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05/31 20:01 CDT The Yankees score 13 runs in an inning for the 1st time in 21
years
The Yankees score 13 runs in an inning for the 1st time in 21 years
By JOSH DUBOW
AP Sports Writer
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) --- One big inning was more than enough Sunday for
the New York Yankees.
Fueled by a fiery pep talk from captain Aaron Judge, the Yankees scored 13 runs
in the third and beat the Athletics 13-8 --- finishing one run shy of the
largest inning in the storied history of the franchise.
"Remarkable," manager Aaron Boone said. "Glad we were able to make it stand up.
Obviously, a lot of really good things offensively. ... I don't think the
prettiest game on either side, necessarily. But we were able to make a really
outstanding inning stand up."
The game began well for A's starter Jacob Lopez, who retired all six New York
batters in the first two innings. That led to a heated message from Judge to
his teammates that they needed to wake up.
"I just felt like we were a little asleep there that first two innings. I
expect more out of the guys and I know they expect more of themselves. A couple
of choice words there just to get it going. The boys responded," Judge said.
They sure did.
Lopez failed to retire any of the seven hitters he faced in the third, starting
with a single by Anthony Volpe.
The totals in the inning were staggering as the Yankees had 11 hits, four walks
and four stolen bases. They sent 18 batters to the plate and faced 75 pitches
during their most productive inning since scoring 13 runs in the eighth against
Tampa Bay on June 21, 2005. It was one off the franchise record for an inning
set July 6, 1920, against the Washington Senators.
Lopez walked two batters after Volpe's hit and then failed to cover the bag on
Paul Goldschmidt's bases-loaded grounder to first, allowing a run to score on
an infield single. Ben Rice followed with a two-run double, Judge blooped a
single to center and Cody Bellinger hit an RBI single to knock out Lopez.
The next five batters also reached safely against reliever Michael Kelly,
marking the first time in 17 seasons that a team started an inning with 12
straight batters reaching safely, according to Sportradar. The Boston Red Sox
were the previous team to do it on May 7, 2009, against Cleveland.
This marked the first time the Yankees had 12 consecutive batters reach safely
in an inning since the first game of a doubleheader on Sept. 11, 1949, against
Washington. It was just two batters off the record since 1920 that came when
Detroit had 14 straight reach in the sixth inning against the Yankees on June
17, 1925, with Hall of Famer Ty Cobb hitting a home run in that inning.
The Yankees scored 10 runs before the first out was recorded when Goldschmidt
struck out. Rice followed with a two-run triple, giving him two multi-run
extra-base hits in one inning.
"To bat around with no outs, it's incredible," Judge said. "That's what this
team is capable of doing. We got our backs up against the wall, find a way to
dig ourselves out of it and to continue to keep the pressure on them. We needed
all 13 of those runs."
Bellinger capped the scoring with an RBI single, marking the first time since
1950 that the A's allowed at least 13 runs in an inning. They gave up 14 in the
first inning of the second game of a June 18 doubleheader that season.
"I really don't know how to describe that inning," manager Mark Kotsay said.
"Obviosuly, the two walks became an issue right away. Hit after hit, really. At
some point you figure the ball's going to go at someone, and it never did."
In all, eight of the nine Yankees batters had at least one hit and one RBI in
the inning, with Austin Wells the lone exception with two walks. All nine
batters scored a run, with Volpe becoming the third player in the last 50 years
to have two hits, two runs and two steals in an inning.
It lasted so long that he was in the on-deck circle when the rally ended,
hoping for a third at-bat in the inning.
"I was getting ready to go hit again," Volpe said. "It was crazy. It felt like
I would run the bases and then I'd get up and I'd have to put my stuff back on.
It was a cool feeling."
The inning took so long --- 43 minutes --- that Yankees starter Will Warren
went to the bullpen to get loose. The right-hander said he threw about seven
pitches in the bullpen late in the inning before returning to the mound.
"When they took the second mound visit, I ran to the bullpen," Warren said.
"Just staying loose. A lot of time sitting there. I just wanted to make sure I
was sharp to get back out there after the boys put up 13."
The rest of the day wasn't as productive at the plate for the Yankees. In the
other eight innings, their only baserunner came when Bellinger walked leading
off the sixth only to get erased on an inning-ending double play.
"I had a few gray hairs today, but obviously a great way to finish a really
good road trip," Boone said.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
