DJ LeMahieu thought he had ball four. He appeared to be right.
But then home plate umpire Tom Hallion called strike two and gave LeMahieu another chance to come through in the clutch with his bat instead.
LeMahieu delivered, drilling a single up the middle to break a tie game in the seventh inning and send the Yankees to a 10-3 win over the Orioles on Wednesday night in The Bronx.
Jameson Taillon continued a strong run on the mound with a season-high 10 strikeouts in 6 ¹/₃ innings, leaving the game in a 3-3 tie before LeMahieu opened the floodgates to lift the Yankees (58-49) to their seventh series win in their last eight tries. Adding in another big night from Anthony Rizzo, they won for the seventh time in their last nine games — improving to 16-8 since July 6, tied for MLB’s best record in that span — to keep pace with the Athletics and stay two games back of the final playoff spot in the American League.
“[Confidence is] high,” LeMahieu said. “We’ve been really building after the All-Star break and we added some really good players. We’re really excited.”
After a rough July, in which he had just three multi-hit games, four extra-base hits and six RBIs, LeMahieu is quickly making up for it in August. He went 3-for-5 with a double and four RBIs Wednesday — including the game-tying and go-ahead hits — giving him back-to-back multi-hit nights, three extra-base hits and five RBIs over the last two games alone.
“If we get DJ going like we’ve seen over the last couple years atop our order to set the table for everyone, that’s huge,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I do feel like he’s got a couple of really good months in him. He’s starting to find some more holes. If he can continue to do that, we know he’s kind of a machine up there at the top. He’s critical to what we’re doing.”
Soon after LeMahieu put the Yankees ahead 4-3 in the seventh, Giancarlo Stanton broke the game open with a three-run bloop down the right-field line. Gleyber Torres then tallied an RBI double to cap off a five-run seventh inning before LeMahieu added a two-run double in the eighth.
Taillon built on a strong July and continued to thrive with the help of his best curveball of the year. He generated a season-high 18 swing-and-misses while giving up only three runs (two earned).
“We’ve played some good baseball lately,” Taillon said. “We’ve been getting good starting pitching, the bullpen’s been solid [and] we’re starting to hit the ball.”
A big reason for the improved offense is the trade deadline additions of Rizzo and Joey Gallo, whose left-handed bats have balanced the lineup. Rizzo made his impact felt Wednesday beginning with a 13-pitch walk in his first plate appearance against Matt Harvey. He fouled off four pitches that were crushed deep enough to be home runs, then finally straightened one out in his next at-bat for a solo shot to cut the deficit to 3-1. It was Rizzo’s third homer as a Yankee, his first at Yankee Stadium.
“To be able to come in at the trade deadline and have success right away is something I’ll never take for granted,” said Rizzo, who became the first Yankee (since the RBI became an official stat in 1920) to record an RBI in each of his first six games with the team. “To be number one at anything for a Yankee is very special. It’s very humbling because of the history here and all the success here.”
After Rizzo’s homer, Torres added an RBI single later in the fourth inning before LeMahieu tied it in the fifth.
“I feel good,” LeMahieu said, “and hopefully [can] keep it going.”
