Apparently, the “no quit in New York” mantra has now crossed over from the Rangers to the Yankees, who registered their fifth walk-off win in the last 30 days on Thursday night – and in epic comeback fashion, erasing a three-run ninth-inning deficit for a 7-6 win over the Astros.
Giancarlo Stanton had tied the game at 3-3 with his three-run homer in the bottom of the first, but seven-plus innings later, the Yankees entered the bottom of the ninth down 6-3 and without a hit (and with only four baserunners total) since that dinger.
And yet, an offense that had seven total baserunners over eight innings found a way to get seven men on base in the final frame and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
“It was a good level of focus, I felt, on our bench. Let's go have good at-bats,” manager Aaron Boone said of the ninth inning. “That was the mindset. There was a calm and a resolve and energy, certainly. But I would say the opposite of emotional. It’s just, 'Let’s go grind this thing out and have good at-bats.'”
The comeback started quickly, as Stanton and Gleyber Torres drew walks before the much-maligned Aaron Hicks, who was 6-for-32 since a monster series against Minnesota, drilled Ryan Pressly’s 1-2 offering into the right field bleachers to tie the game.
And he knew it, too, immediately Cadillac-ing his third homer of the season.
“I knew something big would happen, and man, it feels amazing,” Hicks said after the game. “When you make contact with the ball and you don’t even feel it and you just know you flushed it well, especially in a situation like that, having two guys in front of me that got on base for me, and to come up big and tie the game right there was huge.”
“It’s a playoff atmosphere right there," added Boone. "When Hicks hit that homer, I was looking to the bleachers. Everybody was jumping around, going crazy.”
Isiah Kiner-Falefa followed with a single, but was thrown out stealing second on a play that was upheld upon video review. No matter, though, as Jose Trevino followed with a single that chased Pressly, and from there, the Yankees got some divine intervention.
Joey Gallo flew out, and with a 2-2 count and two outs, DJ LeMahieu somehow checked his swing on a questionable pitch and then took a 100 MPH heater just outside the zone to draw a walk, setting up Aaron Judge for the big moment.
And like he has seemingly all season, Judge – just hours before the scheduled arbitration hearing that will decide his salary for 2022 – got the walk-off single (which would’ve been extra bases in any other situation) to give the Yankees their 52nd win.
“I knew I was going to get the job done," Judge said. "I had faith I would go up there and do my job, and I was able to get a pitch I could handle and got it done.”
And like Boone, the Yank Aarons were all about the atmosphere of the big moment.
“That’s when this game is at its best right there, moments like that," said Judge. "Crowds on their feet, game’s on the line. Those are moments in your backyard that you dream about. There’s no better feeling, especially here in New York. Seeing your teammates, the smile on your teammates’ faces, that caps it all off for me.”
"Whenever you got the crowd behind you like that rooting for you, you come up big for them, it’s huge. It gets the team going, having the fans being that exciting, it’s fun to play in," added Hicks.
Add it up and it’s the second straight walk-off win at the Stadium and fourth in eight games. Overall, the Yankees have 21 comeback victories with nine walk-offs, and now 15 straight wins at home.
No quit in New York, because as one famous Yankee once said, it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.
“We don’t like to lose," added Hicks. "We’re a team that’s gonna keep fighting. Until the end until the last out is made, we believe we still have a chance.”
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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