The rain began to pour harder as the top of the ninth dragged on, and it seemed as if Aroldis Chapman’s window to save Saturday’s game against the Rangers was closing fast.
But after Chapman loaded the bases with two outs, he recovered to strike out Jurickson Profar with a 98 mph fastball to finish the Yankees’ 5-3 win in The Bronx.
The dramatic finish allowed the Yankees to win for the fifth time in six games, as Miguel Andujar’s seventh-inning opposite-field smash snapped a tie and helped bail out Zach Britton, who struggled again.
Andujar hit a two-out homer off ex-Yankee Chris Martin to put the Yankees ahead for good.
“You’ve got to stick to your plan,” Andujar said through an interpreter. “Find a good pitch to hit and hit it hard.”
Giancarlo Stanton’s single with one out set up the homer, and the slugger has grown accustomed to seeing Andujar deliver clutch hits after not knowing much about him when he arrived in the offseason from Miami.
“Honestly, the first couple games playing with him, you could see he was capable of what he’s doing now,” said Stanton, who homered for the fourth time in five games despite playing with a tight left hamstring for the past week. “He just had to get a chance.”
Andujar has bounced back from his throwing error Sunday in Boston that led to a loss with three homers in five games.
The Yankees needed it, because their much-ballyhooed bullpen had another rough day.
Britton, acquired from Baltimore before the non-waiver trade deadline, gave up a pair of runs for the second time in three appearances.
He entered with a 3-1 lead in the top of the seventh and retired the first two hitters before a pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases for Adrian Beltre. Following a visit by pitching coach Larry Rothschild, Britton walked Beltre to force in a run to make it 3-2.
He was replaced by Dellin Betances, and with the count 1-2 to Profar, Betances balked as Rougned Odor danced off third. That tied the game at 3-3, but Betances fanned Profar to end the inning.
Andujar put the Yankees up again with his 17th homer of the season, and he already has four go-ahead hits in the seventh inning or later this year.
“I remember facing him early this year and I didn’t like it,” said Lance Lynn, who allowed one run in five innings in his third straight good outing for the Yankees since coming from Minnesota. “What he’s done since I’ve been here, I like a lot.”
Aaron Boone said he was “very comfortable” with Andujar going to the plate in that situation.
“Not only is he a good hitter, he’s a smart hitter,” the manager said.
After Betances tossed a scoreless eighth, Chapman was called upon to get his first save since July 31.
The lefty had pitched just once since his meltdown at Fenway Park, and though he didn’t allow a run in the other outing Thursday against Texas, Chapman walked two batters and forced Boone to get Britton up in the bullpen with a four-run lead.
On Saturday, Chapman walked pinch hitter Isiah Kiner-Falefa to start the ninth and after striking out Choo, allowed a single to Odor through the left side of the infield left vacant by the shift. Elvis Andrus then popped to first, but Chapman hit Beltre with a pitch and took the count full against Profar.
“The field was not what you want, but it can’t prevent you from doing your job,” Chapman said through an interpreter. “My mindset was just, ‘Throw strikes and get the job done.’ ”
Mission accomplished.
“He was better, no question about it,” Boone said. “There was better life on the fastball and he threw good sliders. He was controlling the zone, even though it got a little dicey for a while. It was a step in the right direction for him.”
Source: Read Full Article