Yankees rally in the ninth to slip past the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-5 on Roberto Clemente Day
PITTSBURGH — Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres scored when a potential game-ending double play turned into a game-turning error as the New York Yankees rallied past the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-5 on Friday night on Roberto Clemente Day.
The Yankees trailed by two in the ninth before taking advantage of some shaky pitching by Colin Holderman (0-3) and some sloppy defense by the Pirates.
New York drew within one when Holderman walked Estevan Florial with the bases loaded and one out. Holderman then got Anthony Volpe to hit a chopper to Pittsburgh shortstop Liover Peguero. Pegeuro flipped the ball to second baseman Ji Hwan Bae for one out, but Bae's throw to first baseman Connor Joe deflected off Joe's glove, allowing Torres and Judge to race home and put the Yankees in front.
Oswaldo Cabrera's third hit, an RBI single, gave the Yankees some breathing room. Clay Holmes, a former Pirate, worked a perfect ninth for his 20th save as New York won for the fourth time in five games to move two games over .500 (75-73) for the first time in a month. Nick Ramirez (1-2) earned the win by pitching 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
Ke'Bryan Hayes had three hits, including a two-run single in the sixth inning, for Pittsburgh.
Hayes' hit came minutes after New York reliever Anthony Misiewicz left the game after being struck in the face with a line drive off the bat of Bae. Misiewicz fell to the ground as the ball ricocheted into right field before eventually standing on his own and being taken off on a cart.
Zach McAllister replaced Misiewicz and immediately hit Bryan Reynolds with the first pitch to load the bases. Hayes followed with a sharp grounder up the middle that rolled under the glove of New York second baseman Torres and into center field, scoring Bae and Josh Palacios.
Judge had three hits and an RBI for the Yankees. D.J. LeMahieu had two hits, including a leadoff single in the ninth to start the New York rally.
New York ace Gerrit Cole labored through five innings in his return to PNC Park. The Pirates drafted Cole first overall in 2011 and he reached the majors in 2013, serving as a fixture in the rotation during the franchise's run of three straight playoff appearances from 2013-15 before eventually trading him to Houston in January 2018.
Cole was still in the nascent stages of his career then. He's one of the best pitchers in baseball now, though his pursuit of his first career Cy Young may have slowed just a bit after his shortest outing since June 25. Cole gave up two runs and six hits with three walks and four strikeouts.
He threw 29 pitches in the first inning alone and 93 in all while recording just 15 outs as his ERA ticked up slightly to 2.81, just ahead of Minnesota's Sonny Gray at 2.83. Gray is slated to start for the Twins on Sunday.
The Pirates honored Clemente — their Hall of Fame right fielder who died in a plane crash on New Year's Eve 1972 while on a humanitarian mission to deliver supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua — by holding a day of service in which nearly 50 members of the organization (including several players) participated in community outreach.
Every Pirates player wore Clemente's iconic No. 21, as did Judge, New York designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton and catcher Kyle Higashioka. The No. 21 was also spray painted onto the grass in right field, just in front of the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall.
Pittsburgh never came close to putting anything over the wall. All 10 of their hits were singles.
Yankees: Misiewicz was “alert and oriented” after being treated by Pirates' medical staff. He was then transferred to Allegheny General Hospital for further testing.
Pirates: Activated rookie RF/C Henry Davis (right-hand muscle strain) off the injured list and sent INF Vinny Capra down to Triple-A Indianapolis.
The series continues on Saturday when the two teams meet at 6:35 p.m. EDT. Neither team has announced a starter.
