Yankees pile it on late after Chris Carter’s pinch-hit home run
After falling behind early, Yankees' starting pitcher Michael Pineda found his groove and limited the Pirates to only three earned runs. The tightly contested game on Saturday afternoon was all knotted up at five until the eighth inning when Chris Carter blasted a pinch-hit home run to put the Bombers ahead for good. Pineda served up two early home runs to Andrew McCutchen and David Freese, both of which were solo shots. Despite not having his best stuff, Pineda managed five innings while striking out six on the day. Pittsburgh Pirates starter Jameson Taillon has been one of the best pitchers in baseball early on this year. Taillon held the Yankees scoreless until the top of the sixth inning when Starlin Castro took him deep for a three run homer. The Yankees added two more in the fifth when Ronald Torreyes doubled to right field. The Pirates fought back to tie the game in the bottom half of the sixth behind singles by Jordy Mercer and David Freese. This back and forth affair eventually got out of hand for the Pirates when the Yankees opened things up in the eighth inning. Chris Carter’s biggest at-bat as a Yankee turned into a pinch-hit game winning home run. The Yankees added two more runs following Carter’s blast when Jacoby Ellsbury scored on a wild pitch and Chase Headley doubled to left center field.
The @Yankees outfield has provided plentiful power & speed early in the season.#YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/FIEUUmNHxp
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 22, 2017
Blow it open
Aaron Judge hit his sixth home run of the year in the top of the ninth inning making the score 11-5, a lead the Yankees wouldn’t lose. The Yankees bullpen pitched well aside from Jonathan Holder, who allowed two earned runs. Tyler Clippard, Bryan Mitchell, Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman only allowed one hit combined and didn’t give up a run.
Here comes @TheJudge44! The @Yankees slugger mashes his team-leading 6th HR of the year to extend New York's lead to 11-5 in the 9th! pic.twitter.com/2ePWiXpubd — YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 22, 2017
The Yankees will look to win their fourth series in a row in the rubber-match against Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon. Jordan Montgomery is on the bump for the Yanks against former Yankee, Ivan Nova. Win- Dellin Betances Loss- Felipe Rivero Notes: -Ronald Torreyes went 4-5 on the afternoon and his average is nearly .300 this season. The little man has been a stellar replacement for the injured Didi Gregorious.