NEW YORK — Trent Grisham hit a go-ahead solo home run in the eighth inning and the New York Yankees beat the Houston Astros 5-4 on Saturday after blowing a two-run lead at Yankee Stadium.
The dramatic victory came on Old-Timers’ Day, where the 77th annual celebration commemorated the 25th anniversary of the club’s 2000 World Series championship. Among the honored guests was Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre, whose championship team provides a template for the current Yankees’ potential turnaround.
Among those scheduled to attend are Hall of Famers Mariano Rivera and Joe Torre, along with a group of first-time Old-Timers, including Roger Clemens, 2000 ALCS MVP David Justice, Alfonso Soriano and Jose Vizcaino.
The Big Sleep delivers in clutch moment
Affectionately dubbed ‘The Big Sleep,’ Grisham’s eighth inning, two-out, solo shot awoke the Stadium crowd and lifted the Yankees to a 5-4 win against Houston.
Trent Grisham snapped a 4-all tie when he drove a full-count fastball off Bryan King (3-3) into the second deck in right field. The blast marked his career-high 21st home run of the season.
“I just believe I’m ready for it, believe I’m built for it,” Grisham said after the game. “I just go in with that mindset.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone has been trying to popularize the nickname for his laid-back center fielder.
“He is ‘The Big Sleep,'” Boone said with a smile. “He’s that, but he’s really confident, too, and really talented.”
Bullpen collapse sets stage for heroics
The Yankees entered the eighth inning with a 4-2 lead before their bullpen imploded. Camilo Doval was charged with a throwing error on a grounder by Jesús Sánchez and left fielder Jasson Domínguez committed another on an RBI single by Jose Altuve.
With the bases loaded, reliever David Bednar walked Christian Walker to tie the game at 4-4. But Bednar recovered to strike out the final two batters of the inning.
“I can’t throw Bednar any deeper into a fire,” Boone said. “He gets ahead of Walker there and ends up losing him. He doesn’t even flinch and then [gets the strikeouts] and then has the one-two-three ninth.”
Gil rebounds for Yankees from rough start
Right-hander Luis Gil made his second start of the season after missing four months with a lat strain. Luis Gil rebounded from a rough first pitch, which Jeremy Peña deposited over the wall, to deliver 5.1 strong innings.
Gil allowed two runs on six hits with seven strikeouts and one walk across 5 1/3 innings.
“I thought he had a presence with everything,” Boone said of Gil’s performance. “His fastball, changeup and slider were all important pitches for him. That was really good to see.”
Stanton returns to outfield
Giancarlo Stanton made his first outfield appearance since 2023, starting in right field while Aaron Judge served as designated hitter due to an elbow flexor strain.
Stanton contributed at the plate with two walks and an RBI single. He nearly threw out Jesus Sanchez at home plate on Carlos Correa’s fourth-inning RBI single.
“I felt good,” Stanton said. “I thought I was picking up the ball well, had a good exchange on the throw. I felt pretty comfortable.”
Torre’s inspiration echoes
The presence of the 2000 Yankees provided fitting inspiration for Saturday’s comeback victory. That championship team famously lost 13 of their final 15 regular-season games before surging to a World Series title.
Torre, who managed that resilient club, believes this year’s Yankees have similar potential.
“[Aaron Boone] knows what he has here,” Torre said. “And he knows he’s gonna get a run out of these guys.”
Wild card hopes remain alive
Entering Saturday, the Yankees were 19-30 since June 13, clinging to a wild card spot. The Yankees (62-55) maintained their hold on the third American League wild card position with Saturday’s victory.
Grisham expressed optimism about the team’s trajectory.
“We’re close to getting really, really hot,” Grisham said after the Yankees won for just the second time in eight games. “So hopefully [this can] get something started.”
The Yankees will seek a series victory Sunday afternoon with Max Fried (12-4, 2.78 ERA) set to start against Houston’s Jason Alexander (2-1, 5.97 ERA).
After a roller-coaster afternoon that featured pregame festivities, early leads, defensive miscues and clutch hitting, the Yankees experienced what has become rare this summer: a satisfying victory that transformed potential heartbreak into euphoria before a crowd of 45,738 fans.
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