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Yankees game 55: Escape with the win

Gm55BetancesWbannerThe Yankees returned home strong but finished on the edge of their seat.

After popping into three outs in the first inning against Jered Weaver, the heroes back in Seattle made an impact in the Bronx. With Garrett Jones on base with a single, Stephen Drew hit a two-run home run to right field, his sixth of the season, putting the Yankees ahead by two.

For the Yankees, Nathan Eovaldi took the mound and got through the first inning relatively easily. In the second inning, Eovaldi gave up a double to Matt Joyce before getting the first out of the inning. A distracted Didi Gregorius was charged with an error after bobbling the ball, putting runners on the corners. When a fielder makes an error, a pitcher is asked to pickup his fielders and Eovaldi did just that. After Kirk Nieuwenhuis reached on the error, Eovaldi picked him off of first base for the second out of the inning. Johnny Giavotella struck out swinging and Eovaldi got the two outs to finish off the inning on his own.

In the third inning, Brett Gardner got on base with a single. Two outs later, Mark Teixeira got a Yankee Stadium treat. The 17th home run for the Yankees first baseman just got over the right field wall for a two-run home run, extending the lead to four.

Brett Gardner got the rally started in the fifth inning with a one-out triple to left center field. With two outs, Alex Rodriguez came through with a single to right field, extending the lead to five.

Nathan Eovaldi kept the Angels off the board through five innings but losing the strike zone ended his night on the mound. Three of the next four batters reached on a walk, loading the bases with one out. Chasen Shreve came in for Eovaldi and got the second out of the game, at the cost of the Angels’ first run of the game. Shreve loaded the bases one more time but he struck out the next batter, ending the inning and finishing off the line for Eovaldi.

In 5 1/3 innings, Nathan Eovaldi allowed one run on four hits while walking four and striking out four.

Brian McCann silenced talk of his foot injury with a leadoff double in the sixth inning. One out later, Didi Gregorius got the productive sacrifice fly to reclaim the run the Angels scored in the top of the inning. Stephen Drew felt that one home run was not enough so he did it again. The solo home run to right field was another Yankee Stadium treat, extending the Yankees lead to six.

A pinch-hit, run-scoring single by Chris Young in the seventh inning extended the lead to seven. A seven-run lead seemed a comfortable enough lead to take out some regulars and use the secondary arms of the bullpen. After a scoreless eighth inning by Jacob Lindgren, Esmil Rogers came in for the ninth inning.

Buckle up fans, this became a bumpy one.

Giavotella started the ninth inning with a single. Taylor Featherston, in for Erick Aybar, hit a double to left field. Grant Green, in for Mike Trout, hit a pop up to the right side of the infield where a miscue between infielders allowed a hit to land and a run to score. Chase Headley, moved over to first base for Mark Teixeira, and Jose Pirela, in at second base, had a miscommunication that allowed the ball to drop, and let the first run of the inning to score. A walk to Efren Navarro, in for Albert Pujols, loaded the bases. Kole Calhoun hit a single to center field and the Angels scored the second run of the inning, bringing it within five.

No Aybar, Trout or Pujols yet, the Yankees could not record outs. Is something seriously wrong here? Yes, when Dellin Betances is needed for an inning that started out 8-1.

David Freese greeted Betances with a two-run single to center field, making it a three-run Yankees lead. One walk loaded the bases and the second scored the Angels’ fifth run of the inning, still no outs. With the go-ahead run on second, Betances finally got things settled. He struck out Kirk Nieuwenhuis and got a ground out, which scored a run. But with two outs and a one-run lead, Betances struck out pinch-hitter Carlos Perez to end a game that lasted far longer than it should have.

11 Angels came to the plate in the ninth inning, Five hits, three walks and six runs later, the Yankees escaped an easy win by the skin of their teeth. Unbelievable.

In a positive note, Alex Rodriguez got three hits tonight as he inches closer to 3,000 career hits. The RBI in the fifth inning put A-Rod at second all-time in the RBI list. Records dropping left and right at the bat of A-Rod.

 

Win – Nathan Eovaldi (5-1)

Loss – Jered Weaver (4-5)

Save – Dellin Betances (2)

 

Notables

Angels

*Kole Calhoun – 3 for 4, 2 R, BB, RBI (25)

*David Freese – 1 for 4, R, BB, 2 RBI (31)

Yankees

*Stephen Drew – 2 for 4, 2 R, 2 HR (7; Two-run & Solo) in the 2nd & 6th, 3 RBI (19)

*Alex Rodriguez – 4 for 5, R, 2B, RBI (28)

 

Current Yankees Record: 30-25