NEW YORK — For eight innings Friday night, the Yankees kept building the outline of a loss they have seen too often this summer.
They struck out in bunches. They put runners on and failed to cash them in. New York eventually struck out 15 times, stranded 13 runners and went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
The frustration was sharper because Max Fried gave the Yankees exactly what they needed against his former club. The left-hander limited Atlanta to three hits and two walks while striking out seven over 6 1/3 scoreless innings.
New York’s defense also kept the margin from changing early. Trent Grisham threw out Ozzie Albies at third in the first inning, and replay showed Drake Baldwin had not crossed the plate before the tag. The apparent Atlanta run came off the board.
Yet the Yankees reached the ninth without a run. Austin Riley had homered off Fernando Cruz in the eighth, then Matt Olson added a solo shot against Tim Hill in the ninth. Against a Braves team riding an eight-game winning streak, another strong Yankees pitching performance appeared headed for waste.
Bottom of the order flips the game late
Then the bottom third of Aaron Boone’s lineup became the center of everything.
George Lombard Jr. opened the Yankees’ ninth-inning push with one out by beating out a soft infield single. Braves closer Raisel Iglesias threw wildly to first, allowing the 21-year-old rookie to race to third.
Ryan McMahon struck out for the second out. Austin Wells followed with a double down the right-field line that scored Lombard and cut the deficit to one.
Amed Rosario worked an eight-pitch walk. Ben Rice then lined a single off the right-field wall to score Wells and tie the game. It was Rice’s first hit of August after an 0-for-17 start to the month.
One inning later, after David Bednar kept Atlanta scoreless, the Yankees completed a 3-2 victory when McMahon lifted a sacrifice fly to right with the bases loaded. Automatic runner Luis García Jr. scored the winning run.
It was the Yankees’ first extra-inning walk-off win this season and only their second victory in 10 extra-inning games. New York had entered Friday as one of four MLB teams without one.
Yankees’ 7-8-9 hitters supply the missing production
Lombard, batting seventh, went 1-for-4 with a walk and scored the first Yankees run. McMahon, hitting eighth, finished 2-for-3 with a walk and the winning RBI. Wells, batting ninth, went 1-for-4 with the ninth-inning RBI double and scored the tying run.
Together, the Yankees’ 7-8-9 hitters produced four of the club’s seven hits, drew two of its seven walks, drove in two runs and scored two of the three runs.
That mattered because several other spots produced little. The 15 strikeouts included three by Rice and two each from Grisham, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Wells. The Yankees repeatedly created traffic but did not score until their final three outs of regulation.
McMahon’s winning plate appearance also came through a method the Yankees have not used often. They entered Friday with 26 sacrifice flies, tied for the fifth-fewest in MLB.
The comeback did not erase the offensive problems. McMahon was responding to another night in which the Yankees lineup failed to score through eight innings.
“We got to figure that out. We got to get going a little bit more,” McMahon said.
Lombard changes the game on both sides
Lombard’s ninth-inning speed started the comeback, but his impact continued in the top of the 10th.
With Atlanta’s automatic runner on second, Sean Murphy hit a grounder into the shortstop hole. Lombard ranged to his right, backhanded the ball and made an off-balance throw for the out. Later, García raced into shallow right field and made an over-the-shoulder catch on Ronald Acuña Jr.’s blooper to strand the runner at third.
Boone has installed Lombard as the Yankees’ everyday shortstop, and the rookie’s third major league game added another example of why the club is trusting him during the postseason race.
Boone was describing how easily Lombard can finish difficult throws from shortstop.
“He’s not even reaching for much there, and he makes that play kind of easy,” Boone said.
Bednar received the win after a scoreless 10th, improving to 5-3 with a 2.49 ERA. Tyler Kinley took the loss for Atlanta and fell to 6-5. There was no save.
Fried’s gem survives another low-scoring night
The late rally rescued Fried from becoming the latest Yankees starter to receive no reward for a dominant outing.
Facing Atlanta for the first time since leaving the Braves, Fried retired the final 12 batters he faced. He worked 6 1/3 innings on 90 pitches, 57 for strikes.
Fried said the matchup carried extra meaning because of his history with Atlanta.
“This one’s been circled on the calendar for a little bit,” Fried said.
The Yankees improved to 65-51 and remained second in the AL East, one-half game ahead of Boston after the Red Sox won their ninth straight. Atlanta fell to 70-46 as its eight-game winning streak ended.
For the Yankees, Friday’s escape came only after nearly every warning sign had piled up: 15 strikeouts, 13 runners left on base, eight scoreless innings and a 2-for-11 night with runners in scoring position.
Then Lombard, McMahon and Wells turned the bottom of the Yankees order into the part that decided the game.
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