Sometimes a slumping offense just needs to see an opposing pitcher it routinely hits. Sometimes a slumping offense just needs to catch a break from the opposing defense.
In Wednesday’s ninth inning, the Yankees were gifted both.
Access the Yankees beat like never before
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.
Try it freeBats that seem to be silent against everyone except Jordan Romano these days got to face the Angels closer again. And Romano’s job grew much tougher when a routine pop-up to his infield somehow bounced on the dirt.
When the frame from Angels hell was over, José Caballero had drilled a walk-off two-run double to steal a 5-4 victory in front of 41,019 in The Bronx, where Aaron Boone’s club blew an early three-run edge and was shut out from the third through eighth innings before finding life (and two runs) just in time.
A hard-to-believe comeback was launched against Romano, who blew Monday’s game when he allowed three runs without recording an out and who owns a 6.17 ERA in 26 career games against the Yankees, who seem to enjoy stepping into the box against the former Blue Jays reliever.
The second blowup in three days — which led to the second Yankees walk-off in three days — was not entirely Romano’s fault. In a frame that began with the Angels ahead 4-3, Jazz Chisholm Jr. lofted a lazy, one-out pop-up to the left side of the infield.
Third baseman Oswald Peraza seemed early in the ball’s ascent to take charge. Shortstop Zach Neto probably should have called him off because the high pop ended up in his territory.
Both were unsure who would catch it, and thus neither did.
“Let’s go,” went through Boone’s mind as the ball dropped.
“We’ll take anything we can get,” said Austin Wells, who followed the pop-up single with a hard-earned walk.
“Whenever you give us a chance,” Caballero said with a small laugh, “it’s a dangerous thing.”
Two days prior, Caballero had played hero by following Trent Grisham’s game-tying ninth-inning home run against Romano with a double and, with aggression, a stolen base and wild pitch creating the game-winner. This time Caballero’s bat was the star, smacking a hit over Neto and into left-center while Chisholm and Wells were attempting a double steal. Chisholm scored without issue, and third base coach Luis Rojas kept spinning his arm with an audacious send.
The relay throw beat Wells to the plate but was toward the first base line, allowing Wells’ leg to graze home plate just in timeto jump-start the week’s second game-ending party in The Bronx.
The Yankees (10-8) have responded to their five-game skid by taking two of three from the Angels and will try to seize the series Thursday afternoon behind Max Fried.
In the span of 21 pitches from Romano, the feelings around the club were flipped. A few minutes earlier, it had seemed Boone was going to have to answer questions about how this roster had fallen to .500 and why an offense that was baseball’s best last season suddenly could not hit.
“It’s not easy for us necessarily right now,” Boone said, “but just a lot of really gritty plays there at the end.”
The Yankees were strong defensively, including nice diving plays by Caballero (to retire Peraza in the ninth) and Chisholm (spearing a ground ball from Nolan Schanuel with a dive in the third).
Their bullpen — four scoreless innings from Tim Hill, Fernando Cruz, Brent Headrick and David Bednar — did everything it could to keep the game close. And their offense eventually found the break it needed and the break that did not seem as if it would arrive.
Apart from Monday’s 11-run explosion, the Yankees have scored 19 runs in seven games (six losses) against the A’s, Rays and Angels, whose pitching staffs are, well, mortal.
Wednesday started differently — against righty Jack Kochanowicz, Aaron Judge clobbered his seventh homer of the season and fourth in four games in the first and Grisham came through with a two-out, two-run single in the second — but then felt familiar, the Yankees picking up two more hits through the eighth inning. One, from Wells, was a bunt single.
As the early lead disappeared in the fifth, when Luis Gil (five innings, four runs on five hits and two walks) surrendered his second and third home runs of the night, a one-run deficit felt insurmountable.
But somewhere, Luis Castillo smiled.
“Every win matters,” Wells said. “Doesn’t really matter how you get it done.”
