The New York Yankees needed a moment of magic after Aroldis Chapman allowed three runs at the top of the 10th inning, putting the Yankees in a hole with one opportunity to spark a come back.
Prior to Wednesday night’s game, the Yankees had only scored one run in their last three combined contests, but they managed to tally eight at the end of the day courtesy of a Josh Donaldson walk-off Grand Slam.
Main takeaways from the Yankees’ win over Tampa:
Starting pitcher, Domingo German allowed five hits and three earned runs over 4.2 innings before turning the ball over to Lucas Luetge. He gave up an earned run in 1.1 innings of action, but the bullpen did their job the rest of the way until Chapman struggled to find the strike zone. With the bases loaded, he recorded a massive strikeout of Jose Siri, but Tampa Bay reserve catcher Francisco Mejia recorded a bases clearing double down the right field line.
The Yankees’ offense was rather quiet until the end of the game but did tally 10 hits and four walks. It wasn’t until the bottom of the 6th inning when Gleyber Torres smacked a homer to left field, driving in Aaron Judge, clawing the Yankees back into the game. They were down 4–2 when Judge walked in a run in the bottom of the 7th with the bases loaded. Torres immediately grounded into an inning-ending double play after seeing just one pitch.
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In the bottom of the 8th, Anthony Rizzo tied the game with a solo homer to right center field. However, it was Donaldson who provided a much-needed spark to a team that had lost nine of their last 13 games.
While neither Oswaldo Cabrera nor Estevan Florial managed to get on base and contribute offensively, they provided a bit of energy with solid defensive performances.
This was a huge win for the Yankees as they gear up to face off against the Toronto Blue Jays in a four-game series over the weekend.
Hopefully, this enormous spark will help the Yankees climb out of their current cold streak. Despite the frequent losses after the All-Star break, the Yankees still host a 10-game leading the AL East over the Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays. They need to walk away with a few wins against Toronto, but thanks to Josh Donaldson, they may have regained their mojo.