Bronx, NY— The Yankees pulled off a dramatic late comeback Wednesday night, defeating the Angels 5-4 thanks to José Caballero’s clutch two-run double in the ninth inning. The game turned moments after Los Angeles mishandled a routine infield popup, a costly mistake that opened the door for New York in front of a crowd of 40,019 on Jackie Robinson Night.
Aaron Judge continued his hot stretch by blasting his third home run of the series, while Trent Grisham contributed with a two-run single. Despite the win, the Yankees have struggled recently, earning just their second victory in the last eight games after starting the season 8-2.
The Angels had taken a 4-3 lead earlier when Mike Trout launched a two-run homer in the fifth inning—his fourth in the past three games.
That lead held until the ninth, when Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a pop-up on the left side of the infield with one out. A miscommunication between shortstop Zach Neto and third baseman Oswald Peraza allowed the ball to drop untouched, giving the Yankees an unexpected baserunner and shifting momentum.
Austin Wells then drew a walk against closer Jordan Romano, putting two runners on. With both men in motion on the next pitch, Caballero drove a slider into the gap in left-center. Chisholm scored easily to tie the game, and Wells raced home right behind him. He slid in just ahead of the relay throw, and the safe call stood after a replay review, sealing the walk-off win.
Romano was charged with his second blown save and loss of the series, having also given up a late lead in Monday’s 11-10 defeat.
David Bednar earned the win for New York with a clean inning that included two strikeouts, aided by a strong defensive play from Caballero earlier in the frame.
Los Angeles had fought back earlier in the game after falling behind 3-0. Adam Frazier and Logan O’Hoppe each hit solo home runs off Yankees starter Luis Gil to even things up. For O’Hoppe, it marked his first career homer at Yankee Stadium, not far from where he grew up on Long Island.
Judge set the tone early with a solo shot to right field in the first inning, his seventh of the season and fourth in as many games.
Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz turned in a solid performance, going 6 2/3 innings while allowing four hits and striking out six.
After the game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone shared that Gerrit Cole, recovering from Tommy John surgery, is scheduled to make a rehab start Friday with Double-A Somerset.
Up Next:
Max Fried will take the mound for New York in Thursday afternoon’s series finale, while the Angels have yet to announce their starting pitcher.
