Yankees Game 57: Three home runs power the Yankees to victory

Brian McCann and Starlin Castro hit back-to-back home runs but Carlos Beltran's three-run home run gave the Yankees tonight's win.

Los Angeles Angels 2 – New York Yankees 5

Silent for six innings, the offense woke up with a bang against the visiting Los Angeles Angels.

In the first inning, Yunel Escobar led off with a single against Masahiro Tanaka. He advanced to second on a fly ball to right and with two outs, scored on a single by Albert Pujols to put the Angels ahead by one. In the bottom of the inning against Matt Shoemaker, Jacoby Ellsbury reached base with a single. On an attempted steal of second base, Ellsbury was ruled out on the field. A second look seemed to say otherwise but, after a challenge, the call on the field remained.

After a scoreless second inning, the Angels got the inning started with a ground-rule double by Gregorio Petit. He advanced on a sacrifice by Escobar and scored on a sacrifice fly by Kole Calhoun, putting the Angels ahead by two. Mike Trout followed with a walk and attempted to steal second base. A second look seemed to say differently but with the “incorrect” challenge in the first inning, the Yankees were not allowed to challenge this call. This did not harm the Yankees after C.J. Cron struck out to strand two.

In seven innings, Masahiro Tanaka allowed two runs on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts.

After a second inning single by Starlin Castro, Matt Shoemaker retired 12 in a row to get to the sixth inning with the Yankees held off the scoreboard. Jacoby Ellsbury snapped the consecutive retired streak with a two-out double but he was stranded.

With two outs in the seventh inning, Brian McCann pulled a fastball just foul and on the very next pitch, took a changeup deep to right field for a solo home run. Starlin Castro followed with a home run of his own as he went back-to-back high off the left field foul pole to tie the game 2-2. Shoemaker finished the seventh inning but returned for the eighth inning. He got the first two outs of the inning but Jacoby Ellsbury got on base with a single. He advanced on a hit-and-run with Brett Gardner to put runners on first and third. This ended Shoemaker's night on the mound as Jose Alvarez came on in relief.

Carlos Beltran was the first batter he faced and it was a big one when the Yankees right fielder took Alvarez deep for a three-run home run, breaking the tie with a bang to right field.

Andrew Miller came on in the eighth inning to strike out the side and Aroldis Chapman came on for the ninth inning, looking to bounce back from his first blown save as a Yankee. After striking out one, first baseman Chris Parmelee made the final two outs in the field, including one where he reached into the crowd to make the grab, winning tonight's game.

Win – Andrew Miller (3-0)

Loss – Matt Shoemaker (3-7)

Save – Aroldis Chapman (10)

Notables

Angels

*Gregorio Petit – 2 for 3, R, 2B

*Albert Pujols – 2 for 3, BB, RBI (40)

Yankees

*Carlos Beltran – 2 for 4, R, Three-run home run (14) in the 8th, 3 RBI (36)

*Starlin Castro – 2 for 3, R, Solo home run (8) in the 7th, RBI (24)

Current Yankees Record: 27-30