PITTSBURGH _ Throughout a spring training that featured few hits and early in a regular season of the same, the question regarding Chris Carter remained.
Why?
The Yankees signed Carter, who shared the National League lead in homers last season with 41, to a one-year, $3.5-million deal on Feb. 7, but without a specific role in mind beyond a right-handed-hitting option against some left-handers.
The signing finally paid off _ in a big way _ Saturday afternoon.
After a critical two-out error opened the door in the eighth, Carter clubbed a tiebreaking three-run homer to key a five-run inning in the Yankees' 11-5 victory over the Pirates in front of 36,140 at PNC Park.
The Yankees (11-6), winners of 10 of their last 12, rallied from a 3-0 deficit entering the sixth with two five-run innings on their way to their highest run total of the season.
After their bullpen coughed up a 5-3 lead and the Pirates tied it at 5-5 in the seventh, the Yankees took advantage of some slipshod Pirates fielding in the eighth.
Pittsburgh left-hander Felipe Rivero retired the first two batters of the inning and seemed to have a third retired when Austin Romine _ who collected the Yankees' first hit of the day with two outs in the fifth _ sent a routine grounder to second. But Adam Frazier booted the ball for an error and Ronald Torreyes followed with a single.
Up stepped Carter, all of 4-for-27 this season (after an 8-for-57 spring training). He swung at the first pitch and destroyed an 87-mph changeup to left-center for an 8-5 lead. The ball was hit with such force that center fielder Andrew McCutchen barely moved as he watched it sail well over his head.
Another error by the Pirates, their fifth in two days, contributed to two more runs that made it 10-5, with Chase Headley contributing an RBI double.
Another monster homer by Aaron Judge, estimated at 457 feet, made it 11-5 in the ninth and gave the right fielder a team-best six.
The Yankees, who had 13 hits (four by Torreyes and two each by Judge and Romine) hit three homers, giving them 25 in 17 games. Starlin Castro's three-run shot had tied the score at 3 in the Yankees' five-run sixth.
Michael Pineda's outing was somewhat lost in the offensive onslaught. The right-hander was not sharp as he allowed three runs and five hits, including two home runs, in five innings.
The Yankees trailed 3-0 entering the sixth against Pirates righty Jameson Taillon before putting something together.
Jacoby Ellsbury reached on an infield single and Taillon walked Aaron Hicks for the second time. Headley grounded to first, putting runners at second and third for Castro.
Not wasting any time, the second baseman _ whose dropped pop-up the night before led to two Pirates runs _ hammered a first-pitch fastball to left-center. The no-doubter gave him four homers and tied it at 3.
Judge doubled and Pirates manager Clint Hurdle brought on Juan Nicasio to face Bird, who fell behind 0-and-2 but got hit with a 1-and-2 pitch. Romine singled to left to load the bases and Torreyes hit a sinking liner to right that John Jaso dived for and whiffed on, with the ball getting by him for a two-run double that gave the Yankees a 5-3 lead.
The bullpen could not make it stand up, though.
Jonathan Holder retired the first two batters in the sixth before allowing a double to former Yankee Francisco Cervelli. Jordy Mercer's line-drive single to center made it 5-4. Tyler Clippard then hit pinch hitter Jose Osuna with a 1-and-2 pitch and Frazier lined a single to left to tie it.
