Field Level Media
Jun 20, 2018
Giancarlo Stanton hit the game-winning, two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning as the New York Yankees staged a five-run comeback and recorded a 7-5 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.
In the eighth inning, Gary Sanchez blasted a 1-1 cutter from Alex Colome off an advertisement in the back of the Seattle bullpen in left-center field, a two-run home run that tied the score at 5-5. An inning later, the Yankees recorded their sixth walk-off win.
Didi Gregorius started the ninth-inning rally with a single up the middle after Ryan Cook struck out Aaron Judge looking. Three pitches after Gregorius' hit, Stanton blasted an 0-2 slider from Cook (1-1) to the loading dock adjacent to Monument Park in center field.
Stanton's 18th homer traveled an estimated 453 feet and left his bat at 117.9 mph.
It was his third career walk-off homer and New York's fourth walk-off homer of the season. Stanton hadn't ended a game with homer since April 18, 2014, also against Seattle.
Aroldis Chapman (3-0) pitched a perfect top of the ninth for the win.
The Mariners lost a third consecutive game for the second time this season and lost to the Yankees for the ninth time in the past 11 meetings.
Before the drama of the late innings, the Mariners built a 5-0 lead with three runs in the fourth and two in the fifth.
Kyle Seager scored on a throwing error by New York second baseman Gleyber Torres in the fourth, and Dee Gordon hit a two-run single.
A sacrifice fly by Denard Span and a run-scoring single by Ryon Healy accounted for Seattle's other runs.
New York began its comeback in the fifth off Felix Hernandez when Aaron Judge roped an RBI single and Aaron Hicks scored the second run when left fielder Span bobbled the ball for an error. Gregorius inched the Yankees closer with a sacrifice fly in the seventh off James Pazos.
Hernandez allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits in five innings. The right-hander struck out six and issued one walk. It marked the 10th time in 16 starts that he went at least five innings and allowed three earned runs or fewer.
New York rookie Jonathan Loaisiga made his second career start in place of Masahiro Tanaka (hamstrings) and allowed three runs on six hits in 6 2/3 innings.
--Field Level Media