Over the last week or so, the Yankees made a habit of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Just yesterday, the Yankees managed to lose two games that they looked completely poised to win. At last, the roles were reversed, with the Mets finding a strange way to lose this afternoon. The Yankees finally stopped the bleeding, securing a bizarre walkoff victory at the hands of old friend Dellin Betances.
Winner of the Game
Everyone meet J.A. Happ, professional stopper. With the Yankees mired in a dreadful seven-game losing streak, the team turned to an unlikely hero to put on the brakes. Happ delivered with his best start in a full year, firing 7.1 shutout innings while striking out five and walking none. The Mets never threatened as Happ made a forceful case for remaining in the rotation for now.
The Yankees’ bats hardly supported Happ, managing just five hits all game and running into a pair outs on the basepaths in the fourth inning. But Luke Voit had put the team ahead in the first inning with a solo shot, his 12th homer of the year:
LUUUUUUUUUKE pic.twitter.com/rgxisj6eZ3
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) August 29, 2020
Clint Frazier and Jordy Mercer combined to win the game in the ninth. Mercer doubled to move Frazier to third, and Betances airmailed a pitch, allowing Frazier to carry the winning run home:
Yankees win on a wild pitch! pic.twitter.com/wnwLbo4v9a
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) August 29, 2020
Loser of the Game
The story of yesterday’s doubleheader was a series of untimely homers surrendered to the Mets’ sluggers. It almost seemed like that could be the Yankees’ undoing today, as Adam Ottavino yielded the lead and the Mets’ only run on a Wilson Ramos solo shot in the eighth inning. It was a brutal blow after Happ’s sterling start, but fortunately it was rendered moot with the Yankees’ ninth-inning rally.