Yankees Lose to Diamondbacks in Walk-Off, Dimming AL East Hopes
A ninth-inning home run seals a 5-3 defeat for New York, further impacting their division and wild-card positioning.
PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks, celebrating the 25th anniversary of their 2001 World Series team, delivered another memorable moment at the expense of the New York Yankees on Saturday night. Pavin Smith hit a two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving the Diamondbacks a 5-3 victory and further shrinking the Yankees' prospects for winning the American League East.
The loss, witnessed by 47,918 fans at Chase Field, came on a night when the Yankees were closely watching the result of the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox game. The Rays secured a 2-1 victory, extending their lead over the Yankees (89-65) to five games in the AL East with only eight games remaining in the regular season. The Yankees now hold a 5 1/2 game lead over the Red Sox for the top AL wild-card spot.
Likely AL Cy Young Award winner Cam Schlittler allowed more than one run for the first time since August 3. He surrendered three runs, two of them unearned, over six innings. The runs scored against Schlittler came via two bunts and a brief lapse in command. He finished the game with a 1.94 ERA across 190 ⅔ innings, with one start left in the regular season.
The Yankees had an opportunity to take the lead in the top of the fifth inning, loading the bases with one out against Diamondbacks right-hander Brandon Pfaadt. However, manager Torey Lovullo brought in relief pitcher Justin Martinez, who limited the damage to a sacrifice fly from Ben Rice, giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead before Cody Bellinger ended the threat with a fly out.
Arizona broke through against Schlittler in the fifth inning. After a leadoff walk, Nolan Arenado blooped a single. Tim Tawa then laid down a bunt that Schlittler bobbled, preventing a throw to first base. With two outs, Jordan Lawlar hit a two-run triple, putting the Diamondbacks ahead 2-1.
New York responded in the top of the sixth when Heliot Ramos and Austin Wells hit consecutive solo home runs off reliever Kevin Ginkel, regaining a 3-2 lead. However, Schlittler's struggles returned in the bottom of the sixth as he walked the first two batters. A bunt loaded the bases, and Corbin Carroll followed with a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 3-3. Schlittler managed to strike out the next two batters, but not before a pair of runners were left in scoring position.
Brent Headrick and Paul Blackburn pitched the next six outs to bring the game to the ninth inning, setting the stage for Smith's game-winning home run.