The Yankees came within inches of their best comeback of the season.
With the bases loaded and the Bombers trailing by four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, Aaron Boone brought in Giancarlo Stanton to replace Trent Grisham as a pinch hitter.
Stanton threw a shot to center field and the ball hit the top of the wall, going over the bases to make it 6-5. Alex Verdugo was thrown out in the next at-bat and Austin Wells was thrown out with the last out of the ninth inning with the winning run on first base in the Yankees’ 6-5 loss to the Cardinals.
The Yanks have yet to mount a comeback this season and Saturday afternoon seemed like their best chance.
The Bombers were already in a tough spot because of Will Warren’s struggles early in his major league career. The 25-year-old entered the afternoon game against the Cardinals with a 9.68 ERA in four major league starts and things didn’t get much better from there.
The right-hander allowed four runs on five hits in four innings of work while striking out three batters. The big blow came off the bat of Brendan Donovan who put a three-run home run down the first row of the short porch to give St. Louis a 4-1 lead.
Warren’s counterpart silenced the Yankees’ batters, making the prospect of a comeback bleak.
Kyle Gibson led the Bombers, the veteran pitching seven innings, allowing just one run on five hits and striking out six. Anthony Volpe provided the lone run against Gibson, singled in Wells in the bottom of the second.
Tim Hill replaced Warren in the fifth inning and failed to score a run. However, one of the Yankees’ deadline acquisitions has yet to find his feet in the Bronx. Mark Leiter Jr. allowed two more runs — one earned — as his season ERA climbed to 4.71.
The Bombers’ bullpen remains arguably their biggest question mark heading into October, and Leiter Jr. makes it difficult to use him in high-leverage situations.
Saturday afternoon’s victory was the Cardinals’ first in the Bronx since Game 7 of the 1964 World Series.
Oliver Marmol will turn to Miles Mikolas on Sunday afternoon to try to take the series from the Yankees. Boone will send Nestor Cortes into the deciding game,
