Yankees takeaways from Wednesday's 4-3 win over Guardians, including overcoming a costly controversial call
The Yankees erased a three-run deficit to defeat the Cleveland Guardians 4-3 on Wednesday afternoon.
Here are some key takeaways…
- The game stayed tied into the ninth inning, but the Yankees got to perhaps the best closer in baseball. After Giancarlo Stanton singled and advanced to second on an Amed Rosario throwing error, Oswaldo Cabrera tagged an Emmanuel Clase slider off the wall in right, scoring pinch-runner Gleyber Torres. The Yankees, who trailed 3-0 at one point, stormed back to take a one-run lead.
Clay Holmes came in to notch the save, but his command was all over the place, as he hit a batter and walked two more to load the bases with two away. With the winning run on second, Holmes buckled down and struck out Rosario to end the game.
- With DJ LeMahieu out of the lineup (day-to-day with quad tightness), Anthony Volpe got his shot to bat leadoff, a day after being out of the lineup. Volpe got things started with a bang, tagging a ball high off the left-field fence. What easily would have been a homer at Yankee Stadium ended up as a double, though he was left stranded.
Volpe went 1-for-4 on the day.
- Clarke Schmidt had some bad luck in the first inning. After Steven Kwan singled on a ball that a sliding Aaron Hicks got a glove on but couldn’t come up with, Jose Ramirez dunked a double just inside the line behind third base, putting two runners in scoring position.
Then came the madness.
Josh Naylor blooped a ball into shallow center, and it looked like a sliding Hicks made the play this time, doubling off the runner at second to end the inning. But well after the players were off the field, Guardians manager Terry Francona was still able to challenge the play after they showed the replay on the video board. Part of the ball appeared to hit the ground, and the umpire crew decided to review the play. A fired-up Aaron Boone came out to argue that the play shouldn’t have been reviewed at that point, and he was then ejected. Replay overturned the call, which scored a run, and the second runner later came home on a Josh Bell RBI single. An inning that should have been over then became a 2-0 deficit.
- Schmidt allowed a solo home run to Rosario in the bottom of the third, and though he left with the Yankees trailing, it was still a decent afternoon for the right-hander. Schmidt allowed three earned runs on six hits over 4.0 innings, striking out one with one walk. If the umpires hasn’t overturned that call, his line could have looked much different.
- Cleveland starter Peyton Battenfield held the Yankees scoreless through four innings, retiring 13 straight Yankees at one point. But the Yankees got to him in the fifth, with Kyle Higashioka slamming a two-run double off the center field fence, cutting the Yankees deficit to one run.
Battenfield went 4.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits with three strikeouts and no walks.
- With the Yankees trailing by a run in the top of the seventh, Franchy Cordero did exactly what he’s been doing since signing prior to Opening Day, demolishing a solo home run to right-center. His 439-foot blast tied the game. Meanwhile, his four homers have him tied with Aaron Judge, and his 11 RBI leads the team.
Cordero is the first player in Yankees history with 11+ RBI in his first seven games with the team.
Highlights
What's next
The Yankees host the Minnesota Twins for a four-game series, starting on Thursday at 7:05 p.m.
Jhony Brito will get the start against Joe Ryan.
