Following a tense 11-inning stretch where the Yankees were on the brink of making history as the first MLB team to be no-hit, their offense finally sprung to life, resulting in a thrilling 13-inning victory over the Brewers with a score of 4-3 on Sunday.
Kyle Higashioka secured his first career walk-off hit, a double that brought home the added runner Everson Pereira, ultimately concluding a game that initially began as a pitchers’ duel between Gerrit Cole and Corbin Burnes. It then evolved into a seesaw battle, finally putting an end to the Yankees’ three-game losing streak.
Yankees’ remarkable victory
Gerrit Cole mentioned that they had been held hitless for 10 innings and had gradually begun to make progress before ultimately regaining momentum. He described it as an interesting convergence of two storylines that ultimately resulted in a victory for their team.
“We were no-hit for 10 innings, then we started chipping,” the Yankees starter said. “We started grabbing some momentum, so it was a cool combination of two narratives that culminated in a win.”
In the bottom of the 11th inning, Oswaldo Cabrera came through, providing the Yankees with their inaugural hit, which also brought in their first run, thereby tying the game.
Subsequently, in the top of the 12th, Nick Ramirez surrendered two runs, but Giancarlo Stanton swiftly equalized the score once more with a leadoff two-run home run, knocking in the added runner, Gleyber Torres.
Following a scoreless inning pitched by Anthony Misiewicz, who had been recently recalled, in the top of the 13th inning, Higashioka emerged as the game’s decisive figure, securing the victory.
Higashioka made the most of his chance
Higashioka expressed that it meant a great deal to him personally and mentioned being swarmed by his teammates at second base. He noted that achieving such a milestone was a goal every player aimed for. However, he emphasized that the most significant aspect was the team’s ability to put themselves in a position to win. Despite encountering a formidable pitcher early on, they never lost hope and persevered, ultimately grinding out a victory.
“I was hoping they didn’t take everything off. Nobody needs to see that,” said the Yankees catcher told. “Just the support from the guys is a great feeling. Hopefully, we come together and play well for the rest of the season. This last part of the season is a real revealer of character. You’ve got to grind through it and play your best, no matter what the circumstances are.”
Additionally, the Yankees benefitted from another stellar performance by Cole, bringing him one step closer to securing his inaugural Cy Young award with a commanding seven shutout innings. This outstanding display further reduced his ERA, which was the best in the American League, now standing at an impressive 2.79.
On the other hand, Burnes was equally impressive, hurling eight no-hit innings before exiting the game after 109 pitches, falling just one short of his season-high pitch count.
Devin Williams took over for Burnes in the ninth inning, while Abner Uribe handled the pitching duties in the 10th.
In the 11th inning, facing Joel Payamps, the added runner Anthony Volpe, who came close to clinching victory for the Yankees in the 10th with a drive to the right-field wall, advanced to third base on an Everson Pereira groundout. Subsequently, Cabrera delivered a powerful double to the right field.
Following Higashioka’s strikeout, DJ LeMahieu drew a walk, and the Brewers opted to intentionally walk Aaron Judge, loading the bases for Gleyber Torres, who grounded out, thus pushing the game into the 12th inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, Burnes impressively retired the first twelve batters he faced, but he walked Stanton to initiate the inning.
Stanton drew another walk with one out in the 10th inning, and with Judge, the added runner, positioned at second base, Anthony Volpe launched a deep fly ball towards the right-center wall. In a remarkable and game-saving play, Sal Frelick made a terrific catch while colliding with center fielder Joey Wiemer.
The duel between Cole and Burnes persisted at a high level throughout the afternoon. Notably, Cole achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first Yankee to record 200 strikeouts in three different seasons when he struck out Andruw Monasterio in the fifth inning.
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