performance from Weaver — 1.1 shutout innings.

6. Holmes Good But Toronto Ties It in 8th on Outfield Error

Loperfido led off the 8th against Tommy Kahnle with a drive to left that Grisham and Judge both converged on — Grisham dropping it as he seemed distracted by Judge.

Kahnle got an out, but then walked Spencer Horwitz and Daulton Varsho to load the bases with 1 out.

Clay Holmes came in and allowed a sac fly to Alejandro Kirk, then struck out Addison Barger. Holmes did good but was charged with a blown save!

7. Rain Delay Theater — Almost 2-Hr Delay

And then the rains came. A 1 hour, 45 minute delay. The game resumed at 6:15pm.

When play resumed, the Yanks loaded the bases again — a leadoff single by Grisham, then 2 lineouts brought Chad Green into the game.

Juan Soto doubled off Green to put runners on 2nd and 3rd, and Green intentionally walked Aaron Judge to load the bases. But Green got Austin Wells to fly out to right.

8. Leiter the Hero in 9th & 10th

Enyel De Los Santos got the first 2 outs of the 9th, before allowing a single and yielding to Mark Leiter Jr.and his NASTY Splitter who struck out Loperfido to end the inning.

In the top of the 10th, with the inherited runner on 2nd, Leiter got Vladimir Guerrero Jr.to line out — not advancing the runner; then struck out George Springer; hit Varsho with a pitch; but then struck out Alejandro Kirk to end the threat. PHEW.

9. DJ Walkoff

And so it was to the bottom of the 10th — Volpe on 2nd as the inherited runner and Bowden Francis pitching.

Trent Grisham bunted Volpe to 3rd, and Toronto brought their left fielder in to play 1st and load the infield with 5 fielders. The umpires convened and said it was ok to do this — it apparently did not violate illegal-shift rules.

DJ LeMahieu ran the count 1-1 — fouling off a 94-MPH fastball — before slapping a pitch up the middle into center for the old ballgame!

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401570155

 

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