Yankees erase four-run deficit, beat Marlins on Giancarlo Stanton's two-run single in eighth
Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton hits a two-run single against the Miami Marlins during the eighth inning at Yankee Stadium on Saturday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
At various points during Saturday night’s wonky, back-and-forth affair at a chilly, windy Yankee Stadium, it looked as if the Yankees would be cooled off after an MLB-best start to the season.
The Marlins scored the game’s first four runs as Ryan Weathers had a shaky 3 2⁄3-inning start against his former team.
The Yankees, held to one hit through 4 2⁄3 innings, scored six unanswered runs to take the lead — but Camilo Doval squandered it in the eighth. Miami scored twice to tie it, deflating the energy from the 44,150 in attendance.
Then Giancarlo Stanton ensured that the Yankees (7-1) would match their best start through eight decisions in franchise history.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Stanton battled righthander Michael Petersen, fouling off two pitches with the count at 2-and-2. On the seventh pitch of the at-bat, he muscled a changeup past the reach of shortstop Otto Lopez.
Two runs scored, and after Ben Rice came home on a passed ball for a three-run lead, the Yankees held on for a 9-7 victory.
“He gave me his whole arsenal, so just wanted to stay back and make them play defense,” Stanton said. “Not ideal conditions out there, so as long as I put the ball in play, it’s important.”
He added: “I hit it OK [at 92.9 mph exit velocity]. That’s just one of those you like the hop when it’s in your favor.”
Aaron Boone said: “Huge at-bat, quality at-bat, obviously in a very big spot.”
In the seventh, it was Stanton’s baserunning, of all things, that pushed the Yankees’ lead to 6-4. He led off with a walk, had a rare stolen base, went to third on J.C. Escarra’s grounder and came home on the first of Agustin Ramirez’s two run-scoring passed balls.
Before Saturday’s game, Jazz Chisholm Jr. told Newsday: “We want everybody to go steal bags. We even want G to steal bags.” Hours later, he actually did.
Ryan McMahon led off the eighth with a walk, Aaron Judge walked with one out and Rice walked with two outs to load the bases for Stanton, who is hitting .393 and is 5-for-10 with five RBIs with runners in scoring position.
David Bednar allowed a run in the ninth but closed it out in nerve-wracking fashion. Lopez led off with an infield single — it was a routine grounder, but Chisholm did not react with the proper urgency — and scored on Xavier Edwards’ single.
With men on first and second and one out, Bednar struck out Owen Caissie. No. 9 hitter Javier Sanoja singled to load the bases, but Bednar struck out Griffin Conine on three pitches to notch his MLB-leading fourth save. He wound up throwing 33 pitches.
“Definitely a very frustrating [inning], but that’s baseball,” Bedner said. “Balls are going to find holes, and sometimes you put yourself in those spots. But I think ultimately, it’s pretty black and white, you do the job or not. Just all about finding a way.”
The Yankees trailed 4-0 entering the bottom of the fifth but finally broke through with two outs in the inning. Judge singled up the middle and Bellinger followed with a two-run homer to rightfield to cut their deficit to 4-2. The homer knocked out starter Max Meyer.
“It gave us that spark,” Stanton said. “It was the spark we needed, and it turned us on a little bit. We started getting on base a lot more from there and putting the pressure on.”
Trent Grisham and Judge had RBI singles in the sixth before Bellinger’s sacrifice fly gave the Yankees a 5-4 lead.
After Doval entered in the eighth, pinch hitter Liam Hicks singled and Edwards doubled to lead off the inning. Doval struck out Caissie, but Sanoja doubled down the leftfield line to drive in two runs. Brent Headrick entered and escaped further trouble.
Yankees starters entered Saturday having allowed only four runs in 39 1⁄3 innings, matching the fewest runs by any MLB rotation through the first seven games since 1900. But Weathers, making his first Yankees start at Yankee Stadium and facing the team that traded him in January, struggled to put batters away. He allowed three runs, six hits and three walks, struck out four and threw 88 pitches.
“Overall, I thought he threw the ball OK,” Boone said. “And just hopefully get him a little more efficient and a little more settled here as we go.”
Notes & quotes: Plate umpire and crew chief Ron Kulpa took a foul ball to the mask in the fourth and exited after the ensuing at-bat. He was replaced by first-base umpire Scott Barry, and the last five-plus innings were played with three umpires.
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
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