It really could have been an emotional night for a several-year Yankee fan when the Yanks jumped up on visiting Minnesota 2-0 through three on homers from Aaron Judge, and Marwin Gonzalez , when ex-Yank Gary Sanchez tied matters with a two-run shot in the fifth. But a second Judge jolt and a Isiah Kiner-Filefa drive propelled the Yanks to a 5-2 win. Continue reading →
If you could have written up how a successful bullpen day started by an Opener would go, you could look at the 4-1 Yankee victory over the Rangers in the Stadium on September 4, 2019. Two innings from Chad Green, then three from Luis Cessa, got the Yankees past midgame with a 3-0 lead, on Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres home runs, both off ex-Yankee Lance Lynn. Continue reading →
Not only did Giancarlo Stanton hit an early home run against the visiting Orioles on September 3, 2021, that helped send the 2-2 contest to extra innings, it was his single in the bottom of the 11th that drove in Aaron Judge with the game winner in the 3-2 victory. Nestor Cortes made the start, and Clay Holmes was the winning pitcher. Continue reading →
The hits Jordan Montgomery surrendered to the first four Rays up on September 2, 2020, including two-run jolts from Randy Arozarena and Mike Brosseau, all but wrapped up what would be a 5-2 Tampa final. A late Clint Frazier home run and DJ LeMahieu rbi single were too little, too late. Continue reading →
The Yankees and the Tigers went to the ninth inning scoreless on September 1, 1961, in front of the biggest American League crowd of the year, with Whitey Ford opposing Don Mossi. The 65,000+ in Yankee Stadium thrilled to the Yankees’ 1-0 victory in this battle for first place, as two-out hits in the bottom of the ninth from Elston Howard, Yogi Berra, and Moose Skowron plated the game winner. Continue reading →
Young offensive stars on both sides had the Yankees and visiting A’s tied at 3-3 through nine on August 31, 2019, with two Gary Sanchez bombs and one by Aaron Judge equaling Matt Olson‘s two-run jolt and an rbi double by Matt Chapman. The somewhat more veteran DJ LeMahieu, “La Machine,” settled matters with a home run on the first pitch of the bottom of the 11th, 4-3 Yanks. Continue reading →
Even though Marcus Stroman was reached for two second-inning runs on four straight hits vs the Cardinals on August 30, 2024, it became one of his better starts, as he went seven complete in the 6-3 Yankee win. Batting fourth, catcher Austin Wells homered for two in the home third, and then again for two more in the eighth. Continue reading →
On August 23, 2003, when Ron Guidry Day was celebrated in Yankee Stadium, the team played uninspired baseball in a 7-2 loss to the Orioles in the game that followed. No such problem occurred on August 29, 1964, when the Yanks held Elston Howard Day. The Yanks took two from the Red Sox, 10-2 and 6-1. Joe Pepitone went yard three times, including a grand slam, and Roger Maris hit six singles. It was highlights all around, as Mickey Mantle hit his 447th career homer in the first game, and tied Babe Ruth‘s career strike out record (1,330) in the second. Continue reading →
Giving the lie to all the claims floating around Yankee Stadium in 2009, Robbie Cano sent a soaked fanbase home happy on August 28, 2009, when his 10th-inning three-run walkoff bomb against Chicago lefty Randy Williams gave the Yankees a 5-2 win. Rumor had it that Cano could only hit in non-rbi situations, and the game only went into extras because Nick Swisher made a great throw to nail a runner at home in the top of the seventh. Brian Bruney pitched the top of the 10th and got the win. Continue reading →
Ask a number of Yankee fans with a sense of history individually about 1978, and two arcs will emerge. In light of the day held in his honor in Yankee Stadium in 2003, we’ll mention the incredible 25-3 Cy Young season of Louisiana Lightning, Ron Guidry first. And hand in hand with that, of course, was the stirring comeback from 14 games behind, with the Yanks finally wresting the pennant from their Boston rivals in the playoff game that has made “Bucky Dent” two thirds of a three-word epithet in much of Massachusetts and New England ever since. But what should be obvious to even the most casual fan is that you can’t mount a comeback drive like that on the strength of just one starting pitcher. Catfish Hunter beat the Oakland A’s, 6-2, on August 27, 1978, to complete a six-win/no-loss August that helped propel the Bombers on their way. Utilizing a spin windup he may have copied from the wily Luis Tiant (with the Sox at the time, but who would pitch for the Yanks too), Hunter brought to mind the old saw that has it that a flashlight burns brightest just before the light goes out. Guidry’s brilliance would have gone for naught without him. Continue reading →
