What Ryan McMahon thought was a ray of optimism might have sounded more frightening to those who have watched the Yankees over the past month.
“We got another game later today,” McMahon said between games of a doubleheader Sunday, “so the day’s not completely spoiled yet.”
A few hours later, it looked headed that way thanks in part to another dismal offensive performance.
But shortly after Fernando Cruz blew a one-run lead in the top of the eighth, Jazz Chisholm Jr. picked him up in the bottom of the frame, belting a home run the other way that lifted the Yankees to a 2-1 win over the Dodgers, splitting a doubleheader and avoiding a sweep in The Bronx.
Chisholm’s disappointing season has been one of the bigger reasons the Yankees lineup has faltered without Aaron Judge, but Chisholm has now saved them in two of their past six games with a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning or later.
Sunday’s came off Dodgers reliever Evan Phillips in a 1-1 game and, along with some terrific work from the bullpen besides Cruz, proved to be just enough on a night when the Yankees squandered chances throughout, going 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Even after getting dominated by Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s complete game in the opener Sunday afternoon, the Yankees (55-44) finished the day just 1 ¹/₂ games back of the Rays (who were swept by the Red Sox) for first place in the AL East — the closest they have been since June 29.
The Dodgers (63-37), whose relentless at-bats forced Cam Schlittler out of Game 1 by the fifth inning, could not do the same against the Yankees bullpen in the nightcap.
They got strong work from Ryan Yarbrough (2 ²/₃ innings), Paul Blackburn (2 ¹/₃ innings) and Brent Headrick (two innings) to get through the seventh clinging to a 1-0 lead.
That set them up perfectly, or so they thought, to finish off the game with Cruz and David Bednar.
Except Cruz entered for the eighth inning and his second pitch was a splitter over the heart of the plate that pinch hitter Tommy Edman lifted into the right field seats to tie the game 1-1.
Cruz went on to issue back-to-back walks with one out, leading Aaron Boone to call on Bednar to face the top of the order.
Bednar entered and put out the fire, striking out Shohei Ohtani and getting Andy Pages to pop out.
Then, after Chisholm provided the lead, Bednar started off the ninth by walking Freddie Freeman on 10 pitches before retiring the next three batters.
After getting stifled by Yamamoto in Game 1, the Yankees wasted no time jumping out ahead in Game 2.
Paul Goldschmidt started the two-out rally in the bottom of the first with a double and then came in to score on Cody Bellinger’s single up the middle.
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Jasson Domínguez followed with a single, but opener Will Klein got out of the jam to limit the Yankees to just one run.
Wasting chances like that became a theme, getting worse as the night went on.
Lefty Jack Dreyer walked Anthony Volpe and Austin Wells back-to-back with one out in the fourth inning, but the Yankees did not score after Volpe was thrown out at home on José Caballero’s chopper to third base and Trent Grisham grounded out.
Then in the fifth inning, they loaded the bases against Dreyer with no outs, at which point the Dodgers brought in Brock Stewart.
The righty got Domínguez to strike out, Chisholm to pop out on the first pitch and Volpe to strike out on a full count to leave the bases loaded without scoring.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
