On a night when a squirrel entertained plenty in the outfield stands, it became apparent that Aaron Judge is just plain nuts.
The Yankees’ captain came through again, tying the game with a ninth-inning home run before Anthony Volpe’s 10th-inning sacrifice fly gave the Yankees a 6-5 win over the Orioles on Tuesday night in The Bronx.
Down by one run and two outs from a loss, Judge crushed a hanging breaking ball from star closer Felix Bautista for his 14th homer of the season to rescue the Yankees and send the game into extra innings.
After excellent work from Michael King, who stranded the Orioles’ ghost runner on second base in the top of the 10th — with help from a nice jumping catch from Volpe — the Yankees made contact when they needed to.
In the 10th, a groundout from Harrison Bader moved pinch-running ghost runner Isiah Kiner-Falefa to third.
Orioles pitcher Bryan Baker issued an intentional walk to Willie Calhoun, setting up the double play.
Aaron Judge belts the game-tying homer in the ninth inning of the Yankees’ 6-5 comeback win over the Orioles.APBut Volpe sent a long fly ball to center field for a sacrifice fly and was mobbed around first base.
The Yankees (30-20) won their fifth straight and have taken seven of their past eight after climbing out of a four-run hole in the fourth inning and one-run hole in the ninth.
As a result, they stole the first game of a series against an AL East rival on the rise.
“They’re a force. They are a problem,” Aaron Boone said before the game of the resurgent Orioles (31-17). “They’re a really good team.”
A joyous Anthony Volpe is lifted up by Anthony Rizzo after his sacrifice fly in the 10th inning gave the Yankees a 6-5 win over the Orioles.AP Before Judge’s brilliance, a potential Yankees rally in the seventh inning unraveled when a curious bunt from DJ LeMahieu backfired. The Yankees were down, 5-4, when they mounted a rally against Yennier Cano, who has been one of baseball’s best relievers and lowered his ERA to 0.35.
Still, singles from Gleyber Torres and Anthony Rizzo — just the eighth and ninth hits Cano has allowed all season — put the potential tying run on third base with one out. LeMahieu, the cleanup hitter, attempted a squeeze bunt with Torres running on contact. The bunt went right to Cano, who flipped home to easily nab Torres.
After Bader grounded out to end the inning, plenty of boos were heard from a crowd of 40,652.
The Yankees had been down, 4-0, in the fourth inning, when Bader launched his fifth home run of the season.
An inning later, the Yankees turned four hits into three runs to tie the game. Rizzo’s double scored Oswaldo Cabrera before LeMahieu’s single scored Torres.
Gerrit Cole is taken out of the game after failing to get an out in the sixth inning.Jason Szenes for The New York PostBader’s sacrifice fly to left brought home Rizzo to knot the game at 4-4.
The Orioles pushed across the go-ahead run in the next inning, when Gerrit Cole allowed two singles before he was pulled.
Ron Marinaccio entered and a swinging bunt from Gunnar Henderson and an RBI ground out from Terrin Vavra gave the Orioles the lead.
They could have had more, but Cedric Mullins’ bases-loaded blast against Ron Marinaccio died on the warning track.
Yankees’ Aaron Judge watches solo homer clear the fence during the third inning.Charles Wenzelberg / New York PostOn a night in which a squirrel went viral, Cole gave up too many gopher balls.
The Yankees ace allowed a pair of blasts — one to Cedric Mullins and another to Gunnar Henderson — en route to five-plus innings in which he allowed five runs on six hits and three walks. He struck out two, which brought him to 2,000 for his career.
Two of those walks burned him in the first inning.
A pair of two-out bases on balls brought up Adam Frazier, who lined a double that glanced off Judge’s glove in deep right field to drive in two.
Cole, who led the majors in home runs allowed last year, has reverted back to that form after a strong beginning to his season.
Cole went his first seven starts without surrendering a homer and now has served up six in his past four starts, in which his ERA has risen from 1.35 to 2.53.
The squirrel, meanwhile, was briefly on the field, escaped into the Yankees’ bullpen and at one point traversed the outfield wall as if it were a balance beam.
