New York Yankees: 3 Major takeaways from the Yankees 2nd walk-off win

The New York Yankees went into yesterday’s rubber game with the Washington Nationals, with the Yankees hoping to take the series; after a second walk-off win in as many nights, they accomplished their goal. The Yankees are now 18-16 and have taken their 3rd series in a row.

2nd walk-off, different star

For the second night in a row, the New York Yankees had a walk-off win over the Washington Nationals at Yankee Stadium. Saturday’s rain-delayed matinee ended in the eleventh inning when Gleyber Torres hit a 50′ infield single, driving in the winning run. Yesterday in the bottom of the ninth inning Giancarlo Stanton that had been in a slight 0 for 10 slide hit a bomb single through the left-field gap for another walk-off win and allowed the Yankees to take the series from the Nationals.

No decision pitcher’s duel

Again for the second night in a row, the Yankees and the Nationals were locked into a pitchers duel. In Saturday’s game, Corey Kluber and Max Scherzer; both went deep into the game but ultimately were not involved in the decision. Yesterday, Domingo German had regained his form and, other than one bad pitch, pitched a brilliant game into the seventh inning. For the Nationals, it was Joe Ross who pitched a fine game into the 5th inning.

Both starting pitchers allowed two runs. With the game tied, it was up to the bullpen again to decide the game. German had 6 strikeouts with just one walk. Ross had 7 strikeouts but allowed 5 Yankee walks. The combination of Michael King, Wandy Peralta, and Aroldis Chapman pitched 2.2 scoreless innings. At the same time, the National’s closer Brad Hand gave up the winning hit in the bottom of the ninth inning. The final score was 3-2 Yankees, with Chapman taking the win.

Will Giancarlo Stanton have an MVP year?

New York Yankee fans see something they haven’t seen since 2018, a healthy Giancarlo Stanton, and he is showing Yankee fans the kind of player he can be when healthy. With 20% of the season already played, he leads the Yankees among players who have played in 20 or more games in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in.

The Yankees traded for Stanton after the 2017 season because he was the NL 2017 MVP. But after a fine 2018 season when he hit .266 with 38 home runs, he only played in 18 games in 2019 and 23 games in 2020 due to various injuries. Now healthy, he is on track to hit 45 home runs this season if he can remain healthy. If he can continue leading the team in these stats, he will give DJ LeMahieu a run for his money for the Yankee’s MVP Award. Yesterday, he hit the walk-off winning hit.