Judge Clutch 2-Out Hit Wins It! Volpe D Saves It! Soto the Hero In Between. NY 6 Toronto 4

April 17, 2024 paperbacklou 2024 0

The Yankees were down 4-1 in the 8th inning and about to get swept in the 3-game series by the Blue Jays, but came back to win 6-4, as Jose Trevino stroked a game-tying single in the top of the 9th, Aaron Judge followed with a Clutch, 2-out single to put NY up 6-4, and Anthony Volpe made a spectacular play behind 2nd to end the game.

NY 6 Toronto 4 on a Wednesday afternoon in Toronto in a game that had as many as 8 heroes for NY.

  1. Marcus Stroman pitched well as the starter,
  2. Oswaldo Cabrera got 2 hits, scored the Yankees’ first run, and made a spectacular defensive play at 3rd,
  3. Juan Soto went 3-3 with 2 walks and hit a Homer in the 8th to start the Yankee comeback and pull them to within 4-2,
  4. Giancarlo Stanton hit a MOON SHOT to lead off the 9th, making it 4-3,
  5. Jose Trevino got the Clutch, 1-out RBI single up the middle to tie the game 4-4 in the 9th,
  6. Aaron Judge got the Clutch, 2-out single down the 3rd base line on a 3-2 pitch to put NY ahead 6-4 in the 9th,
  7. Clay Holmes threw filthy stuff in the bottom of the 9th, and
  8. Anthony Volpe made the spectacular play deep in the hole behind 2nd and made a tremendous throw to 1st for the final out of the game with a runner on 2nd.

“Great at bat, a lot of close pitches, and able to get a good piece of it there to nail down the victory,” said manager Aaron Boone afterwards about Judge’s hit.” Big at bat for him; big at bat for us. Kind of salvage the road trip a little bit there with just another really good job by these guys. Win or lose they’re just competing so well night in and night out.”

“What a play,” Boone added about Volpe’s game-ending play. “I mean he is special out there. He had a few of them today.”

NY improves to 13-6. Toronto falls to 10-9.

1. Stroman Good

Marcus Stroman looked good. He was on top of his game as a pitcher’s pitcher — fun to watch as he worked the zone with his assortment of pitches that includes that 91-MPH sinker that gets so many groundouts, and the nasty slider that gets strikeouts.

Stroman pitched into the 6th, allowing 2 runs in the 2nd when Davis Schneider hit a 1-out single, and leftfielder Daulton Varsho homered to right. Toronto 2 NY 0.

Gleyber and Soto Play 4-D Chess

Stroman got help from Juan Soto in the 5th inning — when Kevin Kiermaier led off with a hard grounder to 2nd that bounced off Gleyber Torres glove into right field. It was a play that a good 2nd baseman should have made, but luckily Gleyber was playing 4-D chess as Juan Soto came up firing and nailed Kiermaier trying to leg out a double. Toronto appealed the ruling but lost.

3. Gausman Back on His Game

Meanwhile Kevin Gausman, whom the Yankees pummeled when they faced him a week ago, looked like he was going to get pummeled again — loading the bases in the top of the 1st with 2 outs by walking Juan Soto, and allowing a 2-out single to Anthony Rizzo and walk to Giancarlo Stanton.

But Gausman struck out Gleyber Torres on 3 pitches to leave the bases loaded and then started to get in rhythm (and Gleyber started to trend on Twitter again).

Gausman allowed a 2-out walk in the 2nd, allowed a leadoff single to Soto in the 3rd but erased him by getting Judge to ground into a double play, and pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 4th.

4. Soto Singles in Oswaldo to Make it 2-1 Toronto

The Yanks finally got to Gausman in the 5th — a leadoff double by Oswaldo Cabrera, and then a clutch, 2-out RBI double off the wall in centerfield by Juan Soto. Toronto 2 NY 1.

5. Caleb Goes from Hero to Goat

Stroman allowed a leadoff double to Bo Bichette in the 6th, then got Justin Turner on a comebacker that moved Bichette to 3rd with 1 out.

Caleb Ferguson came in and got a strikeout and fly out to strand the runner at 3rd, keeping it Toronto 2 NY 1.

But in the 7th, Ferguson went from hero to goat, allowing a leadoff homer to Daulton Varsho — his 2nd homer of the evening — to make it 3-1 Toronto.

Ferguson got an out but walked Kiermaier and was lifted for Ian Hamilton, who allowed a single, a walk, and a sac fly to Bo Bichette to give Toronto a 4-1 lead before getting the final out.

6. Soto HR Brings Yanks Closer

Down 4-1 going into the 8th it was starting to look like a loss for NY — even after a Juan Soto Homer pulled them to within 4-2.

7. Giancarlo MOON SHOT Starts 9th

Jordan Romano closed the night before and was not available; instead Toronto brought in #1 setup man and former ace reliever Erik Swanson, who is just back from injury. He looked rusty.

Giancarlo Stanton led off with a MOON SHOT to left for a 4-3 game.

8. Judge Caps Rally with Clutch Game Winner!

Gleyber Torres followed with a hard-hit single past shortstop, and Alex Verdugo served the ball down the line in right for a double — 2nd and 3rd nobody out. Swanson got Oswaldo Cabrera to ground out to 2nd and the runners held.

Toronto brought in Tim Mayza to pitch, and Jose Trevino hit an 0-1 sinker just past 2nd base for a CLUTCH, game-tying RBI single!

With the score tied 4-4 and Verdugo on 3rd, Mayza got Anthony Volpe to pop out in foul ground by 1st base. With 2 outs, Mayza pitched around Soto, walking him to load the bases. Mayza then went 3-2 on Aaron Judge — before Judge ripped a 93-MPH sinker down the 3rd base line for 2 runs and a 6-4 Yankee lead!

9. Volpe Saves Game with His DEFENSE

Clay Holmes came in for the save and was throwing his filthy 97-MPH sinker and 88-MPH slider. But Kevin Keirmaier dropped a 93-MPH sinker into centerfield for a 1-out single, and moved to 2nd on a groundout.

With 2 outs, Vladimir Guerero Jr — the tying run — ripped a 2-2 pitch up the middle for an apparent single, Keirmaier would be scoring from 2nd on the play — but Anthony Volpe made a spectacular play behind 2nd to stab it, then get up in one motion and rifle a strike to 1st to get Guerrero for the old ballgame!

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401568746

 

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