What is it about mid-May, the Yankees, and nine-run comebacks? Yesterday’s column included the Yanks’ rally from an 0-8 deficit to the White Sox, from which they recovered to win 9-8 on May 12, 1996. On May 13, 1985, the Yanks’ rally from 0-8 to the Minnesota Twins was crowned by Don Mattingly‘s three-run, two-out, bottom-of-the-ninth homer off former Yank Ron Davis that propelled the home team to a 9-8 victory. Continue reading →
Fans who disregard special promos featuring one player should rethink that stance once they consider the May 12, 2023, 6-5 victory over visiting Tampa. Memorialized with the Star Wars Mandelorian bobblehead before the game, Anthony Rizzo not only homered for a run in the first inning, he also went yard for two in the bottom of the eighth, eclipsing the 5-4 bulge the Rays had achieved on a Josh Lowe three-run shot in the top half of the frame. Continue reading →
Second baseman Gleyber Torres drove in all five Yankee runs over visiting Toronto in a 5-3 win on May 11, 2022. Gleyber’s three-run, fourth-inning home run overcame an early Blue Jays 1-0 lead, and his two-run, sixth-inning single ensured the win. Continue reading →
Putting in an early bid for the 2022 AL MVP Award that he would eventually take home, Aaron Judge blasted a one-out, three-run walkoff home run off Toronto closer Jordan Romano for a 6-5 Yankee win on May 10, 2022. Before winning on Judge’s 10th home run of the year, the team had tied the game 3-3 on Giancarlo Stanton‘s seventh bomb in the sixth inning. Continue reading →
In one of his best starts ever on May 4, 2022, “Nasty Nestor” Cortes” held the visiting Rangers hitless until center fielder Eli White singled with one out in the eighth inning. But Clay Holmes would be credited with the 1-0 win once Anthony Rizzo drove in Aaron Judge, on base with a single, in the bottom of the eighth. Cortes struck out 11 Texas batters in a game over in 2:41 before MLB’s 2023 rules dramatically shortened the game. Continue reading →
The Yankees enjoyed a different opponent experience with the Astros in 2024, and aside from the scores of some of the Yankee wins, other things stood out. In a Yankee 9-4 victory on May 8, 2024, Jose Altuve, leading off against Carlos Rodon in the first, objected to something about his uniform while striking out on three pitches. Not to be outdone, Anthony Volpe, batting first in the bottom half, objected to the positioning of the rosin bag on the mound. The histrionics aside, the home team used Juan Soto, Giancarlo Stanton, and Aaron Judge home runs to bash the visitors into submission. Rodon went seven-plus strong and struck out seven. Continue reading →
Not only did Alex Verdugo get the Yankees off to a good start in a May 7, 2024, game hosting Houston with a three-run first-inning jack, the team made it stick by scoring in five of the next six innings. Anthony Volpe and Giancarlo Stanton also homered, and Luis Gil went six strong in the home team’s 10-3 win. Continue reading →
On May 6, 2019, the Yankees jumped “King” Felix Hernandez for a 7-0 lead after three innings on Luke Voit and Thairo Estrada home runs and a Brett Gardner homer and triple. CC Sabathia went five for the win, and the Yanks held on for a 7-3 win. Continue reading →
On May 5 (Cinqo de Mayo), 2001, Andy Pettitte beat the Orioles 5-2 by holding them to two hits and no earned runs over seven. Derek Jeter became the first Yankee to steal home in eight years when he accomplished that feat in the fourth inning.
Mammoth home runs and Mickey Mantle — the two just go together, and none more so than the bomb that almost went out of Yankee Stadium altogether until it struck the right field facade just inside the foul pole on May 5, 1956. The Mick hit another prodigious bomb the same day, Yogi Berra homered, and Hank Bauer delivered an inside-the-park job as the Yanks topped the A’s, 5-2. Continue reading →
In an electrifying performance on May 4, 1981, Yankee reliever Ron Davis struck out the last eight Angels batters in a row in a 4-2 win. In so doing, he tied Nolan Ryan‘s (accomplished twice) AL record for consecutive strike outs. Continue reading →
