NEW YORK — Joey Gallo was a sought after target in the trade market because of his extra-base hit potential. Six games into his tenure with the Yankees, Gallo had two hits, both doubles, in his first 23 at-bats in pinstripes. In game number seven, Gallo showed what the Yankees dealt for at the deadline with three extra-base hits and his first homer in pinstripes.
Gallo's third hit of the night, a towering home run that dropped in down the right field line, gave the Yankees a 5-3 lead they held on to against Seattle on Thursday night in a clash between two teams searching for a wild card spot.
The win brought the Yankees to within five and a half games of first place in the American League East. More importantly, it put the Yankees within a game and a half of Oakland and the the second wild card spot while also providing some distance between them and Seattle at the start of this key weekend series for both teams.
The two teams exchanged sacrifice flies in the first three innings as Gleyber Torres drove a run in for the Yankees in the bottom of the second and Mitch Haniger did the same for the Mariners a half-inning later. A Kyle Seager solo home run to lead off the top of the fourth put Seattle ahead for the first time at 2-1, but a Kyle Higashioka RBI ground out in the bottom of the inning kept things tied at two after four frames. Higashioka had the start Thursday after Gary Sanchez was the latest Yankees player to reach the COVID injured list.
In the seventh, rookie Jarred Kelenic snuck a solo home run into the short left field porch of Yankee Stadium to put the Mariners ahead again. That would be the last time the Mariners led as Gallo's three run homer in the bottom of the inning put the Yankees ahead for good.
Cortes solid on the mound
The Yankees are without multiple starting pitchers this week and will look to get the most out of their bullpen on Friday night. So, pressure had mounted on Nestor Cortes to continue his stellar work on the mound to stabilize the Yankee rotation on a week that has been far from steady.
Cortes allowed two runs on five hits across five innings, leaving the game with the scored tied at two. Cortes now has a 2.15 ERA for the season following five good innings that bridged to the rest of the Yankees bullpen.
Chapman shaky but gets save
Aroldis Chapman is still not quite himself, but the often-reliable hurler did enough to get through a bumpy ninth inning. It took 30 pitches, but Chapman was able to navigate for his 23rd save of the season to secure a Yankees win. Chapman was far from consistent and could not get his fastball higher than 97 miles per hour, but the closer was fortunate enough to get a fly ball short of the wall. Chapman went to a three-ball count with three of his four batters in the inning
Following a leadoff groundout behind him, Chapman walked Jarred Kelenic with one away to bring the tying run to the plate for the Mariners. Pinch hitter Cal Raleigh was next and Chapman had trouble finding the zone. A wild pitch by Chapman moved Kelenic over to second base, but Chapman came back to strike Raleigh out. J.P. Crawford was the last chance for Seattle, but a full count ground ball went to Gleyber Torres, who snagged it but was unable to make a throw from a diving position.
Facing Mitch Haniger as the go-ahead run at the plate, Haniger had three straight balls, but was able to drive a pitch to left field. It fell into Joey Gallo's glove short of the wall to end the night.
