NEW YORK — Aroldis Chapman bent at the waist near the Yankee Stadium mound, barking his frustration for all to hear. The Yankees closer walked in the tying run on a fastball that didn’t come close to the strike zone, then watched the go-ahead run charge home on a check-swing infield dribbler.
With Rougned Odor‘s late homer wasted, Gary Sánchez provided another. The sizzling Bombers catcher launched a game-tying rocket over the left-field wall in the ninth, then Luke Voit drilled the walk-off hit as the Yankees celebrated a wild 6-5 victory over the Royals on Wednesday.
“It wasn’t just the ninth inning; I thought the whole game was exciting,” Sánchez said through an interpreter. “We were battling throughout the whole game. Odor hit a big homer there that got us the lead, I did my job and then Luke gave us the win. It was a very exciting game.”
The Yankees savored their sixth walk-off of the season, created when Sánchez barreled a Greg Holland heater. That shifted the momentum after Chapman furiously whipped his glove through the home dugout, lamenting a four-pitch walk to rookie Sebastian Rivero and Ryan O’Hearn’s hit that hugged the third-base line.
After Sánchez’s bullet landed in the left-field seats, Giancarlo Stanton ripped a single into right field. Playing his second game since being activated from a lengthy stint on the injured list, Voit dented the left-field wall with an arcing drive that chased pinch-runner Tyler Wade home with the winner.
“We brought in the best closer in baseball,” Voit said. “Sometimes you’re not going to have your best stuff. It happens. We knew that we had to pick him up. They had to go through the heart of our order. It just shows that we have tough outs and we had great at-bats.”
The Yankees had numerous opportunities to break the game open early, receiving a season-high 11 walks but held to Clint Frazier’s two-run double through seven frames. Carlos Santana stunned reliever Zack Britton by unloading on a go-ahead homer, the first run Britton had allowed since the 2020 playoffs, but Odor responded with a two-run shot off Jake Brentz.
Seven of the Yankees’ last eight wins have been comebacks, and only the Red Sox (25) have more comeback victories than the Yanks’ 20.
“Those guys are resilient,” manager Aaron Boone said. “They’re fighting. We understand how tough this season’s been so far. They continue to grind; they continue to fight. It looked like one was getting away from us tonight. Hopefully we can continue to carry this and get better.”
‘Missile’ crisis
Assigned a one-run lead in the ninth, Chapman faltered, charged with his third blown save in his last eight opportunities. Michael A. Taylor reached on a one-out single and Whit Merrifield punched a hit into the right-field corner, placing runners at first and third with two outs.
Boone visited the mound, discussing the situation with Chapman, who indicated that he wanted to face Santana. Boone held up four fingers to indicate an intentional walk upon his return to the dugout, opting to have Chapman match up against rookie catcher Sebastian Rivero, who entered in the fourth after veteran Salvador Perez exited with a headache, with the bases loaded.
“When we met on the mound, Chapman wanted to pitch to Santana,” Sánchez said. “That’s what we talked about. But later on, Boone made the decision to walk him. He’s the manager. That’s something he has to face as manager of the team, making the tough decision.”
Seeking his first Major League hit, Rivero exhibited great patience, looking at four pitches out of the strike zone — Chapman’s fourth wasn’t close, and the closer loudly made his displeasure apparent. O’Hearn followed with a soft check-swing that third baseman DJ LeMahieu barehanded, but too late to record an out.
“I have a ton of respect for Carlos Santana,” Boone said. “You don’t necessarily want to bring the walk into play. … I just felt like the matchup called for it. Obviously, it backfired a little bit, but I just felt like it was the right thing to do in the moment.”
Love is all you need
Making his fifth start since taking Corey Kluber’s spot in the rotation, Michael King held Kansas City to two runs over 4 2/3 innings. King surrendered O’Hearn’s first-inning homer to the short porch in right field, but the right-hander settled in to enjoy a solid second turn through the order.
Chad Green bailed King out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth, retiring O’Hearn on a flyout and then spinning two more perfect innings to get the ball to Britton.
“I texted my mom after that: ‘I love Chad,'” King said. “He’s been huge for us.”
