Yankees Highlights: Mike Ford stuns the A’s as Bombers walk off again

The Yankees, much like yesterday, looked listless for most of the afternoon. They produced just one hit against Sean Manaea, who was making his first start since last summer. And yet, much like yesterday, despite getting outplayed for wide swaths of the game, they shocked the A’s at the last second. An eighth-inning rally slashed a four-run deficit to one run, and back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the ninth propelled the Yankees to a stunning 5-4 win.

Winner(s) of the Game

J.A. Happ hasn’t spent much time in this space in 2019, obviously because he’s hardly had any starts as good as this one. He did walk four A’s, but otherwise was strong, yielding just one hit across six shutout innings. Oakland only really threatened once, in the fifth, when Happ walked a pair with none out, but danced out of trouble unscathed.

Of course, the true fireworks came in the ninth inning. Brett Gardner led off the final frame with a solo shot to right to tie the game off Liam Hendriks:

Then, Mike Ford, pinch-hitting for Clint Frazier, wasted no time assuming the hero role, ending the game the very next at-bat with a homer to center:

Just like that, a game that looked like it was going to be another frustrating loss to Oakland transformed into a signature win.

Loser of the Game

Ryan Dull made his first appearance in a Yankee uniform as Aaron Boone stayed away from using many of his big guns, and it did not go smoothly. Dull entered a scoreless game in the seventh inning, and by the end of the frame, he’d allowed two hits, two walks, and three runs. Two came via Sheldon Neuse’s first big-league hit, a two-run double that broke the tie.

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FanGraphs