Just when it looked like the Yankees offensive malaise would lead to a fourth straight loss, the Captain rose to the challenge in the bottom of the ninth. Trent Grisham fought back from 0-2 down to draw the full count leadoff walk, and Aaron Judge called game, crushing a first-pitch inside sinker to the opposite field for the game winning walk-off home run — his first home run and RBI since May 10th — to split this rain-shortened series with the Rays at the Stadium.
The offense had marginally more
success this time around against Drew Rasmussen, though it’s an awfully low bar considering they got one-hit across six scoreless when they faced him last in April. More than anything, this game was about brilliant starting pitching and fabulous defense from the Yankees. Ryan Weathers completed seven scoreless innings — his second start of at least 7 scoreless after tossing 7.1 shutout against the Royals on April 19th — to lower his season ERA to 3.14.
Behind him, Grisham and Judge both made diving catches to prevent extra bases — Grisham on a Taylor Walls bloop in the seventh and Judge on a Jonathan Aranda liner in the eighth. However, the defensive highlight of the game came to end that eighth inning. Fernando Cruz allowed a Yandy Díaz double and then intentionally walked Junior Caminero to put runners on first and second. Ryan Vilade looked to have lined the go-ahead single to left, but Cody Bellinger made a brilliant heads-up throw to third as Caminero made the ill-advised decsion to try to go first to third. The ball beat him to the bag before Díaz could step on home, keeping this game scoreless.
Weathers entered this contest with the fourth-highest strikeout rate (29.9-percent) of any starter in MLB and you could see why in the first. After going one pitch, one out with the first hitter, he punched out Aranda and Vilade looking on a pair of four-seamers painted on the low, glove-side corner. In the bottom of the frame, Judge smoked a one out single, but then got caught way too far off first base on a Ben Rice line out to right and was doubled off to end the inning, a rare TOOTBLAN from the captain.
In the third, Weathers walked nine-hole hitter Carson Williams to lead off but then promptly picked him off at first. He then navigated around singles from Díaz and Aranda by getting Caminero to ground into the inning ending double play. Meanwhile, his offense continued to create mild traffic while never really threatening to score. Bellinger singled and Paul Goldschmidt walked in the fourth, but Bellinger got caught stealing second and Jazz Chisholm Jr. struck out to end the inning. Grisham’s single to lead off the sixth was immediately erased by a Judge GIDP. Ryan McMahon singled in the eighth only for Austin Wells to ground into the inning ending double play.
Weathers saved his best stuff for the final two innings, allowing just one base runner across the sixth and seventh. With the Yankees veteran starters getting back to full health, Weathers is doing everything in his power to prove he belongs in the rotation. His final line saw him give up four hits and three walks in seven scoreless innings, with four strikeouts on 95 pitches.
Cruz and Tim Hill made things nervy in the eighth and ninth, Cruz escaping the eighth with the aforementioned gem from Bellinger. Hill worked around a walk and a single, stranding the pair of runner with an inning ending strikeout of Richie Palacios. That was all the Yankees needed to go win the game in the bottom of the ninth, Grisham drew four straight balls after falling behind 0-2, and that is the kind of discipline that deserves to be rewarded, Judge doing just that on the very next pitch that Kevin Kelly threw.
The offense still doesn’t inspire confidence, scoring five runs in their last 39 innings, but hopefully Judge’s walk off can provide momentum rolling into the upcoming series against the Royals. Will Warren gets the series opener tomorrow against Michael Wacha. First pitch is scheduled for 3:40 pm EDT on what will hopefully be a sunny Memorial Day afternoon with the broadcast moving to ESPN.
