Wild Ninth Inning Leads To 6-4 New York Yankees Victory Over Houston (Highlights)
Mar 19, 2017; West Palm Beach, FL, USA; New York Yankees shortstop Tyler Wade (82) tags Houston Astros catcher Brian McCann (16) out at second base during a spring training game at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

After blowing a 3-1 lead, the New York Yankees were able to squeeze out a 6-4 win after a wild ninth inning by Jandel Gustave. 

  • New York Yankees: 6 (17-6)
  • Houston Astros: 4 (9-11)
  • Grapefruit League, FINAL, Box Score
  • The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, FL
Despite blowing a 3-1 in the sixth, the New York Yankees were able to secure a 6-4 win over the Houston Astros in the new Ballpark of the Palm Beaches on Sunday after a wild ninth inning by Jandel Gustave.

Adam Warren got his third start (fourth game) of the spring and held Houston to one run on four hits while striking out one. He’s in the mix to earn a rotation spot and has impressed this far despite the argument that he’s destined for the bullpen either way.

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Ben Heller, Luis Severino, Giovanny Gallegos and Jason Gurka pitched the remainder of the contest and combined for 6.1 innings of work. They surrendered three runs on seven hits while striking out four. Severino was charged with all three runs on six of the seven hits.

Offensively, Chase Headley led the way by going 2-for-3 with two RBI’s and a run scored. He smacked a two-run double to left in the first off Lance McCullers which scored Brett Gardner and Aaron Hicks. The 32-year-old scored in the sixth on a steal of home, making him responsible for three of the Yankee six runs on the afternoon.

It seemed as though solid day by its third baseman wasn’t enough to overcome a poor outing by Severino, but after Gustave walked three batters and allowed three runs while throwing two wild pitches, a comeback was in store.

Clint Frazier scored the tying run on a wild pitch with Donovan Solano batting and on the same play, Thairo Estrada scored the go-ahead run as catcher Garrett Stubbs‘ throw back to the plate missed wide-left and rolled towards the middle of the infield.

It was a three-run ninth for New York, and Gurka saved the Yankees league-leading 17th win of the spring.

Lighting Up The Radar Gun:

Despite looking off with command, Luis Severino’s fastball can still fly out of his hand at an astronomical velocity.

The first pitch of his outing came was clocked at 96 mph, while the second pitched registered at 99 mph. After allowing back-to-back singles to J. D. Davis and Teoscar Hernandez, he got George Springer to ground into a double play with his changeup — which has developed nicely this spring.

Composure, arsenal blend and velocity is there, but command is the only aspect of Severino’s game that’s holding him back.

Pressure On The Bases:

With Kyle Higashioka batting in the top of the sixth with Ronald Torreyes on first and Chase Headley on third, the Yankees executed a successful double steal attempt which led to a run scored for New York.

Torreyes took off for second and as former Yankees’ catcher Brian McCann attempted to throw him out, Headley took off for home. Houston shortstop Colin Moran cut the throw off in front of the second base bag but his throw to home was late which extended the Yankee lead to 3-1.

Spring Sellout:

Baseball fans made sure to show up on a beautiful 77-degree sunny day at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. A sellout crowd of 7,721, to be exact. It was the first sellout and the largest crowd of the spring for the brand-new ballpark, according to Erik Boland of Newsday Sports.

Human Highlight Reel:

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Aaron Hicks put on a show in centerfield with back-to-back web gems to save what could have been three or four runs for the Astros.

First, he put his best Adam Jones impression on a deep fly ball off the bat of J.D. Davis by drifting back, timing his jump and robbing the 23-year-old of a RBI double. On the very next play, he hosed Yulieski Gurriel at home plate as he tried to score from second base on a Teoscar Hernandez single.

What’s Next? 

The Bombers will kick off the second-to-last week of spring training games on the road against the Washington Nationals at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Michael Pineda will get the start as he looks to continue his solid spring.

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Over three starts, Big Mike has struck out 14 batters in 10 innings of work and has surrendered just four hits (.118 BAA). He seems to be taking a step forward after a season in which he became one of just six pitchers in major league history to strike out more than 200 but to manage an ERA over 4.80.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET and can be caught on MASN or MLB Network.

 NEXT: How important is Chase Headley to the New York Yankees?


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