Despite being outplayed with 10 hits to their 5 in a matchup featuring the occasional starter Ryan Yarbrough and legendary ace Jacob deGrom, the Yankees managed to pull off an unexpected win on Wednesday:
Somehow winning the game.
Jasson Domínguez launched a dramatic walk-off home run against Luke Jackson, sealing a 4-3 comeback victory over the Rangers. The 40,359 fans who braved the chilly, windy conditions were rewarded with an electrifying ending.
After Luke Weaver successfully navigated the top of the ninth inning, Domínguez jumped ahead in the count 2-0, then blasted a homer into the right field seats, sprinting around the bases before being joyfully mobbed as he crossed home plate.
The Yankees (29-19) already have taken a fifth straight series before Thursday’s finale and have won 10 of their past 13.
This one might have been the most unlikely, deGrom dazzling over seven innings and the Yankees using six different pitchers to piece together nine innings.
The Yankees dug a 3-1 hole and began climbing out in the seventh.
First it was Cody Bellinger — whose red-hot stretch continued — blasting his third home run in his past four games to bring the Yankees within a run in the seventh, an inning after which deGrom was pulled.
Against the Rangers bullpen, the Yankees tied it in the eighth. Robert Garcia walked Paul Goldschmidt and Trent Grisham to find his way into danger that the Rangers asked Jackson to escape. But Aaron Judge, whose average sits at .402, ripped a single into left, Goldschmidt rounding third and heading home to challenge a throw from Wyatt Langford that was cut off.
Goldschmidt scored the tying run before Grisham was tagged out on the basepaths, setting the stage for the ninth.
The Yankees survived three home runs from the Rangers, including two from Jake Burger.
DeGrom was in control if not at his peak, letting up two runs in seven strong innings in which he struck out nine with excellent but not superhuman stuff. Many injuries and two Tommy John surgeries later, he intentionally has tried not throwing with full force, and a righty who used to visit triple digits often threw no pitch harder than 99.3 mph.
The Yankees did little off deGrom, who allowed a second-inning triple to Anthony Volpe and proceeded to retire the next 15 batters.
The Yankees received more excellence from Yarbrough, who was once a surprise and now is pitching as if he expects to thrive every fifth day.
With a fastball that was slower than deGrom’s changeup, the veteran lefty sailed through five innings in which he let up one run on three hits and struck out eight.
Yarbrough, who has pitched well in relief, pitched well in the rotation and has done everything the Yankees have asked, owning a 3.38 ERA — not bad for an ostensible fifth starter.
Especially impressive Wednesday was a diving changeup that the Rangers could not figure out, whiffing on six of their 11 swings against the pitch. He maxed out at 90.4 mph, and yet drew some of the type of baffled swings that a fireballing deGrom induced.
The Rangers only scored against Yarbrough in the fifth, when Burger drilled a 3-2 cutter to left for his first home run of the day.
