Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled in the winning inning with one out in the 10th inning Saturday afternoon, lifting the Yankees to a 3-2 victory over the visiting San Diego Padres in front of a sold-out crowd of 46,963.
The Yankees haven’t scored much lately – five points in their last three games combined – but it was enough on Saturday thanks to Luis Severino and a miserly enclosure. The IKF single went down to the third base line thanks to a drawn infield with runners at second and third.
The win ended the Yankees’ three-game losing streak.
Here are the main takeaways…
– Severino’s performance was a big plus for the Yankees, who endured un-Gerrit Cole rotation matters much of the season. Severino looks like he could be a stabilizing presence after allowing two runs (one earned) and a hit over 6.2 innings in his second start from the disabled list. He struck out five and walked three and the only hit he gave up was a solo homer for Fernando Tatis Jr. in the fourth inning, after striking out the first 10 batters he faced. Severino hit 100 miles per hour with his fastball and had three swings and misses with the pitch, as well as seven strikes called. So far this season, Severino has delivered 11.1 innings and a 1.59 ERA. He was so effective on Saturday that he was able to get into the seventh inning despite a pitch count that peaked at around 90.
– With two out in the seventh inning, Severino walked Nelson Cruz with his 80th throw. Aaron Boon opted to leave it in the game and Severino got a soft ground from Trent Grishambut Gleyber Torres sloppy for a mistake. Boone replaced Severino with Michael King and King allowed a simple RBI to Ha Seong Kim who delivered an unearned run that put San Diego ahead, 2-1.
– DJ LeMahieuwho entered the .250 batting game this season, thrived against the Padres starter Michael Wacha. LeMahieu entered Game 7 for 18 (.389) at life against the right-hander and doubled against him in the first and hit a solo homer against him in the seventh that tied the score at 2. The Yankees didn’t hadn’t homered in their previous two games before LeMahieu’s outburst.
– The Yankees took a 1-0 lead in the first inning and actually had a chance to do more. Judge Aaron hit a one-out single to extend his on-base streak to 14 straight games. The judge smashed the ball toward the corner of left field — it was measured at 114.6 miles per hour off the bat, according to Baseball Savant. But he hit it so hard he could only get a single. Anthony Rizo, who entered the game with a .412 lifetime average against Wacha, fielded a single to center to put the runners first and third. LeMahieu doubled on the left to hit Judge, but Rizzo was sent off trying to score from the first.
— In the fourth inning, Tatis Jr., a “popular” figure among Yankees fans, hit his ninth home run since returning from his performance-enhancing drug suspension, a long drive to left field that went 426 feet and tied the score at 1-1. Tatis, who also homered Friday night after being mocked in the outfield, was booed as he circled the bases.
– Antoine Volpe was dropped to ninth in the Yankees’ roster for the first time since April 15. The rookie shortstop hit ninth overall for his first 10 games this season and 12 of the first 15 before a long string of starting opportunities. More recently, he has seen most of his chances come in sixth or seventh. Volpe, 22, entered Saturday’s game with a 2-for-23 (.087) slip, but Aaron Boone said he wasn’t worried about Volpe’s confidence.
– Yankees called left-handed Matt Crook and he was active for Saturday’s game. He took Randy VasquezPlace in roster – Vasquez was ejected after starting Friday night. Krook, a 28-year-old whose first appearance would be his Major League debut, has struggled at the minors since 2016. In 12 outings for Triple-A Scranton this season, he had a 1.04 ERA and allowed just five hits in 17.1 innings while striking out 34 and walking 12.
“He’s hard to hit,” Boone said before the game. “And especially hard to hit for left-handers…He’s got a lot of deception, a lot of swing and miss.”
Boone added that Krook was in “serious consideration” for a spot in the playoff roster last year.
Strong points
And after
The Yankees wrap up their three-game series against the San Diego Padres on Sunday at 1:35 p.m.
Gerrit Cole take the mound for the Yanks and face another ace Yu Darvish for the Padres.