New York Yankees 4 – Arizona Diamondbacks 2
Looking to exit Arizona on a high note, the Yankees turned to Nasty Nate.
In the first inning, the Yankees’ table-setters did their job and then some. Jacoby Ellsbury led off with a walk against the struggling Shelby Miller. Brett Gardner got a hold of a 1-2 pitch and put it into the right field seats for a two-run home run.
With the lead, Nathan Eovaldi started by giving up a unique first hit to Jean Segura. On a ground ball just by Eovaldi, the ball deflected off of second base into left field, allowing Segura to reach second with a lucky double. After a ground out advances him to third, Paul Goldschmidt hit a sharp ground ball to Chase Headley. On the ground ball, it appeared that Jean Segura froze halfway home expecting a throw home but Headley also froze, resulting in him getting the force out at first and allowing Segura to score to cut the lead in half.
Little did we know how significant that run was going to be for Nathan Eovaldi.
In the second inning, bad luck seemed to rear its ugly head around the Yankees. After a single by Didi Gregorius, Chase Headley followed with a single of his own but it came at a price. Gregorius was hit by the line drive, making him an out. A two-out single by Jacoby Ellsbury came later that likely scored Gregorius had he not been hit by the line drive.
While the Yankees were attempting to provide some more run support for Eovaldi, the hard-throwing righty made two feel like more than enough. Following the double that led off the game, Nathan Eovaldi retired the next 18 he faced. He generated 10 ground outs in the remarkable outing.
In six innings, Nathan Eovaldi allowed one run on one hit with no walk and five strikeouts. Despite a pitch count of 85, the Yankees have three tremendous weapons waiting in the bullpen to secure a lead into a win.
First out of the bullpen, Dellin Betances.
In the seventh inning, Betances struggled with command when he walked Phil Gosselin and Paul Goldschmidt. Betances got Jake Lamb to strike out for the first out. A fly out to center was the second out and a strikeout of Brandon Drury was a good bounce back from the two walks that started the inning. The Yankees were set down in order in the top of the eighth inning but the second of three dominant relievers got the call.
Second out of the bullpen, Andrew Miller.
In the eighth inning, Chris Owings took Andrew Miller deep to cut the Yankees lead down to one. Maintaining his composure, Miller responded by striking out Nick Ahmed, pinch-hitter Rickie Weeks and Jean Segura to continue bridging the lead to the ninth inning.
In the top of the ninth inning, Evan Marshall walked Jacoby Ellsbury, who reached base for the fifth time of the game. Brett Gardner got on base with a single and after a ground out advanced them into scoring position, Brian McCann received an intentional walk to load the bases for the struggling Mark Teixeira. A wild pitch by Marshall allowed an insurance run to score but Mark Teixeira continued to struggle when he struck out for the third time in the game.
Third out of the bullpen and in to close, Aroldis Chapman.
The hard-throwing closer came out and struck out Gosselin with fastballs for the first out. He got Goldschmidt to fly out to right for the second out and a ground out from pinch-hitter Yasmany Tomas ended tonight’s game with a Yankees win, denying the Diamondbacks a sweep.
Win – Nathan Eovaldi (4-2)
Loss – Shelby Miller (1-5)
Save – Aroldis Chapman (4)
Notables
Yankees
*Brett Gardner – 2 for 5, Two-run home run (5) in the 1st, 2 RBI (11)
*Jacoby Ellsbury – 3 for 3, 2 R, 2 BB, 2B, RBI (11)
Diamondbacks
*Chris Owings – 1 for 3, R, Solo home run (1) in the 8th, RBI (13)
*Jean Segura – 1 for 4, R, 2B
Current Yankees Record: 17-22
