Anthony Volpe CLUTCH HIT Ties & Wins It in 9th! NY 4 KC 3

May 26, 2026 paperbacklou 2026 0
Anthony Volpe with CLUTCH, 1-out, 2-RBI single in 9th to pull Yanks from 3-2 deficit into 4-3 lead.

Anthony Volpe hit a CLUTCH 1-out single in the 9th to drive in 2 runs and turn a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead — propelling the Yankees to a 4-3 win in Kansas City on a Memorial Day Monday afternoon.

David Bednar pitched a shutout 9th for the save.

The win allowed another great performance by a Yankee starter to not go wasted — this time it was Will Warren with 6 strong innings, allowing 2 runs — dueling Yankee nemesis Michael Wacha evenly. Bobby Witt Jr. had just hit a HR in the bottom of the 8th off Jake Bird to put KC ahead 3-2.

The Yanks were on the ropes with 1 out in the 9th when Paul Goldschmidt just beat out an infield hit, Jazz Chisholm Jr. ripped a grounder just past the 1st baseman and raced to 2nd for a double, and Volpe came back from an 0-2 pitch with a 2-RBI single to left.

“I thought Wacha pitched great, but we pressured him a little, couldn’t get over the hump with the chance to take the game over,” said Aaron Boone afterwards. “There were a number of balls hit well, but into gloves. Goldy gets rewarded getting blown up there on the fists; he’s able to beat it out. Good at bat there by Jazz to sneak it past the 1st baseman and get to 2nd base was not a given by any means, and then Anthony puts a really good 2-strike at bat on for the winner.”

NY improves to 32-22 and pull to 3.5 games behind Tampa. KC drops to 22-32.

1. Bellinger HR Off Wacha Puts NY Up 1-0 in 2nd

The Yanks were up against old nemesis Michael Wacha, the 34-year-old, 6’6 righthander who has given the Yanks mostly tough times in the last few years. Wacha came in with a 4-2 2.69 slash line and left with a 4-2 2.70 slash line.

Wacha retired the Yanks 1-2-3 in the 1st inning, but NY got to him in the 2nd: Cody Bellinger led off by hitting a first-pitch 91-MPH fastball 403 feet to right to give the Yanks a 1-0 lead.

2. Caballero Drives in Volpe for 2-0 Yankee Lead in 2nd

Wacha got the next 2 outs in the 2nd but Anthony Volpe worked a 7-pitch walk (after falling behind 1-2). J.C. Escarra followed with a single sending Volpe to 3rd, and Jose Caballero — playing 3rd base while Volpe played shortstop for the game — came thru with a clutch RBI single to center for a 2-0 Yankee lead.

After that Wacha was his usual evasive self — pitching shutout ball for the 3rd through 6th. Wacha:

  • Worked around a leadoff double by Aaron Judge in the 3rd,
  • Worked around a leadoff single by Jazz Chisholm Jr. and 1-out single to Escarra in the 4th by getting a double play to end the inning.
  • Pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 5th, 6th, and 7th.

3. Warren Good — Works out of 3-Walk Situation in 3rd

Meanwhile Will Warren pitched well for the Yankees. He came in with a 6-1 3.61 slash line and left with a 6-1 3.55 slash line.

Like Watcha, Warren pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 1st but ran into trouble in the 2nd — when he walked Salvador Perez to leadoff, got a fly out, but then walked rightfielder Jac Caglianone and leftfielder Isaac Collins to load the bases with 1 out.

But Warren got out of it limiting the damage — a sac fly by 2nd baseman Michael Massey to make it a 2-1 game, then getting centerfielder Kyle Isbel to foul out to end the inning.

Warren then sailed — pitching around a 2-out double by Vinnie Pasquantino in the 3rd, throwing a 1-2-3 inning in the 4th, and pitching around a 2-out single by Garcia in the 5th.

Warren got the first out of the 6th before Salvador Perez clipped him with a 422-foot HR to center for a 2-2 tie.

4. Witt HR Puts KC Ahead 3-2 in 8th

Brett Headrick allowed a 1-out double to Loftin in the 7th, then got a fly out and was relieved by Jake Bird who got a groundout to end the inning with the runner on 3rd in a 2-2 tie.

But Bird got clipped by Bobby Witt Jr., who led off the bottom of the 8th with a 432-foot HR to left for a 3-2 Royals lead.

5. Volpe to the Rescue in 9th

It was looking like another 1-run loss for the Yanks when Cody Bellinger made out to start the 9th against KC Ace Reliever Erceg.

But Paul Goldschmidt reached on an infield single and Jazz Chisholm Jr. ripped a double to right — moving pinch-runner Max Schuemann to 3rd.

With 2nd and 3rd and 1 out — all eyes focused on Anthony Volpe — who quickly fell behind 0-2 in the count.

But Volpe took a slider for a ball, then ripped another 85-MPH slider to left for 2 runs! Yankees 4 KC 3 !!

6. Bednar the Save

David Bednar came in for the save and got a ground out and a pop out before walking Lance Thomas on a 3-2 pitch that ‘just missed’ outside.

But Bednar got leadoff batter and speedster Maikel Garcia to ground the ball to Jose Caballero at 3rd — who made a strong throw to 1st for the old ballgame.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401815493

 

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