The New York Yankees finally got a timely hit as Chase Headley’s home run helps break the Yankees’ losing streak.
- New York Yankees: 2 (58-51)
- Cleveland Indians: 1 (59-49)
- FINAL, AL, Box Score
- Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH
Losing streaks are never fun. Chase Headley knows that. Which is why he took the New York Yankees offensive struggles into his own hands and powered the Yankees to victory.
Working behind a strong outing from rookie Jordan Montgomery, the Yankees didn’t have an offensive explosion. But perfectly-timed hits made their 2-1 victory possible on the road.
The Yankees sent young stud Montgomery to the mound with a lead early, which is unheard of with this recent Yankees lineup.
Brett Gardner lead off the action by drawing a 3-2 walk from Danny Salazar. Aaron Judge followed up two batters later by lining a sharp single to left, setting up first and second with one out.
Didi Gregorius came through in the clutch once again, lacing an RBI double to center field to plate Gardner and give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. However, Gregorius missed a home run by less than a foot, as the ball just bounced near the top of the wall.
Oh well, we’ll take what we can get.
After shutting down the Indians in the bottom of the first, they fought right back to tie the game in the second off a rocket solo home run from Carlos Santana.
Using that 1-1 tie, both pitchers buckled down, dominating in their own way. Montgomery retired nine Indians in a row after giving up the solo shot before his night ended early after the fifth inning. Salazar worked through seven innings, striking out a career-high 12 Yankees in the process.
The Yankees were finally able to get to the Indians bullpen and made them pay for it in the top of the eighth.
A struggling Chase Headley took a 1-0 hanging slider from reliever Zach McAllister into the right field seats, breaking the tie and giving the Yankees a much-needed 2-1 lead.
It is high, it is far, it is GONE!
Chase Headley puts us on top with a solo shot to RF! pic.twitter.com/FrR0T6zpc3
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 6, 2017
So now, the Yankees’ monster bullpen gets to work. Dellin Betances came in and looked every bit as terrifying as he has the last few years. In one inning of work. Betances struck out two and shut down the top of the order 1-2-3.
After a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the ninth, Aroldis Chapman came out to take the mound for the first time since Monday.
Giving off a leadoff single to Michael Brantley, Brett Gardner saved an extra base hit off the bat of Jose Ramirez by robbing him off the left field wall.
What a grab by Gardy to potentially save the game! #YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/TVudqamrIB
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) August 6, 2017
Ronald Torreyes followed up that stellar play by making a diving catch of his own in shallow right field to rob former Blue Jay Edwin Encarnacion of a hit.
After a long battle with Santana, Chapman rings him up to squeeze out a victory.
What’s Next:
The Yankees look to salvage this road series and leave Cleveland splitting the four-game set with the first-place Indians.
To do so, the Yankees look to ride on a strong performance from their undisputed ace, Luis Severino. The All-Star is 8-4 on the season with a 2.98 ERA.
Severino’s last outing was his shortest since May 19. Severino went five innings, giving up only one run and four hits in a 7-3 victory of the Detroit Tigers.
To do so, they’ll have to rough up ace Carlos Carrasco, who is 10-4 for the Indians and boasts a 3.89 ERA.
The afternoon game can be seen on the YES Network with first pitch scheduled for 1:10 PM. It can be caught on the radio on WFAN 660/101.9 FM and WADO 1280.
