NEW YORK _ The fastball popped into the mitt of Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal at 93 mph, enticing enough to induce a swing from New York Yankees rookie sensation Gary Sanchez, deceptive enough to whistle through the air unimpeded. The force of Jose De Leon's delivery spun him 180 degrees, so he faced the vast expanse of Yankee Stadium. He slapped his right knee for emphasis, an exclamation point in an 8-2 victory.
In his second big-league start, De Leon overcame bouts of wildness and a feisty Yankees lineup for five innings of two-run baseball. He limited the Yankees to a pair of solo home runs. His teammates chased the opposing pitcher from the game in the third inning as the offense rebounded from a drowsy Sunday afternoon in Miami.
After dropping two of three to the Marlins, the Dodgers (81-62) jolted back to life on Monday. The city invites an atmosphere like few others. The team bus crawled through traffic from Manhattan to The Bronx. A horde of reporters crowded the clubhouse. A sizable contingent of Dodgers fans amassed in the left-field corner, enlivening the cavernous, half-empty ballpark with cheers for the visitors.
Chase Utley and Corey Seager sparked the offense in the first two innings. Howie Kendrick contributed a pair of hits. Yasiel Puig came off the bench to homer in the eighth, and Justin Turner launched a homer of his own in the ninth.
The Dodgers struck first. The offense cobbled together a first-inning run after opening singles from Utley and Seager. Utley took third on a flyball. Adrian Gonzalez chopped a grounder toward second base, but legged it through the bag to avoid a double play and drive in Utley.
The Yankees jettisoned a sizable amount of veteran talent at the trade deadline, selling off slugger Carlos Beltran along with relievers Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller. In an unlikely twist, the team found life through youth, and entered Monday's game only two games back in the American League Wild Card race.
But the youth movement did not aid New York's defense on Monday. In the second inning, a three-base error by Yankees rookie outfielder Aaron Judge opened the door for a three-run rally. After singles by Howie Kendrick and Andrew Toles, Utley smashed a 96-mph fastball into the gap between Judge and center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury. The ball clipped the upper webbing of Judge's glove and bounced away, as Utley raced to third.
A more charitable scorer would have credited Utley with a hit. The Bronx upholds a higher standard. But the two runs still counted, and so did another created by an RBI single from Seager.
De Leon gave a run back in the bottom of the second. He left a changeup at the waist of Yankees infielder Starlin Castro. The pitch never reached Grandal. Castro clobbered a solo shot over the fence in left.
But the Dodgers capitalized on another mistake in the third. To set the table for Kendrick, Grandal singled and Josh Reddick doubled. Kendrick uncorked a swinging bunt and beat the throw for an RBI single.
With Joc Pederson at the plate, the team executed a delayed steal of home, with Kendrick bolting to second base as the decoy. As Kendrick took off, Reddick headed home. Sanchez, the rookie catcher, flung the baseball into center field to give the Dodgers a five-run lead.
De Leon struggled with his command in the fifth. He served up a titanic solo shot to Judge on a belt-high, 2-0 fastball. Manager Dave Roberts stuck with him despite a sustained round of hard contact, and De Leon struck out Sanchez to end his evening on a high note.
