Make it 20! @AChapman_105 shuts the door on the Giants! #NYYSunrunSaves pic.twitter.com/g5mSZx5ywt
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 23, 2016
The New York Yankees defeated the San Francisco Giants on Friday night behind a defensive miscue in the bottom of the eighth.
- San Francisco Giants: 2 (57-39)
- New York Yankees: 3 (49-47)
- Interleague, FINAL, Box Score
- Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
Sure, this New York Yankees home stand looked daunting from the get-go. Facing adversity with their season on the line, the team has responded and produced in every possible area.
After dropping two of three to the Red Sox, the Yanks bounced back to take three of four from the then first-place Orioles. Now, they were just able to edge a reeling Giants team which looked like an extremely formidable opponent when the stretch began.
It was these safe and sound San Francisco Giants who dropped their sixth straight game, committed four errors, and let the Yankees take control of each aspect of the game.
.@t_masahiro18 was LOCKED IN tonight!
His final line: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 Ks. #LetsGoYankees pic.twitter.com/J0HcbwDGJ6
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 23, 2016
After Masahiro Tanaka delivered six shutout innings and left with a 2-0 lead, it was a resilient team bouncing back to tie the game off two of the best relief pitchers in baseball. However, it was that same team surrendering the go-ahead and ultimate winning run on a Brandon Crawford error.
Simply put, this series may be a case of right place, right time for Joe Girardi’s team. Desperately trying to work their way back into the playoff picture, they are capitalizing when handed opportunities and they did so yet again tonight.
Highlights
Starlin Castro — out of the second spot of the Yankee lineup — doubled up the gap in the bottom of the first to score Brett Gardner and give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.
RECAP: Tanaka dominates for 6 innings, Castro collects 3 hits as #Yankees top Giants. https://t.co/0IuMqtCTrhhttps://t.co/PnmRHsdp01
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 23, 2016
In the following frame, Carlos Beltran helped the cause by pounding a two-out RBI single to extend the lead to two.
.@carlosbeltran15 ropes one to left to drive in Torreyes. #Yankees lead 2-0 in the 2nd! #LetsGoYankees pic.twitter.com/GojrfkPGyn
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 22, 2016
The two runs amounted to all the Bombers were able to muster against an otherwise shaky Madison Bumgarner, who limited the damage in seven innings pitched. The 2014 World Series MVP played a major role in holding the Yanks to 1-10 with runners in scoring position, working his way out of further trouble on multiple occasions.
Bumgarner’s line — 7IP, 7H, 2R, 3BB, 6Ks — makes it look like he pitched better than he did
— wallace matthews (@ESPNNYYankees) July 23, 2016
After Tanaka departed, the Giants plated a run off Dellin Betances in the seventh thanks to a wild pitch.
With the lead cut in half, Mac Williamson worked an outstanding at-bat against Andrew Miller in the eighth before finally getting the offering he craved. Laying off three sliders down in the zone with two strikes, he got a fastball up in the zone and ripped it for an RBI double which tied the game at two.
YES!!! @mwilliamson7 doubles. TIE GAME! pic.twitter.com/q3Q6mkn99s
— #WeAreSF (@SFGiants) July 23, 2016
While the Giants were able to knot the game late, the Yankees did not want to squander a pivotal game. With runners on first and second in the bottom of the eighth, Austin Romine grounded into a force out which featured Crawford making an errant throw at short while trying to complete a double play.
Chase Headley — who started on second — made a great base running play, scoring without hesitation to put the Yankees in front.
#Yankees retake the lead!!
Headley comes home on an error to make it 3-2! #LetsGoYankees
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 23, 2016
Aroldis Chapman trotted out of the bullpen and registered a scoreless ninth inning, working around a leadoff double to record is 20th save in 21 tries. The flamethrower delivered straight gas while slamming the door.
Aroldis Chapman's last 8 fastballs tonight (per pitch f/x):
104.3 mph
104.0
104.9
105.3
104.9
104.8
104.0— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) July 23, 2016
With the win, the Yankees improved to 5-3 on the telling home stand, moved back to two games above .500, and moved to within 4.5 games of a playoff spot.
What’s Next?
The Yankees will look to win the series against the Giants tomorrow afternoon and make it six out of seven. Ivan Nova (7-5, 4.92 ERA) will take the ball for New York opposing Jeff Samardzija (9-5, 4.05 ERA).
First pitch will commence at 4:05 pm ET from Yankee Stadium. The game can be seen on on YES and FS1, and heard on WFAN 660/101.9 FM.