The New York Yankees scored five runs with two outs in the 10th inning to break open a pitching duel and defeat the Los Angeles Angels 6-3 on Wednesday night.
Austin Wells delivered a two-run single to put New York ahead before Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham and Ben Rice followed with RBI singles. The five-run outburst gave the Yankees a 6-1 lead after Cam Schlittler and Reid Detmers had controlled most of the game.
Vaughn Grissom homered for Los Angeles in the seventh to force a 1-1 tie, while Moisés Ballesteros added a two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th. The late response was not enough after New York’s decisive rally.
Schlittler Dominates Angels Early
Schlittler entered with the best ERA in the American League and delivered another strong performance.
The right-hander allowed one run and two hits over eight innings. He struck out nine without issuing a walk.
Schlittler retired 20 of the first 21 Angels he faced.
Grissom supplied the only early hit with a soft single to left in the second inning. Otherwise, Los Angeles struggled to generate any offense through the first six frames.
The Yankees starter finally made a costly mistake in the seventh.
Schlittler left a 95-mph cutter over the plate to Grissom, who drove it over the center-field wall. The solo homer tied the game at 1-1.
Schlittler recovered and completed eight innings without allowing further damage.
His performance lowered his AL-leading ERA to 2.04 and added another mark to his season. It was his franchise-record 19th start allowing no more than one run.
That moved Schlittler ahead of Ron Guidry in 1978, Whitey Ford in 1964 and Jack Chesbro in 1904. Each had 18 such starts.
Detmers Matches Yankees Starter
Detmers nearly matched Schlittler throughout the night.
The Angels left-hander worked seven innings and allowed one run on six hits. He struck out eight and did not issue a walk.
New York produced its only run against him in the fourth.
Amed Rosario delivered an RBI double to give the Yankees a 1-0 advantage.
Detmers prevented the Yankees from adding to the lead and kept Los Angeles within one run until Grissom tied the game.
The outing continued an impressive second half for Detmers. He owns a major league-best 1.52 ERA since the All-Star break.
Neither starter factored into the decision after the game remained tied through nine innings.
Yankees Break Through in 10th
New York finally took control against Luke Murphy in the 10th.
The Yankees loaded the bases with one out after Jose Caballero singled and Jazz Chisholm Jr. walked. The automatic runner remained at third on Caballero’s hit.
Murphy appeared close to escaping when he got Luis Garcia Jr. to pop out for the second out.
The inning quickly changed after that.
Wells lined a two-run single to right field, giving New York a 3-1 lead.
Bellinger followed with an RBI single to center. Grisham then singled to left to bring home another run, and Rice capped the rally with an RBI single to right.
All five Yankees runs in the inning came with two outs.
The four consecutive run-scoring singles turned a 1-1 game into a 6-1 advantage.
Murphy took the loss and fell to 0-2.
Ballesteros Homers in Angels’ Final Attempt
David Bednar had kept the game tied for New York with a scoreless ninth.
Bednar struck out three during the inning and earned the win, improving to 7-3.
Michael Fulmer entered in the bottom of the 10th with a five-run cushion.
Los Angeles managed one final push when Ballesteros hit a two-run homer, cutting the deficit to 6-3.
The Angels could not extend the rally, and New York secured the extra-inning win.
The late Homer gave Los Angeles three runs after the club had managed only one through the first nine innings.
Pitching Duel Gives Way to Late Offense
For most of the night, the game belonged to Schlittler and Detmers.
Neither starter issued a walk, and they combined for 17 strikeouts over 15 innings.
Schlittler allowed only Grissom’s two hits, including the game-tying homer. Detmers surrendered six hits but limited the Yankees to Rosario’s fourth-inning RBI double.
The game remained tied after both starters departed.
New York’s offense then delivered when it mattered most. After Murphy recorded the second out with the bases loaded in the 10th, the Yankees produced four straight RBI singles.
Wells started the sequence by bringing home two runs. Bellinger, Grisham and Rice each added another.
Los Angeles answered with Ballesteros’ homer, but the five-run deficit proved too large.
Photographer Injured by Line Drive
The game was also stopped for approximately 10 minutes during the sixth inning after a line drive struck a photographer in the first-base camera well.
Rice hit the ball at 79.5 mph, and it struck the photographer in the head.
The photographer was able to walk to a medical emergency vehicle. Before being taken away, the photographer shook hands with Rice.
Play resumed after the delay.
Up Next
The Yankees head to San Diego, where left-hander Max Fried is scheduled to face Padres right-hander Walker Buehler on Friday night. Fried enters at 4-4 with a 2.80 ERA, while Buehler is 8-6 with a 4.66 ERA.
The Angels travel to Pittsburgh for their next series. Right-hander Ryan Johnson, who is 3-7 with a 5.47 ERA, is scheduled to face Pirates right-hander Jared Jones, who enters at 2-6 with a 4.83 ERA, on Friday night.
