'We find ways': Recapping Yankees' 10 walk-off wins
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NEW YORK -- Yankee Stadium has once again become the home office of the walk-off.
The Yankees have celebrated a Major League-leading 10 walk-off victories this season, the latest of which came on Sunday as Aaron Judge laced a game-winning three-run homer to topple the Astros, 6-3, in 10 innings.
Here, in reverse chronological order, is a rundown of each Yankees walk-off in what seems to be shaping up as a special season:
10. From historic slump to wild comeback
Yankees 6, Astros 3 (10 innings) -- June 26
In the midst of a historic 16-inning hitless drought that included a combined no-hitter one day prior, the slumbering Yankees' offense awoke with a trio of homers -- Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu and Aaron Judge all went deep, with Judge's three-run blast deciding the game in the 10th inning. It was the Yanks' Major League-leading 22nd comeback win of the year.
"I've been saying it for years -- it doesn't matter what the score is or what's happened the night before," Judge said. "Anytime we get up there, we've got a chance to win a ballgame. Our bullpen really kept us in this game. The guys really came in and shut them down, especially [Michael] King, bases loaded against one of the best lineups in the game."
9. Houston, you have a problem
Yankees 7, Astros 6 -- June 23
In one of their most dramatic comebacks of the year, the Yankees trailed by three runs heading into the ninth inning. Aaron Hicks launched a game-tying three-run homer off Ryan Pressly, then Judge delivered the game-winning single facing Ryne Stanek -- on the eve of his scheduled arbitration hearing, no less.
“You saw up and down our lineup, guys working the at-bat, the moment not getting too big for guys," Judge said. "It’s just believing in each other."
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8. Seven straight and a sweep
Yankees 2, Rays 1 -- June 16
With a sixth-inning single and a ninth-inning homer, Anthony Rizzo drove in both of the Yankees’ runs, powering their seventh consecutive victory and a 14th straight win at Yankee Stadium -- a record for this incarnation of the building.
“It says a lot about what our clubhouse is about; guys coming in and feeling right away that they’re part of this thing,” Rizzo said. “There’s a lot of big names in this clubhouse, and you would never know inside. Everyone is treated on the same level, whether you have a couple of days in the big leagues or 15 years.”
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7. Birthday gift
Yankees 2, Cubs 1 (13 innings) -- June 10
With his 4-year-old son Josiah watching from afar, Jose Trevino came off the bench to deliver a game-winning pinch-hit single facing Alec Mills in the 13th. Shortly after the hit, the birthday boy asked dad via FaceTime: “Did you win the game for me?”
“I don’t know what everybody believes in, but I know what I believe in,” Trevino said. “I believe I got a little extra help every time something like that happens.”
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6. Donaldson does it
Yankees 5, Tigers 4 (10 innings) -- June 5
Josh Donaldson’s sacrifice fly to deep left field scored Judge with the deciding run as the Yankees completed a 6-0 homestand. Donaldson choked up to barrel Gregory Soto’s heater deep enough, sending a crowd of 38,030 home happy on a sunny Sunday.
“I think we’re just playing good baseball,” Donaldson said. “Our pitching really set the tone early for this series. We just didn’t give them much at all. Today they showed some fight like we knew that they would. We were able to scrap out runs in a couple of different ways today, which is nice to see.”
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5. ‘Papi!’ Trevino’s Yankees moment
Yankees 7, Orioles 6 (11 innings) -- May 24
From the first cup of coffee, the day had been emotional for Trevino. Honoring his late father’s birthday, he sipped from a ceramic mug that was once dad’s favorite. Then the Yankees' catcher heard about the innocent school children lost that afternoon in Uvalde, Texas, and carried that weight out to the field.
“I just want to start by saying, my thoughts and prayers are with everybody in Uvalde, Texas, tonight,” Trevino said, his eyes glassy and red. “I know y’all saw some tears, and there’s a reason behind it. My dad was a huge Yankees fan. He would always put me in these scenarios; he always said, ‘Ninth inning, down one, you need a base hit to tie the game or win the game at Yankee Stadium.’”
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4. All Rise!
Yankees 6, Blue Jays 5 -- May 10
Concluding a wild back-and-forth contest that Boone called “a heavyweight game in May,” the Yankees trailed by two runs heading to the ninth, but they knew that getting Judge to the plate was the way to go. Trevino and DJ LeMahieu worked walks before Judge blasted a three-run homer off Jordan Romano, the first walk-off homer of his career.
“It’s a weird feeling,” Judge said. “You hear the crowd going crazy, you look at your bench and you see your guys jumping over the railing, just getting all excited. It’s a special moment that I got to share with them.”
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3. Gleyber Day II
Yankees 2, Rangers 1 (Game 1) -- May 8
Gleyber Torres punctuated the ending of the opener of a doubleheader split with the Rangers, slugging a ninth-inning homer off John King for the second walk-off homer of his career. The Yankees recognized Torres’ ability to come through in such chances, believing that they raise his game.
“It’s an exciting moment,” Torres said. “By always having those opportunities, it helps me to do little things for my team and just help my team to win.”
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2. Gleyber Day
Yankees 5, Guardians 4 -- April 23
The odd man out in the Yankees’ crowded infield that day, Torres spent the early part of the game taking swings underneath the first-base grandstand, vowing to be ready for a chance to contribute. He capped the contest with a joyous roar, thumping his chest after delivering a walk-off single.
“It’s amazing,” Torres said. “During the game, I was just back in the cage, trying to be ready with my swing. I did my routine to be ready for an opportunity, and I got an opportunity. For every player, it’s tough -- we want to play every day, but I just control what I can control.”
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1. Opening act
Yankees 6, Red Sox 5 (11 innings) -- April 8
The grounder was not the hardest-hit ball of the day -- not even close, because that honor belonged to Giancarlo Stanton's heat-seeking missile into the right-field seats -- but an 11th-inning single was exactly what Donaldson needed to make an impression on his first Opening Day with the Yankees.
"It was nice for my first game here, to be able to help the team win," Donaldson said. "I feel like we showed some resiliency today. We got down early on; a couple of big homers. We just kept at it, kept trying to grind down at-bats, and our bullpen kept us in the ballgame."
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